While currently the weather doesn't warrant the use of sunglasses, the time spent in the North and East of Finland skiing did, and I am hopeful that soon we will have wonderful sunny weather again. So sunny, that one needs sunglasses!
My sunglasses of choice for outdoor activities are the
Julbo Dolgan shades, made in France. Weighing in at 33 g including the necklace thingy, that is an acceptable weight for me. While there are lighter glasses around, for something that gets used so much and might collect its fair share of scratches from bushwacking & spending time in a meshpocket with other stuff, I believe a good, affordable pair is a better investment than a 200€ pair of shades where every scratch hurts.
I have the Spectron 4 lenses, which claim to be "Light but with excellent shock resistance" and have an anti-reflective coating which "improves visual comfort by eliminating stray reflections" and a flash finish: "improves visible light filtering with mirror effect lenses; it reflects the rays of light and increases the filter effect and eliminates the radiation reflected by the outer mirrored surface of the lens." Woohoo.
Side view.
Translated into plain English that means they do their utmost to keep those dangerous UV rays out of your retinas, also keep out the glare from snow & water, and allows you to shoot laser beams at ultraheavy backpackers. OK, I made that last one up, but that would be a cool feature. It also said that it has an anti-fog coating. Well, somehow those never seem to work for me. Put the lenses on your head to check something with clear sight, put them back on, and they give me this lovely foggy view. At least the fog doesn't stay long, even if I do an activity like skiing which lets me perspire a lot. So it is cool and I learn to live with it.
The lenses have a sweet, slightly orange tint to them, which is great in white winter landscapes as well as in green summer forests. Also when
packrafting I found them an adequate protection for my eyes, while being able to pick out details in the stream ahead. The outside of the lenses have a mirror finish, this allows me to stare without worries at the ultraheavy food of other campers without being afraid that they notice it (unless I am also drooling). On a more practical note, it allows me to check my face for scratches or if my hair-do is fine when re-entering civilization.
Looking smart.
The sunglasses keep snow and wind out very well thanks to the ergonomic design and "removable" wings at the side. I tried once to remove them, but didn't want to exert too much force and hence gave up. Taken off, they might save a gram or six together, I guess. But I rather am protected from snow and wind, to be honest. The necklace thingy (Weight: 1 g) makes me look like a 70+ year old grandmother and likely to lose my glasses, but the truth is that sometimes it is more convenient to have them hang around your neck than have the shades riding on top of your skull. Like when you have a sweaty head or big wooly hat on top.
Hitching a ride on top.
Bottom line? A cool looking pair of shades which are functional and light. If Nemo could have chosen his own sunglasses instead of getting a hand-me-down pair from Morpheus, he would have taken these.
Buy them at:
Julbo Sunglasses at Parttioaitta
Julbo Dolgan Sunglasses at Bergfreunde
Julbo Dolgan Sunglasses
at Moosejaw
Julbo Dolgan Sunglasses
at Backcountry
Julbo Dolgan Sunglasses
at REI
While currently the weather doesn't warrant the use of sunglasses, the time spent in the North and East of Finland skiing did, and I am hopeful that soon we will have wonderful sunny weather again. So sunny, that one needs sunglasses!
My sunglasses of choice for outdoor activities are the
Julbo Dolgan shades, made in France. Weighing in at 33 g including the necklace thingy, that is an acceptable weight for me. While there are lighter glasses around, for something that gets used so much and might collect its fair share of scratches from bushwacking & spending time in a meshpocket with other stuff, I believe a good, affordable pair is a better investment than a 200€ pair of shades where every scratch hurts.
I have the Spectron 4 lenses, which claim to be "Light but with excellent shock resistance" and have an anti-reflective coating which "improves visual comfort by eliminating stray reflections" and a flash finish: "improves visible light filtering with mirror effect lenses; it reflects the rays of light and increases the filter effect and eliminates the radiation reflected by the outer mirrored surface of the lens." Woohoo.
Side view.
Translated into plain English that means they do their utmost to keep those dangerous UV rays out of your retinas, also keep out the glare from snow & water, and allows you to shoot laser beams at ultraheavy backpackers. OK, I made that last one up, but that would be a cool feature. It also said that it has an anti-fog coating. Well, somehow those never seem to work for me. Put the lenses on your head to check something with clear sight, put them back on, and they give me this lovely foggy view. At least the fog doesn't stay long, even if I do an activity like skiing which lets me perspire a lot. So it is cool and I learn to live with it.
The lenses have a sweet, slightly orange tint to them, which is great in white winter landscapes as well as in green summer forests. Also when
packrafting I found them an adequate protection for my eyes, while being able to pick out details in the stream ahead. The outside of the lenses have a mirror finish, this allows me to stare without worries at the ultraheavy food of other campers without being afraid that they notice it (unless I am also drooling). On a more practical note, it allows me to check my face for scratches or if my hair-do is fine when re-entering civilization.
Looking smart.
The sunglasses keep snow and wind out very well thanks to the ergonomic design and "removable" wings at the side. I tried once to remove them, but didn't want to exert too much force and hence gave up. Taken off, they might save a gram or six together, I guess. But I rather am protected from snow and wind, to be honest. The necklace thingy (Weight: 1 g) makes me look like a 70+ year old grandmother and likely to lose my glasses, but the truth is that sometimes it is more convenient to have them hang around your neck than have the shades riding on top of your skull. Like when you have a sweaty head or big wooly hat on top.
Hitching a ride on top.
Bottom line? A cool looking pair of shades which are functional and light. If Nemo could have chosen his own sunglasses instead of getting a hand-me-down pair from Morpheus, he would have taken these.
Buy them at:
Julbo Sunglasses at Parttioaitta
Julbo Dolgan Sunglasses at Bergfreunde
Julbo Dolgan Sunglassesat Moosejaw
Julbo Dolgan Sunglassesat Backcountry
Julbo Dolgan Sunglassesat REI
Julbo Dolgan Sunglasses
There is a striking resemblance to Bonnie prince billy in your last photo there Hendrik!
ReplyDeleteGood choice Hendrik.
ReplyDeleteI've had my pair of Julbo Dolgan for years.
They work extremely well in the mountains too, not just in the flat low-lands of Finland.
Important to keep those UV-rays at bay when you reach some altitude.
/ Karl
I have a pair of Julbo Bivouacs which I also like. They are a bit on the large side though - good for winter, but a bit dorky in summer.
ReplyDeleteYeah, wanted a pair of these this winter. I still believe Oakley glasses have better optics but they are oh so expensive to drop in the snow and run your skis over. Maybe next year.
ReplyDeleteDo they have polarising lenses. These are the lenses that trout fishermen use as it cuts down on so much surface glare that it makes fish spotting a breeze.
I'm a fan of Julbo also! I went with the classic look and function of the Micropores.
ReplyDeleteFor anybody else who, like me, is genetically defective and needs prescription lenses, I recommend Opticus. They specialize in Rx lenses for glacier glasses. I had them grind me a pair of lenses when I bought the Micropores in 2007 and, four years later, I still have no complaints. Their customer service is pretty good, too. The guys who work there definitely know a thing or two about using Rx eyewear in extreme conditions.
Nice review, thanks. Glasses are something I have still yet to look into, but it seems like these would be great and plus it wouldn't cost an arm and a leg! I do wish I would've had them on my trip a few weekends ago though and we ended up hiking through some unexpected snow...that stuff hurts to stare down into all day...
ReplyDeleteNeeded to look that name up, James =)
ReplyDeleteIndeed, they are made for the mountains - good that you pointed that out! I also had my shades for about 1,5 years and am very happy with them.
ReplyDeleteJulbo seems to be popular! Those Bivoucs look fine, and there's nothing wrong with looking dorky!
ReplyDeleteI'm not convinced that Oakley optics are better, though for the price they cost they might well be.
ReplyDeleteI think you can get them with polarizing lenses, not sure if mine are, though I have worn them when I went fishing. I will check and let you know, Joe.
Thanks Chad! They are affordable and light enough to carry in your pack until you need them - like in a situation as you described it. Not fun to stare at snow all day long, believe me!
ReplyDeleteI've had a pair of these for two years - they are great optics-wise.....but, the grey/black finish is really poor and seems to come off really easily, which is a shame.
ReplyDelete