Eye protection: which solution for your sport?

Bright light, dry air, cold, splashing mud and water… When practicing sport, your eyes are exposed to many potentially damaging factors. Eye protection is therefore essential. What exactly are the risks for your eyes? And which solution is the right one for your sport?

Sportspeople: do you actually have to protect your eyes?

To ensure your visual performance matches your sporting performance, having good vision isn’t enough. In outdoor sports, the weather conditions pose potential risks for your eyes. The most common hazards are:

• Cold

The cold in high-altitude mountains will severely test your eyes. Unprotected skiers are at risk of corneal or eyelid frostbite. The symptoms are a sensation of fogging in the eye, associated with stinging and excessive tear secretion. If frostbite isn’t treated quickly, it can lead to irreversible necrosis.

• Foreign bodies

Insects, dust, sand, branches, splashing water and mud, rain: so many external factors that can blind you during your sport and cause injuries and occasionally irreparable damage.

• UV light

The light emitted by the sun is particularly harmful for our eyes. Exposing them without protection is hazardous, especially in environments with strong glare (snow and sand). The risk? A decrease in visual acuity and eye fatigue, and in the long term, development of diseases such as snow blindness where the cornea is burnt by light reflecting off the snow.

Did you know?

The UV index increases by 10% every 1,000 meters of altitude and snow reflects back 85% of sunlight.

• Dry air

The tears that protect and lubricate the cornea quickly evaporate as a result of speed, wind and lack of humidity. The eyes then start to sting, burn and sometimes produce excessive tears: this condition is called dry eye. Well known to sportspeople, it interferes with your vision when practicing sport (half-closed eyelids, difficulty concentrating on your line, etc.) and can damage the cornea over the long term.

>  Also see: Prescription sunglasses: which solution for your sport?

Which type of eye protection for your sport?

Wearing eye protection when practicing sports is not only a question of performance, but also safety: it will preserve the health of your eyes and improve your visual acuity.

This is why contact lenses aren’t enough: although they allow you to see better, they don’t protect against weather conditions (cold, wind, etc.) and UV light. There are two possible solutions for your sport: sports sunglasses or goggles.

Sports sunglasses

The golden rule for getting the best eye protection: choose sunglasses adapted to your sport, because not all sports are practiced under the same conditions. Wearing sunglasses specially designed for your activity offers two key benefits in terms of both protection and performance. And good news for glasses wearers: a wide range of prescription sports sunglasses are now available.

Lenses for every activity

At Julbo we use the expertise we’ve gained over more than 125 years to serve all sportspeople. In order to offer high-quality eye protection, we adapt the frame and lens technology to the needs of each sport.

Our ranges of sunglasses are suitable for many speed and endurance sports such as mountain biking, sailing, ski mountaineering and running. They’re fitted with SPECTRON or REACTIV lenses featuring protection against splashing mud, water and impacts, an expanded field of vision and anti-fog treatment. Different ranges of sunglasses are available, for example, our Fury, Rush or Ultimate models.

Goggles

For fans of speed sports, there is an alternative to sports sunglasses, namely goggles. Combined with a helmet, they offer unrivalled visual comfort that’s particularly useful in bad weather.

For glasses wearers, there are two types of goggles: 

-     Optical clips: these are corrected for your vision by an optician and fit inside the goggles of our OTG range.

-     Ski goggles designed for prescription glasses: the foam and frame is specially cut to accommodate all temples.

>  Also see: Sunglasses or goggles: what’s the best choice for MTB? Rémy Métailler gives you the lowdown