Julbo Shield with SPECTRON 3 Lens Review

Every since stumbling across French sunglass brand Julbo, I’ve struggled to wear anything else.

Julbo was founded in 1888 in Morez, France providing crystal hunters sunglasses to use in the Jura mountain range. Since then they’ve expanded to every sport possible, making glasses for sailing, skiing, riding, running, and climbing.

Their photochromic lenses may be the best in the world, changing tint quickly with the light in any temperature, often with hydrophobic and anti-fog coatings.

This review is on a base model of the Shield frames with the Spectron 3 Polarized lens. Built for high-altitude use, they work just about anywhere. Polarization cuts glare on snow or water. spandex shields cuts light from the sides.

I much prefer photochromic lenses for most situations but there are some like driving where they don’t work as well. I’ve added a list of the other lenses available for the Shield below.

Specs

Lens

With a large, polycarbonate lens, the Shields cut the light well. Polycarbonate are lighter than glass but still very clear. The red mirror finish helps improve the filtration of light and looks great, in my opinion.

The version I tested has the Spectron 3 lens. It’s a straight category 3 lens with 12% VLT (visible light transmission). They’re good all-around sunny day lens.

The polarization cuts the light from snow, water, or road after the rain. They worked well for seeing fish through the water or just seeing at all when bright sun comes out after the rain

I prefer a cat 2 or 3 lens for driving since car windshields usually filter UV. The UV light is required to trigger the tint in the photochromic versions.

Many other lenses are available for the Shield, each with their own pricing. I have used the Reactiv (photochromic) lenses with other models and they are absolutely game-changing. They tint with the light so you never have to take them off.

• Alti Arc 4 – Cat 4 mineral lens. VLT 7%. Clearer than plastic lenses. Anti-reflective coating.
• Spectron 4 – Cat 4 polycarbonate lens. VLT 5%. Anti-reflective coating.
• Reactiv 2-4 Polarized – (old name Cameleon) – Photochromic cat 2-4 VLT 5-20%. Polarized. internal anti-fog coating. Fast tint change in any temperature. External oil repellent coating. Brown tint for relief and contrast.
• Spectron 3 – Cat 3 polycarbonate lens (VLT 13%) – multipurpose
• Reactiv 2-4 (old name Zebra) – 7-35% VLT – internal anti-fog coating, external oil-repellent coating. Cat 2 to 4 in 22 seconds.
• Reactiv 0-4 High Contrast – 4-86% VLT. Largest photochromic range on market. Clear base. Cat 4 high end. High contrast for reading relief.

Comfort and Fit

The Shield are quite large. I have medium to large head and they’re still a touch big for me. The Shield M are basically the same glasses but slightly smaller.

The nose and temples have non-slip grip on them which grips but doesn’t pull on hair. I don’t have much hair to pull on so that wasn’t an issue! It would be nice if the arms wrapped around my head a bit more to keep them in place. The arms are non-adjustable.

The Shield M has slightly shorter temples and slightly smaller lenses, making them narrower overall.

	Shield	Shield M
Lens height	45mm	43mm
Bridge width	17mm	17mm
Lens width	59mm	54mm
Temple length	130mm	120mm

Silicone Cord

The Shields come with a short silicone cord that fits snug around the back of your head. It was very easy to put on and off. It’s not very long but gives enough space to put them on and off, or hang around your neck.

They can be slid on further to keep them tight against your head if you want.

The ends of the temples have openings for standard leashes as well.

Shield

The Shields come with spandex, clip-on shields for the side of the lenses. They clip on easy put stay put very well. I never had an issue with them moving. They do reduce ventilation a little so if you’re sweating buckets you might want to remove them. They do have small vent holes in them with help a little.

A small tab holds them to the inside of the arm and they are quick to clip on and off. I found they touched my face a bit if the glasses were pushed in tight.

The spandex is heat, cold and water resistant. They don’t absorb anything so you can use them in any conditions.

Case

Julbo includes their standard hard and soft-sided case with the Shields. The top and bottom are hard, while the sides are soft. They pack down in your gear without taking up a lot of room.

Final thoughts

Julbo sunglasses are easily the best I’ve ever used. The prices are up there with the best brands in the world but absolutely worth it, especially for the photochromic lenses.

The Shields are ideal for high-altitude use but I’ve often got them on fishing, driving, hiking and biking. The cat 3, non-photochromic lens are perfect for driving or most sunny days. The Spectron lenses are also $150 less.

My favourite lenses are either the Reactiv 2-4 Polarized for sun and water or the Reactiv 0-4 for low light general use. Being able to wear them all day and still being able to see in any light conditions was game-changing for me. Most of my sunglasses I’ve broken or lost, I took them off because they were too dark or light.

Prices:

SPECTRON 3: $157.49 CAD

REACTIV 2-4 Polarized: $305 CAD

More Photos

I received a free product sample from Julbo to test for this review. This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I believe in. All opinions are my own.