Julbo continues to build on their fantastic collection of mountain glasses. This time around they have brought on Ultra Athlete Kilian Jornet to take the helm with the Faster L Kilian Jornet collab. Read on to find out if they made me faster, made me think I was faster, or just avoid burning my cornea at 4,000m above sea level.
Julbo Faster L Kilian Jornet Specs
- Temple and Nose piece Material: Rilsan
- Color: Light Blue Glacier
- Lens: Reactiv High Contrast (87-15%)
- Lens Base Color: Red
- Weight: 25 grams
- Country of Origin: Europe
Kilian Who?
Kilian Jornet is one of the fastest trail runners and mountaineers on earth. He has won the UTMB, Hard Rock 100, Sierre Zinal, and has set fastest known times on the Matterhorn, Mont Blanc, Denali, and Aconcagua. In 2017 he climbed Everest twice within a week, without supplemental oxygen or fixed ropes. He also climbed all 82 of the Alps’ 4,000 m peaks in 19 days. If any one deserves a pro sunglass named faster, it is Kilian.
What is the Julbo Faster L?
The Julbo Faster L Kilian Jornet sunglasses are lightweight moderately large wrap-around sport glasses. There are three versions of the Faster, an S, L and XL. I chose to test the Faster L Kilian Jornet version as anything but a large sunglass looks a little out of place on my noggin. I would normally have gone for XL but who am I to argue with a man who can ascend 82 mountains in 19 days?
Fit
The Julbo Faster’s frameless 3-Link design means the arms and nose piece attach straight to the lens, which is how Julbo manages to keep the weight of the glasses down to 25 grams. The nose piece is flexible. Push and pull the nose wings gently and they hold shape. At first I didn’t realize they were adjustable and therefore the glasses sat far too close to my face. The Grip Tech temples are the same soft material that I praised the Fury for. They don’t grab my hair and show absolutely no wear after a full summer of use.
I would normally go for the XL size of any eyewear but with Kilian’s name on these I had to give them a shot. I honestly didn’t notice any difference. In fact, larger glasses would often push right up against my hat or bike helmet. These don’t, and the lens still gives me plenty of coverage.
If you are curious about the size differences, here is a chart I made with info from Julbo’s homepage:
| S | L (Tested) | XL | |
| Lens Height | 49mm | 55mm | 59mm |
| Lens Length | 127mm | 135mm | 141mm |
| Nose Length | 14mm | 14mm | 14mm |
| Temple Length | 133mm | 133mm | 133mm |
What makes them Kilian?
Kilian’s version of the Faster L is inspired by the Norwegian glaciers where he lives. The temples and nose piece are listed as Light Blue Glacier. In person, it is very reminiscent of glacial flour filled Bow Lake in the Canadian Rockies.
The color choice doesn’t just stop at the nose piece and temples, but it also continues to the Kilian Jornet embossed lens.
What is a Reactiv High Contrast Lens?
The Julbo Faster L Kilian Jornet uses a Reactiv High Contrast lens, a photochromic lens that can adjust from 15% light transmission all the way to 87%. That’s category 0 to 3 so it covers dawn and bright afternoons. If you were heading for long days on the glacier then you may want to look at a lens that has category 4 protection.
Transition speed is the first thing I noticed. Changing from 15% to 87% is wicked fast. If you wear these mountain biking in the forest and then pop out into a sunny clearing I would not be worried. Same if you find yourself sprinting down to Zinal just like Kilian.
On older Julbo glasses I sometimes noticed a thin strip of bright light hitting the side would leave a hard line of darker tint across the lens. I haven’t seen that once with the Faster L.
The base tint of the Faster L Kilian glasses is red. This base color really helps to add contrast especially when the light gets a little flat. Think light to full overcast. It does give things a little bit of a reddish tint. It is similar to the start of sunset. It’s not distracting at all, but will occasionally lead you to looking at your watch early wondering if it’s going to get darker than expected.
It is claimed that the base tint is fully translucent in the dark. However, in practice there is a minuscule bit of red tint left at 0%. I have to look at my computer monitor to see it. I still tend to take the glasses off once the sun has set. This is more a sign of my aging eyes than the glasses themselves.
Sleepy Sunglass Case?
With the Faster Julbo has changed up their case game. Gone is the collapsible hard sided case that was fantastic. Included is a sunglass sized sleeping bag. It is divided into two parts, one for the glasses and one for the cleaning cloth. According to the cloth, the case was developed by Peugeot. The QR code links to the Julbo website. I miss the hard case.
The Julbo Faster L Kilian Jornet on the Trail
I wore the Julbo Faster on the trail every single day this summer. My hat goes on at breakfast and the sunglasses go on top of it. One morning I forgot to put my Faster L on my head and I only noticed when I reached for them. That tells you how light and comfortable they are.
They’ve now stood up to over 100 days on the trail without a single scratch. I even wore them on the one snowy day of the season, and they did a fantastic job of keeping the driving snow out of my eyes. They did not fog up at all.
On hot climbs there is a tiny bit of slippage, about 1 mm if I had to guess. Then the Faster just stays put. It takes a while for me to notice, usually because I’m focused on the climb. It’s a minor niggle.
All in all, the Faster L Kilian Jornet is a light, fast-reacting mountain sunglass that disappears on your face. The Reactiv High Contrast lens keeps up with quick changes in light, and the red base tint helps add contrast when the light goes flat. I miss the old hard case, and with a Category 3 maximum they aren’t the lens for long glacier days. For trail running, hiking, mountain biking and fast-and-light mountain days, they’re easy to recommend.
Who are the Julbo Faster L Kilian Jornet for?
The Julbo Faster L Kilian glasses are a light, fast-reacting mountain sunglass with a strong lens that is well designed for any mountain pursuit. They will not help you become as fast as Kilian but they will be a reliable companion in your choice for those speeds.
Looking to pick up a pair of Julbo Faster L Kilian Jornet glasses, head on over to JULBO.
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BlackSheep was provided with a free sample of the Julbo Faster L Kilian Jornet Sunglasses for this review. This in no way affected our editorial stance.
