For this week a review of Oakley’s Racing Jacket sunglasses.
Oakley has had a Racing Jacket model for some years, but after the raging success of their Jawbone model they have added a retention strap & changeable ‘O’ icons on the arms and re-badged the Jawbone as the Racing Jacket.
If you’re a fan of any outdoor action sport where the participants wear sunglasses, it’s likely that you’ve seen many pairs of these adorning the faces of your favourite athletes. Dozens of riders in the Tour de France Peloton favour this model including Bradley Wiggins (who also used the Radarlock in this year’s Tour), Mark Cavendish and Lance Armstrong (are we still allowed to mention him?!?!?)
I was supplied Racing Jackets in the Polished Black frame colour with the VR28 Blue Iridium and Light Grey lens tints (See Oakley Website for more)
Once again these sunglasses feature Switchlock technology & ship with two sets of lenses to favour different light conditions, the hard case has slots for two spare sets of lenses as well as those in the glasses, and the soft case also features separate compartments for spare lenses.
Switching the lenses is a simple affair, first release the catch held inside the nosepiece, then swing out the lower arm:
Once the arm is swung out you quickly remove the lens and replace it with the other tint, by lining it up in the grooves, swinging the arm closed and locking the nosepiece – naturally you need to do this separately on both sides.
Here are the sunglasses with each lens inserted:
And finally with the strap attached – you can pull this tight to keep the glasses safely on your face, or have it loose to have them hanging around your neck when not required:
So, what did I do with them?
As with my review of the Radarlocks I wanted to test these out while ski touring in the Backcountry, so I chose to wear them while skiing out the back of Mt Loch beyond the Mt Hotham resort (Trip Report Here)
The days I skied with the Racing Jackets were sunny all day so I had no cause to change the lenses ‘in the field’ but it’s a pretty simple affair, though harder to avoid the dreaded fingerprint smudge than with other models.
Here’s a couple of shots of me wearing them while on that trip:
Fit/Comfort: They are not feather-weight on your face, also they preferred to sit with the arms inside your beanie, not on top of this. In the past I’ve found that this can give you sore ears.
Vision/Optical Clarity: I know I mention it in every Oakley review I’ve done, but their optical clarity really is second to none, and the Racing Jackets arguably beat out the Radarlocks and Airbrakes that I’ve previously tested, I’m not an expert but I’m guessing it’s to do with having two lenses where they can tailor the curvature perfectly to your eyes, whereas the other models have a single lens. Peripheral vision is excellent
Ventilation: The lenses are well-vented, to the point that my eyes started to water a little while skiing fast in-resort on my way back from the backcountry, but this turned out to be a good thing as the shape of the frame makes for a snug fit against my face, so there is not much opportunity for ventilation apart from through the vents. Due to the slow-moving nature of ski-touring unless there is a breeze there is bound to be fogging of sunglasses.
Lens Tints: The VR28 Blue Iridium lens was a great all-round skiing lens. I don’t like extremely dark lenses as things can change while you’re skiing, and I like a lens that’s versatile enough to cope with some variable conditions before you bite the bullet and change lenses. I did not get a chance to test the Light Grey lenses while skiing.
Durability: The Racing Jackets feel well made and the hinge mechanisms are solid. My main fear is that the spare lenses are quite small and fiddly in your fingers and are susceptible to dropping, scratches and fingerprints. The hard case provided is excellend and has slots of a further pair of lenses.
Appearance/Looks: The model I was given is a little more understated than the other colour combinations available, and I think it’s fair to say that early on a Saturday on Beach Rd you will definitely be ‘looking the part’.
Summary: The Racing Jackets are a great choice of sunglasses for participants in action sports, especially if they favour a more traditional sunglass instead of an ‘M-Frame’ derivative. Two supplied lens tints provide versatility and the switching mechanism is a breeze.
(Review Disclosure: These sunglasses were provided at no cost by Oakley Australia for review purposes)
