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The Cébé Outflow Lite may be the best value photochromic sunglasses around at the moment but just how good are these ‘value’ line sunnies?
Sunglasses are an Important piece of protective kit for many outdoor sports as well as being an essential fashion accessory for many folk! Now despite what ZZ Top may say ‘Cheap Sunglasses’ are not a good idea. Poor optical clarity and questionable UV protection may result in crashes from failure to see terrain clearly and in the long term eye damage from the effects of poorly filtered UV.
Decent sunglasses are essential for alpine climbing, skiing, trail running, biking, you name it. They are also very nice to have for regular hikes or posing at the crag. The problem comes from the price/performance/longevity equation. There is no escaping that most sunglasses are fairly easily destroyed and its not usually because you’ve stacked into some tree. The biggest culprit in my experience is the users own backside sitting on them when the sunnies are on a seat or in a pack or jacket or flicking them off your head when you forget they’re perched up there (especially on caps). Alongside accumulated scratches that will eventually irritate you your sunglasses or their lenses have a variable but finite lifespan. I’ve known friends go through two or three pairs a year. I’ve always been careful/lucky and have usually only worn the lenses out scratch wise – I still have some sunnies from the 80s which are perfectly fine. On sunnies with replaceable lenses the cost of a replacement lens should be less painful on the wallet but unfortunately it tends to be the more expensive models that you can get replacement lenses for. Recently my well worn Oakley Radars needed a new lens and even the cheapest basic versions was £60. Likewise if the manufacturer no longer makes available compatible lenses three or five years down the line you’re just left with a nice frame…
The Cébé Outflow Lite comes in at £79 for the complete sunglasses including the photochromic lens or just £59 for a plain mirror lens. That’s less than the price of a clear replaceable lens from many of the big name brands. My photochromic pair cover from CAT 1-3 which is everything from blue sky days to walk offs by headlamp. However if you’re spending a lot of time at altitude on snow then you’ll need to look elsewhere for full CAT 4. The large wrap around style provides both great protection from sunlight but also wind, meaning that you can often get away without recourse to goggles for a bit longer. The arms play nice with both both of my climbing helmets and bike helmets and can be worn both under or over the chin straps comfortably. Obviously this is a bit helmet and head shape dependant. Build quality is excellent and you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference between the Outflow Lite and similar sunnies costing twice or three times as much. Both the adjustable nose piece and the arms are removable with small metal screws but as far as I can tell replacement parts are not directly available to the public which is a shame.
Optically it’s difficult to tell the difference between the Outflows Lites and their more expensive competitors – I’ve been out on my bike and only realised I had the inexpensive Outflow Lites on when I removed them having forgotten which pair I was wearing. If you’ve not tried photochromic lenses then let me say that they’re a bit of a game changer whether it be pre-dawn alpine starts in the dark/murk, climbing out of a shady couloir onto a sunny buttress or just going in and out of the trees on a trail run or bike ride. The change is not instantaneous so don’t go charging into a dark tunnel and expect an instantly clear lens but it is plenty fast enough. Large wrap around designs are great for sun and wind protection but are often prone to fogging and though the Outflow Lites only have very minimal venting they are pretty good at staying fog free. Some fogging does occur if you stop after heavy exertion especially in cold conditions but the lenses soon clear once a bit of airflow resumes when moving again whether it is running, skiing or biking. In warmer climes I’ve had no issues at all. I wore the Outflow Lites for all but one day of a ten day Nordic tour across Norway and they were perfect, surviving a full on face-plant crash on a sheet iced slope and varied conditions. Not once did I notice any shortcomings either comfort wise or optically.
Given their performance the price for the Cébé Outflow Lites is outstanding so where have Cébé managed to save the pennies? Well the two most obvious things are the lack of a hard case (not uncommon to be fair) and no microfibre cleaning ‘sock’. The sunglasses arrive in a simple unadorned cardboard box, no flashy graphics, and wrapped in a paper thin foam protector. Personally I’m perfectly happy with this, I’ve got cleaning socks to cobble dogs with and although a hard case is nice for travel it doesn’t get taken on the hill so it’s a sensible way to save cash. The newly release Outflow Lite 2 appears to come with a hard case for the same price (not yet available on the UK website) so that’s a minor niggle quashed! The lenses are non replaceable so if you damage them its a whole new pair of sunnies but given the price that’ not a massive hardship though perhaps a demerit on the sustainability side. With regard to sustainability the Outflow Lites are constructed from Biosourced nylon consisting 65% castor oil which also floats which may be useful during water based activities.
Overall if you’re looking for sports design large shield sunglasses these are a no brainer!
Pros
- Excellent price
- Good optics
- Comfortable fit
- Durable
Cons
- Non replaceable lens
- Original Outflow Lite has no case.
SRP £79 (Photochromic) £59 (Cat 3)
Disclaimer – CGR reviewers are never paid to provide a review and the website does not take advertising. We are a bunch of keen climbers and outdoor enthusiasts that accept sample products and offer an honest and independent review of the item. The reviewer will often keep the sample after reviewing it for both hygiene reasons and more often they’re in no fit state to return!
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