The Julbo Slack Cover are hybrid, lifestyle-performance sunglasses that can transform from glasses for walking around town to glacier glasses for ski mountaineering objectives. I tested out the Slack Cover in a variety of settings, from driving my car around town to the coffee shop to the high peaks of the Cascades. Overall I liked the Slack Cover and will continue to use them, although they are a little small for my face.
Style
The first thing I noticed about the Slack Cover was their boldness. I got the white/orange color scheme which had quite the flare to it. I am not a bold person when it comes to style, so at first this was a bit of an adjustment. But I came to like it the more I wore it! The Slack Cover is offered in a variety of color schemes, one should surely fit your taste.
Fit
The one negative thing I have to say about the Slack Cover is the lenses are a tad small for people with bigger faces. I felt that they didn’t quite fully fit my eye sockets and I could see out of the lenses when I took off the ‘cover’ pieces. When wearing them around town this wasn’t that big of a flaw, but for glacier mountaineering and other high glare activities it was a noticeable downside.
Modularity
The Slack Cover is designed with snap-off ‘cover’ pieces over the nose bridge and on the sides (typical side shields). When on, they make the Slack Cover feel like typical mountaineering sunglasses, with the ‘tunnel vision’ you may be accustomed to with other Julbo models like the Explorer or Cham. They easily snap-off when you don’t want them, whether that is after your mountain adventure or around town.
Materials
The Julbo Slack Cover frames are made from lightweight, recycled materials, for this particular model, bio-sourced Rilsan (a castor bean derivative). The lenses are Julbo’s typical polycarbonate lenses, which are durable but can scratch if you aren’t careful. The glasses have a comfy nose bridge design with a tacky rubber that keeps them from bouncing. A similar tacky rubber is used on the temple-side of the frames, which keeps it on your head well. I enjoyed the Slack Cover material selection, finding it comfortable and lightweight.
Lenses
The Slack Cover come in either Spectron 4 or Spectron 3 darkness, with options for Polarized or un-Polarized. I tested out the Spectron 3 Polarized version. The lenses are crisp, with no color distortion. Some lenses over-hue based on their tint, I did not find that to be the case with the Spectron 3 polarized version.
As is typical with polycarbonate lenses, it is possible to scratch them if you are rough on them. I tried to always keep them in the carrying case when they were in my pack or on the move.
Final Word
I enjoyed the style and comfort of the Slack Cover, from the mountains to driving to the coffee shop. I have a fleet of Julbo sunglasses, at this point, and they are a differentiated, fun pair of sunglasses that I’m excited to wear around town. They are a little small for my face and won’t always be in my glacier mountaineering kit for that reason, but their performance is excellent for people with a slightly smaller eye socket.
Summary
High quality lenses for casual and mountain activities
Small lens size for fit consideration
Lightweight frames with comfortable rubber on nose bridges
Pros:
High quality, crisp lenses
Multiple color palettes
Cons:
Small lens size for fit to consider
Rate (out of 5 stars, 1 being awful, 5 being perfect) the following categories:
Quality: 5 | Features: 4 | Fit: 3 | Durability: 4 | Friendliness to the Earth: 4