Thanks for tuning in today we're going to be reviewing the Bolle Bolt 2.0 cycling sunglasses.
Bolle has recently released an updated version of their Bolt sunglasses with what we have
here today the Bolt 2.0. These retain the original measurements of the original Bolt
but add a little more modern styling and new lens options.
In terms of packaging it's pretty simple black cardboard box with Bolle branding on top.
You can see the version we have here the titanium matte with the ultraviolet polarized lens
and otherwise thats about it. So we'll go ahead and take it out of the box we'll go over specs.
Retail price on this ranges from $110 all the way up to $170 so it depends on which lens you pick.
$170 would be the Phantom photochromic lens while the 110 would be the clear
lens. The version we have here today with the ultraviolet volts plus is $140.
It has a semi-frameless design so it has excellent field of view. It has phantom and volt plus lenses
available and it is an interchangeable lens design so you can swap them out. It has a TR90
nylon frame so very flexible and durable. You also have thermal grip temples as well as an adjustable
nose pad to adjust the fit and the lens also have all the anti-scratch oleophobic and hydrophobic
treatments to keep them very durable for day-to-day use. In terms of what comes in the box
you get the sunglasses you get a nice zippered hard case with the Bolle logo on top which
is great for traveling with. You get a basic instruction manual here with the lens information
as well as a soft fabric bag which is great for cleaning the lenses as well as traveling with them
with a little lighter case. Lets go ahead and take a look at the weight of the Bolt 2.0 sunglasses.
So being a smaller sunglass we expect to be pretty light and that's true they come in at 28 grams.
With the current trend toward larger and larger sunglasses the Bolt 2.0 is refreshing the see.
It has a standard classic sports design with a semi-frameless profile that really looks good
on or off the bike. Bolle offers these in a variety of frame colors and lens options
everything from what we see here the titanium matte which you can see is a light gray finish
as well as black matte silver matte tortoise matte as well as other colors. Lenses are available in
everything from the Volt+ that we have here to simple clear lenses as well as the photochromic
phantom lenses. You can see the profile on the sunglasses is really sleek
you have a very subtle inward curvature here that reminds me a lot of the Oakley Radars.
ou have nice little aggressive tabs here off the lenses as well as this nice premium touch here a
little etching at the edges of the frame of the lens and actually extends the frame profile down
so nice premium touch and again with the Bolle logo you have a laser etched detail so pretty sleek.
You don't have much branding on these sunglasses which is a little bit surprising. There's no Bolle
brand here or any signature here just open and empty you have slight curvature here with little
profile lines along the frame and then Bolle on the side. You can see the temple arms are pretty
standard they come off the top and then they curve downward for a better fit. You have the thermo grip
rubber on here and nice flexible temple arms that can be molded to your head and you can see they
actually curve inward which helps retain their position when you're on the bike or even running.
You have a four position no nose pad on here with the same thermo grip rubber so you can see
you can go all the way inward if you have very narrow nose and if you have a very wide one. You
can take it all the way to the fourth position for almost flush so a lot of adjustability here.
The hinges on here are snap hinges so you can see they're just spring-loaded so once you get
about half away they'll pop into place you have a little simple bolt underneath that holds these
in place. There's nice little detailing on the arms as well you can see it's a little bit cut out that
helps them fold a bit a little bit better so you can see the cutout is actually exactly where they
land on top of each other so otherwise really sleek. It's not a super aggressive sunglasses
which means they look good on or off the bike. Now what's more important than the styling of
a pair of sunglasses are the lenses. Lenses come in a variety of categories as well as base tints
and you really want to pick the right one for your environment. Bolle has a pretty good guide on
their website so I definitely recommend checking that out and comparing the different technologies.
When it comes to lenses they typically come in four different categories you have category zero
which would be a clear lens and that allows the most amount of visible light through the lens all
the way up to category four which is very dark. What we have here today is the Volt+ ultraviolet
it's a category three so this is what generally termed as a general lens so it's very good for
bright conditions or medium conditions being in california or any other brighter area category
three is the way to go. What's nice about these is that they're polarized so this is Bolle's
revolutionary polarization technology. They claim it has 30 improved color perception and
improved depth perception so really brightens up everything around you and helps you spot
any imperfections on the road as well as just improve up your depth perception.
Now the sunglasses are also available in a variety of different lenses everything from clear
to their photochromic Bolle lenses which can actually adjust the environment.
So this is an interchangeable design and to interchange them you simply pull up on the lens
and you can see i'll pop out the inside and then there's a tab on the back side you just pull away
so again with the other one you simply pull down on the nose and it'll pop out slide it up and out.
So the lens themselves are two piece design each side is a separate piece
and you have the tabs on the edges to hold them in place.
You get a better look here at the little etching on the side which adds a nice little detail
and then the tr-90 frame which is very flexible and lightweight with the semi-frameless design.
Now let's take a look at the bolt on the road as you can see has a very
sleek style to it. It's not oversized like a lot of sunglasses on the market
instead you actually have a gap between the top of the sunglasses and the helmet and with
the semi-frameless design you actually have a wide field of view even though you don't have
an oversized frame. We're also impressed with the optics of the volt plus lens these are a polarized
lens so everything's really bright the only downside is that some things like your computer
or other smaller items might look a little odd due to the artifacts from a polarized lens. Otherwise
it's really bright there are no distortion and even in mixed conditions it worked out pretty well.
Now let's compare the bolt 2 with other sunglasses on the market most direct comparison we have
here are the oakley radars. Classic oakley model that's still available today
and it's been on the market for nearly a decade . Now you can see a very similar ultraviolet lens
so they have quite a similar coloring and very similar design elements. You have that
classical sport sunglass frame design with little swoopy edges a little bottom curve near the top
a nose bridge and then these little indentations on the lens. The main difference between the Oakley
and the Bolt 2 is that the Oakley has a single frame design it makes a little more difficult to
swap the lenses but gives it a sleeker appearance than the Bolt. Also note that the Oakley has a
concealed frame so you can see how thin the frame looks here even though the frame is thicker on the
back end and again that just gives a little bit more premium appearance where the Bolt 2
has a more traditional thicker frame with less styling to it. Otherwise really similar the bolt
is a little bit more aggressive with the little edges here on the side and the nice premium
etching on the lens itself that tend to extend the frame around virtually. Now oversized sunglasses
are really the big portion of the marker with sunglasses with cycling sunglasses here we have
the Smith Shift MAG and you can see this is with a clear lens quite a bit larger. So taller and you can see
even it goes up to the crazy POC Devour which is massive. So if you really want large field of view
you might want to consider an oversized lens but these all look a little bit goofy off the bike
where the bolts looks great whether you're driving your car or just going around errands around town.
But you definitely do pay the price with the field of view. With the semi-frameless design
of the Bolts you do have a nice bottom vision. You can compare even this versus the
POC AIM which has a semi-frameless design. You do have a wider lens on POC AIM and other oversized
lenses that provide more protection. So if you're looking left or right or down
you'll see the lens instead of seeing through the bottom of the edge.
Bolle also offers quite a few other sunglasses, we have the Lightshifter here.
The Lightshifter is similar to the Oakley style with a one lens design
and no frame between the top and the nose but it is a larger design so it extends
quite a bit. It's essentially the xl version of this with a one piece lens a little more
aggressive styling here as well with that thinner frame and venting. The bolt 2 i think
echoes that classic design language and it's a more versatile whether you're on or off the bike.
Now let's go over the scorecard for the Bolt 2.0. We're going to grade on four different categories
design optics comfort and value. In terms of design we give it an A- as an iconic sports design
that's not oversized like a lot of sunglasses on the market that means
you can actually wear this on the road in your car or just around town without looking goofy.
Optics we'd also give it an a the Volt+ lenses are a nice polarized lens with
really crisp and high contrast colors. Comfort would give it an a they're a lightweight pair
of sunglasses and easily adjustable with the temple and nose. Finally value-wise it is also an
A. The Bolt 2.0 is a very nice modernized classic it takes the classic shape of a sunglass but adds the
latest Bolle lens technology. Thanks for watching this review and don't forget to like and subscribe.
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