Recently I decided to buy a pair of good quality cycling specific sunglasses. After breaking a fairly cheap pair i used for the last couple of years I decided it was time i invested in a quality pair of glasses ahead of the approaching summer.
After much research and the inevitable searching of blogs and forums I decided to opt for a pair of Oakley Jawbones. Below is my independent review of the glasses. I haven’t been paid for this review (and i bought them with my own hard earned cash!) so it’s as fair and honest review as possible.
Oakley Jawbones have quickly become one of the most popular glasses in the professional peloton since first appearing in 2008. Before buying I’d read a lot of other reviewers that were staunch fans of Oakley Radars, perhaps the most classic of cycling glasses, switch over to Jawbones and be very impressed with them which gave me some confidence before buying . The Jawbones are to some extent a great compromise between the Radars and the much smaller lensed Flak Jackets.
The ear stems are not too long, meaning they don’t hit my helmet behind my ears.
In The Box
After a fair bit of research about colours and prices I bought was the matt black frames from Amazon which come bundled with 1 pair of black Iridium Vented lenses and 1 pair of yellow vented lenses for use in low/flat light conditions. I was going to opt for a more adventurous colour but after trying some of these lenses on figured I’d use them quite a bit for everyday wear as well as on the bike so concluded lime green frames may not be the best bet!
Here’s what came in the box:
1 Soft Case
1 Hard Case (with room for spare lenses
1 pair of black Iridium Vented lenses
1 pair of yellow vented lenses
1 Oakly Jawbone frame, matt black
2 x nose pieces
Cases
With every pair of Jawbones you get both a hard and soft case.
The hard case securely holds the frame with lenses attached as well as an additional 2 pairs of lenses, a nice touch ensuring you have room to store any additional lenses you purchase in the future. The case is very sturdy and will protect the glasses in the roughest of conditions.
The soft case included (as with all Oakleys) doubles up as a lens cleaning cloth. One nice feature is the addition of a second compartment on the inside to store a spare pair of lenses.
The Frame
The first thing i noticed when i tried on a pair of Jawbones was how incredibly light they are. Recently (after breaking my cheap cycling glasses) i’ve been using an old pair of cheap snowboarding glasses. Apart from always slipping down my nose when riding they are much heavier than the Jawbones. As well as being feather light (i was amazed to see they only weigh 24 grams) the glasses have that feel of quality that all Oakley glasses have.
Perhaps the main design difference between jawbones and most other cycling glasses is the inclusion of a full rim, including the bottom of the frame. My big fear before riding with the jawbones on was that this rim on the bottom of the lenses would obstruct my view. I’m glad to report that it doesn’t.
The other big design attraction of the jawbones is their innovative switch lock design. This allows you to pull back the nose piece and swing the bottom part of the frame back allowing you to very easily swap over the lenses. In fact when assembled the lenses are locked in place without any stress being placed on the lens meaning they should last longer and be less susceptible to breaking lenses when knocked or dropped.
All Jawbones ship with two different sized nose pieces meaning they’ll ensure a comfortable fit on most faces. The frames are built to sit high on your face meaning vision isn’t impeded even when you’re down on the drops. I really like the aggressive looking design of the Jawbones.
Changing Lenses
Changing lenses with sunglasses has always been a case of bending frames, forcing lenses into recesses and generally getting a bit worried about breaking the lenses in the process. With the Jawbones Oakley has made the whole process very easy indeed. All you do is flip up the nose piece which in turn allows you to swing down the lower part of the frame. You then have full access to pull out the lens and replace without any bending or pressure. In my opinion this is such a clever piece of design, it makes you wonder why nobody thought of it sooner.
Lens Performance
The ability to use vented lenses was a real selling point for me. This summer i’ll be doing a lot of riding in the mountains so having a pair of glasses that doesn’t fog up is a real must. I always wear contact lenses when riding and was a bit concerned the vents might lead to my eyes drying out when riding at speed. After a couple of long rides i’m pleased that this hasn’t been an issue.
As with other glasses in Oakleys sports range the Jawbone lenses are coated with something called a hydrophobic layer. In short this coating repels water, dust and much helping to keep the lenses clean and providing maximum visibility while in use.
The black Iridium lenses are great and really cut out the light, with only a 10% light transmission. The Iridium adds a slight mirror effect to the lenses and cuts down the amount of glare you get exposed to. The yellow lenses are the opposite end of the scale with a 90% transmission rate, making them great for low light conditions.
As mentioned above the clever design makes it very easy to switch lenses over. There is a huge number of replacement lenses available so you are by no means restricted to just the lenses that come with your Jawbones. I think I’ll invest in a clear pair for winter riding, depending on how I get on with the yellow lenses that came in the box in the Autumn.
Oakley Jawbone Summary
Oakly Jawbones have been a great choice for me. The design offers nice big lenses which are essential for cycling giving a big field of view akin to the ever popular Radars. The fully rimmed lenses in my opinion give them a great look, making them making them more than suitable for off the bike wear. Though they are cycling specific the Jawbones wouldn’t look out of place in Oakleys fashion range of sun glasses.
