Julbo Trail
French-made Julbo sunglasses have long been fixtures in extreme settings like the sun-pummeled, glaciated slopes of Mont Blanc. More recently, the darling brand of mountaineers has expanded its offerings to sports folk who are less extremely inclined. Case in point is the Trail, a great choice for trail running and hiking—for two strong reasons. First, its amber photochromic lens (dubbed Zebra) changes its stripes, er, visible light transmission from a very light 40.7 percent to a very dark 6.6 percent (although I must say, the lens never seems THAT dark). If you’re out for a long hike or run, you don’t have to think about swapping lenses; you have what you need for almost any situation. Second, Trail comes with the best retaining system I’ve seen—far more secure than any aftermarket retainer you can buy, because a broad adjustable elastic band snaps onto the front of the temples, making these sunglasses as secure as goggles. Another nice touch is Trail’s easily adjustable rubber nosepiece. I call it an “instant optician” feature. Julbo was among the first shades makers to use NXT lenses, a highly impact-resistant alternative to polycarbonate originally developed for helicopter windshields. It’s a fine lens, but in Trail, not put to its best use. For some reason, Trail is designed to fit into its frame only toward the center, leaving the flanks of the lenses free floating. If a flying object were to meet the lens, that flexy outer portion crunches right into your face. The lens wouldn’t shatter, but I want more protection than that for mountain biking or rock climbing—situations where a rock could induce that lens to meet the corners of my eyes. For more benign pursuits, Trail serves very nicely. $160, but Zappos has it for $152, and you always get free shipping at zappos.com
