Review: Julbo Renegade and Resist Glasses – ‘They’re Better Than My Eyes!’

Julbo designs its glasses high in the Jura mountains of France, gets its frames made in Poland, and then makes all its lenses and assembles them with frames in its Jura factory. It’s one of very few glasses brands that are still independent, and personally I quite like the idea that they’re not being mass produced and labelled with a designer badge so you can charge more for them. With a history in making specialist glasses for outdoor pursuits, there are frames and lenses to suit a whole range of specific niche needs. The new Renegade and (women’s specific fit) Resist glasses however, have a more generalist application, aimed at both on the bike and hanging out afterwards. The different coloured frames come with different types of lenses, and both of these here have been fitted with the ZebraLight lenses, which are photochromic and better suited to mountain biking than the other colour options within these frame styles. If you like the frames, the Polarized 3 lens will be good for high glare scenarios like sailing, and the Spectron 3 CF will be better in bright conditions – but they’re not photochromic so they won’t adjust in low light.

The blurb for the Renegades says:
Blasting down a single track followed by lunch on the terrace? Same sunglasses, same style and same protection. Julbo has created Renegade, at home in daily life on any type of terrain. Its resolutely urban look disguises a keen appetite for adventure: incredible grip, wide angle of vision and photochromic Reactiv lenses. A true work of art!

While the women’s Resist blurb reads:
With feminine good looks and freeride spirit, Resist is up to any challenge and refuses to compromise. Effortlessly switching from town to mountains, it offers an outstanding level of performance: pantos shape and keyhole bridge for style, grip material, a curved front and temples to take on the worst situations, as well as photochromic REACTIV lenses for the best vision. 100% protection of your look.

Translation: you can wear these on the bike, and you won’t look daft at the pub afterwards.

Yes, I think they are a good looking pair of pairs of glasses – if you see what I mean – though I do slightly prefer the oversized fit of the Renegades over the Resists. But then, my head is not particularly girly-sized, and I think the Resists would be a better fit on a narrower head than mine. That said, I have worn both plenty, and the smaller lenses of the Resists leave my face feeling a little cooler in warmer weather.

On the trail, both are great – they stay in place and have impressive anti-fog properties on even the steepest and sweatiest of climbs. In fact, I’ve never actually had them steam up – instead they sort of collect little rivulet of moisture if you stop riding when hot and sweaty, but they clear again as soon as you start moving. Again, the Renegades are my preferred pair, as the larger lenses give a bit more coverage and therefore protection from flying bugs and grit, although the Resists do sit quite neatly over my eye sockets so there’s still a good level of protection there. I like the full frames – I’m not a fan of exposed lens edges as I’m always paranoid it’s going to slice my cheek.

I’m a recent convert to sunglasses – I mean, I love sunglasses, they’re pretty much a guaranteed way to look cool, and they mean you can actually see when the sun is out. But until recently I couldn’t find contact lenses to suit. In fairness, the ones I have now are still compromised – I can’t see as well with them as I can with my glasses, so to help check out the visual properties of the lenses I’ve passed these around a number of friends. The result? Universal awe. ‘These are better than my eyes!’ and ‘Everything’s gone HD!’ were two favourite comments. They certainly seemed clear to my slightly wonky eyes, and others have confirmed this. In fact, Andi tried my test pair on and subsequently bought some – that’s a pretty glowing recommendation.

The photochromic lenses are great for a whole range of light conditions. Only under trees in dark shadows at the end of the day, or really dark rain cloud skies did I find I was straining to see on the trail, and quite often find I’m still wearing them inside or late into the evening when there’s really no need for sunglasses. At the opposite end of the spectrum, a super bright day in the high mountains did have me wishing they went a shade darker, but I don’t live in the high mountains and if I did there are other glasses for those white light eye burning conditions.

There’s no adjustability in the nose or leg pieces, but for me that’s not an issue – they fit, and they stay put. I’ve not scratched them during the test period, and I confess that I’m not the best for putting my glasses carefully away within protective cases.

Overall

I really like these glasses and the Renegades are my go to pair for riding and relaxing. There are cheaper glasses out there, but I don’t think you’ll get the clarity that these offer, and there are more expensive options, but I’m not all that sure why you’d bother. These do the job nicely.

Review Info

Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

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