Bolle Lens Technology

Bolle Lens technology is some of the most advanced around. Rivalled by few, the brand strives to be the best. And it is evident in the lenses. Those who love sports will be familiar with the brand. But, with many lens options around it can be confusing which to choose.

Bolle has three (3) lens options when it comes to their sports eyewear. These are ranked by level of performance. Each adding their own talent to the equation.In order of performance high to low we have, Phantom, Volt+ and Polycarbonate lenses.

Below we outline the different technologies and which suit what sport best. Including our handy guide which you can save for future reference.

Quickly jump to each section here:

Bolle Phantom Lenses

Bolle Volt+ Lenses

Bolle Polycarbonate Lenses

Bolle Snowboarding and Skiing Lenses

Bolle Mountain Biking Lenses

Bolle Golf Lenses

Bolle Water Sports Lenses

Bolle Tennis Lenses

Bolle Running Lenses

Bolle Phantom Lenses (Phantom+ Lenses)

We start with the best of the best. Bolle Phantom Lenses are the premium and most impressive lenses on offer. Therefore, they generally carry a higher price.

So what makes these lenses so good? Why are they the best?

Well, everything packed into this lens is to ensure only the best performance and visual experience. The aim is to provide the utmost optical clarity possible. Being the best in the biz is the only goal. Anything less is failure in Bolle’s eyes.

At the fundamentals, the lens is a photochromic lens with a high contrast. This means that the lens darkens more when more UV rays pass through the lens. This is usually when the sun is brighter, but not always. These work in a similar way to transition lenses. You know the ones that turn into sunglasses as you walk out the door? Except, the Bolle Phantom lens starts with its natural tint and gets darker from there.

In fact, the lens starts at a cat.1 lens. This is the lowest category of protection for sunglasses. When the UV rays are this low it is usually really dark. So the lenses have a faint tint to increase your vision.

As the UV Rays increase so does the tint. From cat.1 to cat.2 and finally to cat.3. Cat 3 lenses are the most common lenses you find in designer sunglasses. At this level the lenses block most glare and are great for a normal bright day. So throughout varying light levels the lenses adapt to give you the perfect protection.

Next, add a premium anti-fog to the mix. This is a coating that, you guessed it, prevents the lens from fogging. This helps keep the view clear and free of that horrid blurry effect fogging causes. This is in addition to the anti-scratch technology.

The anti-scratch technology helps keep the lens free from scratches. Pretty straight forward right? It is a handy feature to have. This allows the lenses to keep in great condition and avoid any annoying scratches getting in the way of your vision.

The anti-fog and scratch actually last 40% longer than standard. So you really get a premium long-lasting lens. Again, this is why they cost that bit extra.

But it isn’t just the fancy coatings and the funky lens tint changing magic that ensures these Phantom Lenses are incredible. Oh no! We have just scratched the surface. Or at least tried to until the anti-scratch technology stopped us from doing so…

The lens itself is curated from a special material Bolle call NXT. Now, this is where the lens gets even more impressive. NXT is just a fancy branded name and doesn’t mean much. A bit like Oakley’s Prizm Lenses.

NXT is born from a military background. The material was first seen in Jet canopies and Helicopter windshields. You know, the part a pilot looks through in a helicopter or a fighter jet on military operations. That’s pretty cool. But also, incredible to think that is the material covering your eyes when wearing Bolle sunglasses!

Bolle adapts the material into NXT. This is put through many impact resistance tests. So you know if anything hits the lenses, your eyes are protected. So much so the material is actually used by those in demanding industries. For example, Mining and construction workers use the lenses for their impact-resistant capabilities.

They aren’t heavy lenses either. In fact they are the second lightest in the world today. 14% lighter than a standard polycarbonate lens. So, even when the lens it large, the weight isn’t.

Finally, if you want a polarized version then look for Phantom+. This is the polarized version of a Bolle Phantom lens. Just keep an eye out for that + when shopping about, it is easy to miss but makes a difference!

Bolle Volt + Lenses

Bolle Volt+ lenses are clever little things. Much less focused on being the best lens like the Phantom above, but more about colour enhancement.

To some, it may seem that Bolle has gone all “mad scientists” on us. To others, they will think the use of artificial intelligence to help increase colour perception in a sunglass lens is pure genius. We sit with the latter.

To start, the AI was used to find out what wavelength needed to be enhanced or dampened. Over 20,000,000 (20 Million) different enhancement possibilities were evaluated. This allows Bolle to be the architects of a chemical compound that enhances their findings. This compound ensures only the right wavelengths are absorbed. Then some more science involving blending pigments (we’re not too sure either) gets us to the Bolle Volt+ Lens. Still with us?

Now, lets talk about what that actually means to us. After Bolle finish playing with computers and we assume a bunsen burner we get to look through a Volt+ Lens. Full of promise of the best colour enhancement in a sunglasses lens.

This is evident through the contrast the Volt provides. Generally, a normal colour enhancement will only enhance one colour at a time, disregarding the rest. Volt+ on the other hand enhances all colours at the same time. In numbers, this is an enhancement of 30%. Double what the closest competitor produces (15%).

This helps increase the depth perception through the lens. This is great for every day, but also for sports. Allowing you to quickly assess what is ahead.

These lenses are polarized as standard. This helps block the glare from the world around from ruining your vision. This can be quite uncomfortable and also cause headaches.

Bolle Polycarbonate Lens

Polycarbonate lenses are pretty standard. They’re rather inexpensive to produce. Therefore, they’re a bit cheaper for the customer too. Yet they provide a good level of protection and performance. This is no different for Bolle Polycarbonate lenses.

The lens is lighter and 20 times more impact resistant than glass. This makes it much better for sport. Plus more comfortable and extra durable for everyday use.

If you are looking for an affordable style that is good all-round. Check out a pair that has a Polycarbonate lens. These are available in a polarized version too.