Bolle 5th Element Pro

Field Notes: While technology and style will always be key drivers for Bolle, the company is careful to divide products into the two categories: lifestyle and performance. Sunglasses are separated by category: lifestyle or specific sport, including cycling, golf, water and snowsports. 

Bolle believes its advancements in lens material is connected to performance, including the correlation between visual acuity and hand-eye coordination. Bolle's B-Clear lenses (used for the majority of the sunglasses in the brand's Competitor series) are made with Trivex, which has better optical clarity than polycarbonate as well as being lighter weight so lenses can wrap father back on your face and provide greater coverage without becoming overly heavy.

Advancements in existing technologies like photochromic lenses and anti-fog are additional features with B-Clear lenses, included in the 5th Element Pro and B-Rock, both of which are solid choices for activities like cycling. The 5th Element Pro comes in 10 styles, with shield-style lens, some of which are polarized.

Choosing a particular lens color should be determined based on your primary activity, as different lens colors are preferable for different situations. Yellow tints are a good choice for low light or whiteout snowy conditions, blue colors for water sports, and green and grey for all-day use and moderately changing light. Bolle’s modulator lenses uses photochromic technology to adjust with changing light conditions and include brown emerald, rose and amber tints.

If casual is more your style, you may prefer re-ignited models from the brand's portfolio from the 1980s: recently introduced men’s 527 and women’s 473 are two of Bolle's lifestyle sunglasses that Active Junky testers were drawn to. Today's versions of these classics feature polycarbonate lens materials that provide distortion-free vision and greater impact resistance, proven through our testing, and light frames with solid durability. Both 527 and 473 are available in 10 styles with varying frame color, lens tint and polarization.

Pros: Top quality for action sports.

Cons: Could be more than tech than some people need in performance models like 5th Element.

Tester Comments: “My Bolle sunglasses are one of my most important physical possessions.”

Key Attribute: Functionality

Best For: Cycling with Competitor Series models like the 5th Element Pro