French brand Julbo might not be as well-known as some premium rivals, but it’s been making quality eyewear competing with the best mountain bike glasses for over 100 years.

This Fury Reactiv is just 25g and has a light-adapting photochromatic lens designed for changeable conditions. It’s lightweight and minimal, but has wide coverage and protection, in the vein of many of the bigger 1980s-inspired glasses around.

The tough polycarbonate lens has excellent clarity and contrast to pick out fine edges on the trail and is only fully fixed at the nose bridge, with the rest floating with little gaps between the frame for better ventilation to resist fogging.

I generate a lot of heat when riding, and while the Furys occasionally steamed up when sat at the top of climbs, it’s better than many glasses I’ve tested in this respect and clears really fast with a quick swoosh in the hand or by setting off riding. The lens doesn’t immediately react as you leap out of the open into the trees; the gradual change takes about ten seconds, but I never found it too dark at the wrong time. Having a slight tint means it’s always slightly darker than a totally clear lens for gloomy UK woods anyway.

The fit is very stable and worked well with the two different helmets I tried – there’s even a soft, rubberised bridge on the arms where they sit on top of the ears.

One issue I had is that the frame sits pretty close to the face, and my bushy eyebrows occasionally smeared sweat on the inside of the lens, but not all face shapes will have this issue. Lens toughness appears good too, as after multiple muddy rides and cleans, there’s nothing more than a few micro marks and scratches on the lens.

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