The Smith Bobcat is a new addition this year to the brand’s eyewear range. Designed to offer many of the same features as the brand’s popular Wildcat model, but in a smaller face fit and lightweight feel.
The Smith Bobcat still offers goggle-like protection, but with the ease and airflow of sunglasses, and is aimed at riders of all disciplines.
- Price: £184.99
- From: Ultra Sport Europe
Three things I loved
- Clear lens
- Coverage
- Comfort
Three things I’d change
- Bit dark in certain conditions
- Not cheap
- Can haze in bright direct light
Members Only Content continues…
If you have an account, please log in. If not, you can get access to some of our features by registering here for free.
You could join them and open up this and countless other articles and reviews from just £0.06/day!
All members get..
- Exclusive members only content
- Digital back issues
- New issues via iOS/Android App
- Ad free website
- Merch discounts
- Downloads, GPX files, PDFs, iBooks
Print+ members also get..
Next available print copy of Singletrack magazine posted to you. Each issue contains 148 pages of perfect ride inspiration, opinion, adventure and reviews.
A message from all of us at Singletrack magazine
We need your help
For over 20 years Singletrack has been a source of information, news and entertainment for millions of mountain bike enthusiasts and as an important focal point for an amazing community of like minded riders from around the world. But it has also been a provider of jobs and income for dozens of families of our team as well as a source of revenue for hundreds of freelance contributors.
We want to keep going through this uncertain period and create great content to inform and entertain you, but we will need your help to do it. More than anything else we want to have a reciprocal relationship with you and the best way to make that happen is through our memberships. We’d love you to join us as a paid member of the Singletrack community – we promise you a return on your investment through the content we have and will create for you.
The frame is made from Evolve™, which is a bio-based material that offers adjustable flex, and has a curved wraparound shape to fit the face. The arms are highly flexible and use an autolock system to make getting them on and off faff free and the temples are megol coated for added anti-slip security when things get rough. The soft nose piece is also made from megol, and has two positions for increased comfort and to help them stay put.
The Smith Bobcat is available in seven different colour options, and each colour comes with a specific tinted ChromaPop™ lens. ChromaPop™ is Smith’s in-house lens technology that is designed to “cut glare, while also enhancing contrast, definition and natural colours on forested trails”.
A photochromic lens is also available, and each set also comes with a spare clear lens along with a soft microfibre pouch and hard case. We opted for a set of Matte French Navy framed glasses that come paired with ChromaPop™ Rose Gold Mirror lens. The Rose Gold Mirror lens has a grey base with a rose gold mirror over the top and has the highest VLT rating – 22% – of the standard ChromaPop™ lenses. It’s intended for use in medium to bright conditions, and a mix of cloud and sun, making them a good choice for the UK. The Bobcat retails for £174.99 for the standard ChromaPop™ lens, and £184.99 for the photochromic version.
Performance: Fit
From the first ride in the Bobcats they have been one of the comfiest glasses I’ve used – they are proper fit and forget. I opened the nosepiece up into its widest position which fitted the bridge of my nose better, and made them sit closer to my face, but the main reason they are so comfy is the arms.
They are really slim and flexible at the temples and don’t cause any sort of pressure or discomfort. I’ve tried them with helmets from Smith, Giro and Fox and they’ve worked well with all the retention systems. From quick blasts, to full day rides, they’ve remained comfortable and haven’t developed any hotspots no matter how long, hot or rough the riding.
The two position nosepiece sits well on the nose, and doesn’t add any undue pressure – partly down to the light weight (27g on my kitchen scales) – and stays in place even when working hard and sweating. Even in the widest nose / closest to the face position they stay off the face, allowing airflow and stopping sweat collecting. While there are no vents in the lenses themselves, they allow plenty of airflow by sitting a good distance off your face, and have remained sweat and fog free in some pretty warm temperatures.
Performance: Lens
The lens has a good curved shaped, without being a full wrap around and offers a good amount of coverage for the face. Designed for a slightly narrower face fit than their Wildcat stable mates, the edges of the Bobcat sit a little more inboard and come up just short of completely covering my face.
The lenses on the Smith Bobcat are crystal clear, and with the gold tint they add a warm sepia glow to the world. Out in the hills, on open moorland tracks, they do a great job of picking out the trail and defining it, even on overcast days. When the sun shines, they also do a good job of stopping glare and giving enough tint to stop things feeling overly bright, although in direct light I occasionally get a bit of ‘hazing’.
On more shaded, wooded trails, they again do a good job of highlighting trail texture, letting you see what’s ahead. On bright days, they transition well from the open to wooded, but I did find them a little dark in the woods on properly overcast, greyer days. But, they are designed as a sunglass, and for darker days you have the added bonus of the clear lens.
Durability wise they’re holding up pretty well. They’re showing a few scratches on the outside of the lens but nothing that is particularly noticeable when wearing them, and given the amount of use they’ve had in all weathers, it’s not an issue. They clean up easily with the provided soft back and so far still look clear and crisp.
Overall
Not only do the Smith Bobcat glasses look great, they are by far one of the comfiest sets of glasses I’ve used. The fit is properly comfortable and they’veworked well with a good range of helmets and retention systems.
The lens is also a quality piece of kit, and while I may have found this one a little dark at times, there are others in the range to pick and choose from to suit your riding style and terrain. If you’re looking for a set of all-day-wearable sunglasses then the Bobcats are well worth a look, but they do come at a bit of price.