Official supplier to Skandia Team GBR, the British Sailing Team, Bollé Marine sunglasses combine polarized anti-glare technology and a hydrophobic treatment which repels water off the lens surface. The Bollé Marine Collection is perfectly suited to all water sports and guarantees perfect visibility at all times. Available in two polarised lenses: a mirrored Offshore Blue lens for harsh bright conditions, and a mirrored Inland Gold lens for lower light conditions to increase contrast and fight glare.

The Tetra polarised marine sunglasses can be found on our site here, or by clicking the image below.

Other Bollé models from the Marine collection include: -

Anaconda

Barracuda

Cobra

Crown

Phantom

Piranha

Python

Recoil

Tetra

Winslow

We've been busy beavering away preparing a new price comparison area on our website comparing our prices with a selection of our online competitors to show just how great value our products are when purchased with our FREE as standard UV, Anti-Reflection and Scratch Resistant coatings. 

Ever since we first sold our first pair of prescription glasses back in 2005 we've believed in offering great value up front without hiding high additional costs for protective coatings at the end of the process of entering your prescription.

Here are some savings that we offer on a pair of Bolle Versailles prescription glasses:

To see more comparisons, why not visit our price comparison area.

Could Andrew Coltart’s return to form at St Andrew’s yesterday have anything to do with the fact that, unlike many of his opponents, he was very sensibly wearing appropriate sunglasses? Who knows, maybe. Well, whatever it was that helped propel him to the top of the leaderboard yesterday morning after spending too long in the golfing doldrums has got to be a good thing.

Golf demands a high degree of accurate visual perception to correctly judge alignment and distances and adjust to changing weather conditions so wearing sunglasses specially designed to aid concentration and comfort can make all the difference between smashing to success and languishing in a bunker.

Even golfers who don’t feel the need for visual assistance to improve their handicap should bear in mind the high levels of harmful UV rays that their eyes will be exposed to during a few hours on the green. Even on a cloudy day, 90% of UV light penetrates the clouds so protection is beneficial whatever the weather.

Oakley, Bolle, Cebe and Rudy Project all carry a range of frames designed with the needs of golfers in mind, even if it’s just to look as stylish as possible – unlike John Daly and girlfriend’s skirt & trouser combos.

We’re pretty big sports fans at SelectSpecs and two years ago we were glued to our TV screens as we had our most successful Summer Olympics in 100 years at Beijing.  London 2012 couldn’t come soon enough in our eyes, but in the meantime we’ve been enjoying the Winter Olympics in Vancouver just as much, even if Team GB aren’t likely to do so well in these Winter events.  I would suggest that we don’t get the snow in this country, but lately it seems the Canadians could borrow some of ours!

We’re quite looking forward to seeing what Team GB’s first real medal chance Zoe Gillings can do tonight in the Women’s Snowboard Cross event and seeing how well we do in the Curling, which I remember being hooked on four years ago as we were actually quite good!

Bollé Enjoys Success in Snowboard Cross & Downhill Skiing

Bollé scored a double in the Snowboard Cross event with Gold for American Seth Wescott and Bronze for Tony Ramoin. The Bollé brand has been well represented for a number of years now in Snowboard Cross thanks to its fantastic range of performance products and stylish image.

Seth Westcott

Seth Westcott, already a world champion in 2005, vice world champion of the world in 2003 and 2007, 7 times medalist in the X Games and one of the masters of his sport, gave a faultless performance and took first place in his final run.

Tony Ramoin

At 21 years old it was Tony Ramoin’s Olympic debut where he demonstrated his talent run after run to take a well deserved bronze medal.

Seth and Tony both wore Bollé goggles and helmets to help them secure their Olympic medals.

Didier Défago

After an exceptional 2009 where Didier Défago won 2 downhill skiing championships in Wengen and Kitzbuehl, he again raced to a dramatic victory to take gold in the Men’s Downhill at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.  Didier Défago also wore Bollé goggles & a Bollé helmet to help him achieve success on the slopes.

Continuing on from my previous post about Sunglasses for Mountain Biking I had the opportunity to try a pair of the Rudy Project Rydon Sunglasses featuring the ImpactX Photochromic Red Lenses during a Sunday ride out at a local 20 mile (30km) route through part of the beautiful North Downs in Kent, UK.

The Ride

Our route took us through some of the most beautiful and picturesque parts of the Kent countryside found in between Canterbury and Ashford on the North Downs.  Starting in Chilham we rode along quiet country roads, up steep rocky inclines, down insanely quick single tracks, and through farmers fields overlooking some stunning vistas, all in the course of the challenging 20 mile loop!  Seriously, when you just drive along the main roads through this area you miss so much of what really is in this area – many car drivers certainly don’t know what they’re missing!

The weather for this ride was perfect with clear blue skies with the temperature in the mid 20′s even at 4 o’clock in the afternoon.  The ground was perfectly dry making for a challenging, bumpy and very dusty ride which was sure to get the blood pumping and the suspension working hard!

In my personal opinion (as I sit here with aching thighs still…) this route probably isn’t too suitable for those new to Mountain Biking or for those that are relatively unfit as some of the uphill sections are particularly difficult especially with the rocky/gravelly undulations and some downhill sections are very fast and are likely to throw you off if you have a bike with inadequate suspension travel, that being said though this route can be taken at your own leisurely pace with plenty of opportunities to stop at a lovely English country pub for a break and a ploughmans.

If you’re local to Kent (UK) or are planning a visit down this way for a ride out I can highly recommend taking a look at the Kent Trails website for more information – The route we took is listed on the site as the Chilham to Wye route.

The Sunglasses

I usually wear a pair of Ray-Ban RB3186 Sunglasses for everyday sun protection but these are not particularly great for mountain biking especially when the going gets tough so trying a new pair of sport style sunglasses in a completely different style initially took a little bit of time to adjust to and get comfortable with.

Trying the Rudy Project Rydon on for the first time took a little adjusting to get fitment right, thankfully the frame comes with adjustable temples and nose piece making finding the perfect fit relatively easy, and after 10 minutes or so with the arms tucked through my helmet strapping I had soon adjusted to the frames and forgot I was wearing them.  First impressions, also thanks to the lightweight design, were impressive.

These sunglasses also feature Rudy Project’s ImpactX lenses, a virtually unbreakable lightweight material.  Below is a video clip released by Rudy Project about these lenses:

Whats in the box?

As with all Rudy Project products the Rydon comes nicely packaged with the package containing the Sunglasses, a hard case (not shown), a soft case, and full information about the frame and instructions for changing the lenses.  The hard case also comes with enough room to store another pair of lenses in but in reality the hard case is perhaps a little too large to carry around with you comfortably – I had to leave this in the car while riding.

Style & Design

The Rudy Project collection is all about sporty designs fit for a sporting purpose rather than just general fashion wear so you’re unlikely to find the Rydon in any pub gardens (unless you’re stopping at The Tickled Trout in Wye for a cheeky break of course…) or at any music festivals.  The Rydon that I tested featured an Ultralight Kynetyum Frame, Adjustable Temples and Nose piece, and Interchangeable Lenses that can be removed and replaced within seconds making them perfect for any face size and any lighting conditions.

One issue I did notice with the design was that the lenses were prone to fogging up when you were stationary after a period of intense physical exertion, this fogging tended to dissipate as soon as you began to move and produce airflow around the lenses.  I don’t consider this to be much of a problem in the summer months as the vast majority of the time you’re always on the move so the fogging does not occur, however, during the winter months when the temperatures are considerably cooler I think the fogging may become more of a problem and an anti-fogging solution may need to be applied to the lenses.

Comfort

When wearing sunglasses I expect them to feel comfortable at all times without giving me any undue pressure on the bridge of my nose or my head where sometimes they can start to give me a headache thanks to the arms pressing against my head a little too much, I also expect my sunglasses to stay in place and not slip down my nose due to the frame being too loose.  Fortunately, the Rydon proved to be very comfortable to wear from the moment of trying them on and with some minor adjustment of the adjustable temples and nose piece the sunglasses were sure to stay in place at all times even over the toughest terrain.

The ImpactX lenses gave me the confidence to push on without the fear of getting anything damaging in my eyes such as branches, stones or large bugs while the wide lenses also gave adequate wind protection during fast sections of the ride meaning I never had any tears (of joy, not pain…) streaming down my face at any point!

Vision

Our ride took place on a beautiful summers day starting at 4pm with clear blue skies and not a cloud in sight.  This ride took us through various part of the Kent countryside with various lighting conditions from open fields to sparse and dense woodland, conditions that would test the photochromic red lenses to their maximum.

Part of the ride took place in open surroundings allowing the full sunlight to activate the photochromic lenses from light red to a darker shade of red reducing the need to squint in the bright sunlight especially as the sun heads towards the horizon at around 7-8pm – this change in lens tinting is really not noticeable while riding which I consider to be a good thing.

The rest of the ride took place in vast areas of woodland of varying density meaning some poor lighting conditions, these lenses were quick to clear and were perfectly wearable in dim conditions during the day.  However, I did find that while they were fantastic during bright conditions the lenses were a little too dark at around sunset time when entering wooded areas, there were moments where I was unable to see clearly until the lenses had cleared and my eyes had adjusted to the dim light.  For evening rides where I know I’m likely to be out after sunset I would probably choose to swap to clear or perhaps yellow lenses which are great for dim lighting conditions instead of wearing no eye protection at all.

Fortunately, I’m lucky enough not to have to wear prescription glasses myself (although that probably won’t last forever…) but if I did then these Rudy Project frames are compatible with a prescription ‘clip-on’ or ‘insert’ meaning I could have clear vision while protecting my vision.  This would also mean that I wouldn’t have to worry about wearing a pair of normal everyday prescription glasses which would be totally unsuitable for riding.

Overall Impressions

My overall impression of these frames are that they are perfectly suitable for mountain biking and that I strongly recommended them for consideration while looking for similar frames from other leading brands such as Oakley, Bolle and WileyX.  The Rydon was comfortable to the point where I could forget I was wearing them and the varying amount of adjustment from these frames makes it easy to adjust to anyone’s face.

Would I buy a pair? Certainly, while testing these sunglasses I loved them so much I decided to buy that pair once I returned to the office on Monday morning!  While I wouldn’t wear these every day as a fashion item for sun protection, I would always choose to wear the Rydon during any sporting activities where I needed sun or just eye protection.  One thing I would probably consider is approaching Rudy Project for an additional set of yellow or clear lenses (ImpactX of course!) for riding during the late evening where you don’t need ultimate sun shade protection but are perfect for late evening or night rides, especially as the winter months loom just around the corner.

Plus Points

+ Great style
+ Ultra lightweight
+ Adjustable for utmost comfort
+ Interchangeable Lenses

Minor Points

- Fogged up when stationary
- Photochromic technology slow to react when entering dark areas

SelectSpecs.com Rating - 9/10

These Sunglasses for Other Sports

Don’t forget, these Rudy Project frames feature lenses that are interchangeable for different lighting conditions and different sports including, Golf, Climbing, Shooting/Hunting and much more, making these frames absolutely perfect for all sporting activities!

Mountain Biking is a fantastic sport for both the weekend warrior or the seasoned pro’s amongst us, whether you’re riding on a quaint English countryside single-track or blasting down the side of a mountain in the French Alps at over 60mph, Mountain Biking is guaranteed to get your heart pounding and the adrenalin flowing!

Now that you’ve invested £100′s or £1000′s of pounds on your weapon of choice (bike), helmet and clothing, you seriously need to consider buying an appropriate pair of sunglasses to not only protect your eyes from UV damage caused by the sun (even if you are out riding in Wales…) but also to protect your eyes from flying debris such as stones and mud, insects and branches, which could all potentially cause irreparable damage to your eyes and even blindness.  As a keen cyclist myself who loves to get out in the countryside when I can I’m of the opinion that wearing decent eye protection whilst riding is just as important as wearing a correctly fitting helmet to help protect against injury.

I’ve got the gear, but have no idea… about appropriate eye wear…

Generally, wearing any sunglasses you would normally wear to a festival, in a beer garden, or just sunning yourself on a beach, is really not suitable for gunning it on a gravelly and bumpy single track.  For a start fashionable sunglasses such as Ray-ban Aviators or Wayfarers may look cool but these styles are often loose fitting, more fragile, and feature non impact resistant lenses that will most likely fall off, break or get damaged by flying debris – Think of it like wearing flip flops, shorts and a T-shirt while riding a motorbike, not only will you look like a moron but you’re also very likely to get hurt if something goes wrong!

Top Tips for Choosing the Correct Eye Wear for Mountain Biking

1). Select a pair of sunglasses that have shatterproof lenses (see below).

2). Look for sunglasses that protect your eyes from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays.

3). Find a frame that fits snugly on your face.  Sunglasses need to fit well so that they’ll stay in place while you’re riding over bumpy terrain.  Sunglasses that wrap around to the side of your eyes will also offer you more protection from debris and branches.

4). Buy sunglasses with a yellow lens if you plan on doing most of your rides at dusk or dawn. A yellow lens allows you to easily see through shadows that occur at these times of day.

5). Select a pair of sunglasses with rose or amber lenses for all-around conditions in any light or terrain.

6). Avoid polarised lenses as these will not give you enough contrast when you’re riding in shady forest/wooded areas, early morning or evening, so there is the danger that you will not see rocks or rutted areas which could potentially cause an accident.

7). Attach a sunglasses strap around your neck to prevent lost eye wear on the trail, this will also prevent your sunglasses falling to the floor and being damaged if they do become dislodged from your face at any point.

Buy Sunglasses with Shatterproof Lenses for the Ultimate in Protection

For the ultimate in eye protection we can highly recommend the ImpactX Lenses from Rudy Project, these are strong and will not break if you’re hit by debris or branches while riding.  Rudy Project claim these lenses are stronger than Polycarbonate and Polymide lenses.

Not all Sunglasses feature such strength technology but MTB’ers should, at the very least, always consider looking to buy sunglasses that feature a polycarbonate lens rather than an easily breakable glass or CR39 lens.

Sunglasses we can Recommend for the best MTB Experience

Of course, we can highly recommend sunglasses from the Rudy Project, Bolle and Cebe ranges listed on our website and also frames by Oakley or WileyX, these are all widely regarded designers to consider when looking for suitable sport sunglasses with impact resistant lenses.  However, speaking from experience when handling some of the frames by Bolle and Cebe, these are at the budget end of the scale and do feel cheaper than similar items from that of the Rudy Project collection.

We can highly recommend the following frames to consider, all available from SelectSpecs.com today:

Rudy Project Rydon / Rydon II

Rudy Project Rydon sunglasses are perfect for mountain biking especially with their ImpactX lens options! These feature an interchangeable lens system to suit any lighting conditions, adjustable temples and nose pads, and are compatible with RX Inserts.  The Rudy Project Rydon frame is available on our website from £91.54.

World record breaker Mark Beaumont who is famous for cycling around the world is currently wearing what looks to be the Rudy Project Rydon for his current trip cycling from Anchorage, Alaska to Ushuaia in Southern Argentina.  You can keep up to date with his efforts by visiting his blog on the BBC website.

If these sunglasses are good enough for Mark Beaumont to spend all day every day in while cycling the Americas they’re good enough for me!  So over the course of a recent weekend I tried out a pair of Rydon’s with the Photochromic Red ImpactX Lenses during a local ride through some great bumpy single track routes between Canterbury and Ashford, see my review of these sunglasses coming soon… watch this space!

Bolle Traverse

Bolle Traverse Sunglasses are perfect for Mountain Biking or any other activity which requires secure fitting and high impact protection.  These sunglasses feature a high contrast rose modulator (photochromic) lens that are perfect for dim and shady riding conditions.  The Traverse frame also features additional strapping to securely fasten the frame to your head, adjustable nose pads, and a moisture absorbing foam sweat bar.  The Bolle Traverse frame is also compatible with RX Inserts and is on our website from just £86.43.

Cebe Couger

The Couger by Cebe is of similar style to the Rudy Project and Bolle frames with it’s interchangeable lens system and RX Insert compatibility.  Unfortunately there is no high impact lens option available.  The Couger (in both Summer and Winter packs) is available from £78.02.

I have a Prescription, What are my Options?

Just like wearing fashionable sunglasses like Aviators or Wayfarers, every day regular prescription glasses (even tinted or photochromic) that you may wear for reading or working in front of a computer are just not suitable for bumpy terrain.  These may give you adequate UV protection but will not provide you with adequate eye protection in the event of being hit by a stone or branch, and if you do break your prescription glasses then you could well be left without a pair of glasses until you can find a new pair.

Fortunately, some of the leading designers in sports sunglasses now supply their sports sunglasses with prescription clip-on compatibility including Rudy Project, Oakley, and a cost effective range from Bolle and Cebe.  This means you can wear a branded pair of suitable sports sunglasses while ensuring your vision is clear and crisp.  If you’re looking for a set of Clip-on lenses for your sports sunglasses, we at SelectSpecs.com have created an area listing all our Clip-on / Prescription insert compatible frames and have included a number of separate Clip-ons for you to purchase – See our Clip-on area for more details.

Now your equipment is all ready and your eyes are protected from the sun and debris damage there’s only one thing left to do, and that’s go hit those trails!!