When a cyclist works up a sweat during a long climb or fast sprint, it is not uncommon for the heat and perspiration to get trapped behind their lens, causing them to fog over. This can lead to impaired vision, which is especially troubling when you’re screaming down the opposite side of the hill at 30-plus mph and can’t see the road in front of you. But with its latest line of cycling-focused eyewear Oakley has addressed this concern by creating a unique venting system designed to eliminate the fog altogether, helping riders to see more clearly at all times.
With just one look, it is easy to see that a lot of thought has gone into the design of the new Oakley Flight Jacket and Field Jacket sunglasses. For starters, both are equipped with the company’s Prizm lens, which have been fine-tuned to offer the best possible clarity and contrast while riding. Oakley’s engineers have achieved this by fine-tuning the way individual waves of light pass through the lenses, which in turn allows cyclists to see more details of the world around them. This makes it much easier to identify obstacles in the road or pick a safer line to ride for instance.
Oakley has also developed what it believes is a new breakthrough in airflow technology that it calls “The Advancer.” Located in the bridge of the nose on the sunglasses, The Advancer gives riders the ability to improve ventilation at the touch of a toggle switch. When the switch is moved into place it not only opens a small vent in the nose of the glasses, it also causes the nose piece to slide slightly away from the frame. This has the added effect of moving the sunglasses ever so slightly away from the face, creating more airflow in the process. This should, in theory, help to keep fog from developing on the inside of the lenses.
The Flight Jacket and Field Jacket have also been designed to be extremely aerodynamic, while also offering 100 percent UV protection, too. The two models differ in some important ways, however, including the fact that the Flight Jacket features an open-edged brow for an improved field of view. That model also comes with interchangeable temple lengths to improve compatibility with a wide variety of bike helmets. Meanwhile, the Field Jacket is a dual-lens model with a more traditional-looking frame that has been built to accommodate prescription lenses.
Both the Flight Jacket and Field Jacket are available now on Oakley’s website.
