Catlike D'Lux Glasses

A new design for 2011, the Catlike D'Luxs jump straight to the top of Catlike's eyewear range. Stylistically, the D'Lux bears more than a passing resemblance to Oakley's Radars, which in my opinion is a good thing, and while they aren't cheap they don't carry a price tag as hefty as the Radar's either, also a good thing.

When it comes to features, the D'Lux incorporates everything you would expect of some high-end sunnies. A light, polycarbonate frame holds everything together with rubberised arm tips providing plenty of purchase on your head. Those with larger heads might find the arms pressing uncomfortably tightly on their skull, as they do bend back in quite aggressively. However, I didn't find this to be a problem and this bend actually helps the sunglasses stay put when inserted into helmet vents. In fact, these are the only sunglasses I have used where I could descend off-road with the glasses in my helmet. The rubber nose piece can be easily adjusted by bending it ensuring that all face shapes are catered for. I've currently got 4 helmets (each from a different manufacturer) kicking about the house and the D'Luxs have played well with all of them, both in terms of compatibility with retention systems, and in terms of staying put when jammed into the vents.

The lenses are a one piece affair and are large enough to provide plenty of peripheral vision. The minimal frame also helps in this respect, with vision unobstructed even when tucked in the drops. Our test set came with a selection of 3 lenses: a photo chromatic one, a polarised red one and a mirrored one. With this selection, you should be pretty much set for whatever conditions life throws at you. I was particularly impressed with the photo chromatic lens when mountain biking. Riding off-road is particularly challenging for such lenses because conditions can change instantly from full on sunshine out in the open, to dark shade in heavily forested areas. The lenses reacted quickly to these changeable conditions where I would usually have to take my glasses off. In terms of durability, the lenses have survived multiple racing/camping weekends without a scratch. Although they don't feature any vents like some other offerings, the D'Luxs have yet to fog up even when working hard on slow uphills.

Changing lenses can be quite unnerving as you have to flex the frames significantly to do so. Practise has made the process a little easier but there are still occasions where you worry about snapping the frames. Also, whilst I'm nitpicking, the hard case provided is unnecessarily large and can be a pain to lug around. Why they couldn't have made the case the same size as every other case out there is beyond me.

For those not so keen on fluoro green, the D'Luxs come in a range of 12 colours with different frame and arm tip combinations available.

Verdict

At this price, the D'Luxs need to be seriously good to compete with the myriad of other options out there. Luckily, they are. The frames are light and durable, the lenses supplied are tough and cater for a wide range of light conditions, and the overall design is both functional and stylish.