Julbo Rush shades
£165 Reactive riding shades
Julbo isn’t particularly well known in cycling despite having a big reputation in winter sports for protective eyewear. That, it seems, is set to change as Julbo, with the help of pro riders and a development team, has moved into mountain biking with a rumour that professional road cycling sponsorship isn’t far away.
The Rush is Julbo’s performance offering and it’s got a lot going for it. The lens shape is a single piece that’s deep, promising to offer protection without getting into the retro-shield shape of 100%. The full framing of the lens isn’t obstructive to your eyeline and the broad, highly sprung arms have a metal core so that you can bend and mould them to your head shape, making these superbly secure, even when venturing off road. They aren’t the lightest around, weighing in at 39.5g, but we don’t mind taking a gram or two extra when the fit is this secure.
The lens itself is superb with a deep curvature around the face from top to bottom, which means no distortion even at the peripheries of your vision. The lens is light-reactive and very quick to do so, moving between cat 0 (fully clear) to cat 3 (dark for bright sunshine) in a matter of seconds, which means you can use these on the brightest days to protect from the sun or at night to protect your eyes from foreign objects. Julbo tells us that its REACTIV brand lenses have the photochromic qualities embedded in the polymer material. It’s not the cheaper option of a lens coating, so there is no chance of wearing through the protection. The lens is also shaped with venting at the top edges and corners and at the bottom corners, too, and this helped keep them fog-free, even when working hard on the climbs.
A prescription option is also available using RX labs lenses, or if you just want a single-tint lens the same design can be had for £85. The Rush comes with a semi-hard case and a soft cleaning bag.
In all Julbo has delivered a good-looking pair of shades with a stunning lens that’s a match for the more established cycling brands (we’re talking about you Oakley, Rudy Project and 100%) and these shades are a product that we’d highly recommend.