I learned of the new Oakley Jawbones from Roadcycling.com. The Oakley brand is familiar to me and I was excited to be given the opportunity to test them. I don’t typically wear sunglasses and perceive a lot of gear to be unnecessary. My first ride came about when the cotton from the cottonwood trees was flying thicker than I have ever seen - a perfect opportunity to test these ‘bad boys’ out.    

It was bright and sunny in addition to the heavy torrent of cotton.  I was concerned about it getting into my eyes either through the air vents on the lenses or coming around the rim of the glasses.  I have a narrow face yet the Jawbone’s were a comfortable, snug fit.  They didn’t slip on my nose as I continued on my ride although I felt like I looked like I came off a ‘sci-fi’ flick.  I cruised through the never ending stretches of falling cotton and didn’t have an issue the entire ride.  The bows held snug to my peanut head. 

As a non sunglass wearer, I was amazed with the clarity of the Jawbone glasses.  The view was crisp and clear, it was as though I had a windshield on my bike.  As the day warmed up, the glasses held firmly in place on my sweaty face.  The vented design allowed airflow and there was never an issue with moisture building up behind the lenses.  After the ride my rear end was barking and my hands were sore but my eyes were happy. 

On my second test, the conditions were very different. It was overcast, cool and buggy…I needed to change the lenses.  As I began to get into the case that comes with the Jawbone sunglasses I couldn’t help but feel like I was a V.I.P! The case was awesome…zippered, padded and crush resistant.  Everything had its place and was securely contained within. There was no chance for the lenses to get scratched. 

I changed out the darker lenses with the yellow set included with the Jawbone. The swinging arms allowed for easy removal and replacement of the lenses. This “Switchlock” technology was new to me but simple to use. The clarity was equally superb with the yellow lenses thanks to Oakley’s High Definition Optics (HDO).  I went through masses of flying bugs without incident other than ingesting several hundred gnats.    

Even with my reluctance about gear, the Oakley’s changed my belief about sunglasses. Their usability in universal conditions and their simplistic lens change system have made them an addition to my cycling gear. The aggressive styling is new to me. I really liked the way the Oakley Jawbone performed while riding but I still think I look a bit silly in them.  Oh well. At least I won’t get stopped by the fashion police.

Visit Oakley online at www.oakley.com.

Buy the Oakley Jawbone sunglasses online at Chain Reaction Cycles.