Review: Evil Eye Elate Extreme

I became interested in Evil Eye sunglasses—an Austrian brand—based on a key accessory: a faceguard. I’ll review the faceguard separately since Evil Eye sent a second pair of sunnies that works with the guard. This review is just for the sunnies. But know the guard is sweet.

The Elate Extremes are versatile high-altitude glasses. Though superficially unremarkable, the Extremes’ features and accessories make them great for the Greater and Medium Range explores. That doesn’t make them any less useful at lower altitudes, but they’d be a great pair of sunnies if you regularly (or hope to regularly) spend time in the bigger, colder mountains. And don’t be confused by the images on EE’s website. Although they show the Extremes with all the accessories, you can easily wear them as normal “beach” sunglasses. Meaning, pared down: solid eyewear to protect you from strong sun.

They are certainly made in the ‘old’ style of mountain eyewear: read as not a shield, but two small lenses that fit tightly and feel goggle-y. I find this to be immensely refreshing. As monocoque (single-pane) glasses have gotten bigger and bigger, it is harder and harder to touch your face or adjust your glasses without smudging them. Something I, as a regular glasses wearer, find rather irksome. Instead, there is a nice, meaty bridge area you can push on to your heart’s content. No smudging.

Like most sunnies these days, the Extremes come with a variety of lens choices. I went with a CAT 2-4 transition lens (CAT 4 being the darkest and best for very bright, glacial settings). I found the lens offers great optical clarity, and it transitions quickly. Perching them on a hat doesn’t seem to mess with the transition element as much as cheaper sunnies do. A month of skiing and three months of summer use have yielded no scratches either, thankfully. I will say the lenses are too dark (for me) for flat-light skiing, where my CAT 1-3 lenses excel. You can’t have it all, and these really excel in super bright environments, but I wouldn’t use them as my only sunglasses if I planned to do a lot of dawn/dusk/cloudy skiing. Of course, a second pair of lenses is easy enough to purchase. There are many options. And for those who want, you can add a prescription to all lenses.

Stripped of the accessories, the Extremes vent sweat much better than they would appear and are remarkably comfortable. Standard features allow customization, and EE sells the Elate Extreme in two sizes, which increases the likelihood they will actually fit your face. Even after long back-to-back days, the arms didn’t irritate my ears the way so many sunglasses do. And though I haven’t tried that hard to break them, they appear quite robust and full of replaceable parts.

The accessories, of course, are what set these apart. There are three, and I will cover two here and note the third, which is getting its own review.

1) Elate Extreme Foam Insert

The Extremes come with a removable plastic-backed foam insert. Imagine the foam around a ski goggle frame, but like 4mm thick. I haven’t had the chance to use them at extreme altitude/cold, but I have used them on a cold, blowing, foggy day of above-treeline resort skiing. Although the insert is a far cry from a real goggle, it certainly makes the Extremes usable in a pinch. During very large gusts, snow still got into the Extremes, but it seems unfair to compare them to traditional ski goggles that way. They were leagues better in that setting than regular sunnies. The foam inserts also add a little extra sun protection to the edge of the eye socket area, which is a concern given the small profile of the Extremes. Especially on trips to big mountains, or on days when a couple of hours promise to be cold and snowy, I carry these in my case. The foam insert is simple to attach and remove from the frames (with gloves). One additional consideration: if you go for the CAT 2-4 lenses (the natural choice, I think, given the other features), skiing in a storm will not be super fun if the light isn’t great.

2) Elate Extreme Goggle strap

You can swap the arms on the Extremes for a small goggle strap. On the same cold, blowing resort day, I tried to use the strap for a more secure fit. I couldn’t figure out where to rest the strap on the back of my head. Too high (under the helmet and it pulled the Extremes up, and the strap was uncomfortably pinched by my climbing helmet. Too low, and the Extremes bore into my eyebrows. It also can’t be attached ergonomically to the outside of the helmet like a goggle strap. It seems more like a polar-explorer feature than a mountaineering feature if you plan to wear a helmet. I don’t think I will be using this much going forward.

3) Elate Extreme Faceguard

Stay tuned for a freestanding review! This feature was what drew me to the Extremes in the first place. Suffice it to say, best faceguard I’ve used yet.

The Extremes cost $80 more than the Stormline Pro with a comparable lens. (We’ll review the Stormlines in a separate post. The Stormlines offer slightly larger lenses, a sweat bar, and side shields.) Given that the only feature the Extremes offer over the Stormlines that a skier would use is the foam insert, I find the use case for such a pair of glasses somewhat limited compared to the Stormlines. If you are a frequent Alaska Range skier, these could hold some particular appeal, but if you primarily ski in mountains smaller than that, I can’t say the Extremes are the right sunnies for you.

However, I can’t recommend a pair of Evil Eyes enough (particularly one of the models compatible with the faceguard). These are extremely (hah) well-made sunglasses that I think deliver a ton of value for the price. And the faceguard (or smaller noseguard if you prefer) is invaluable, even if imperfect.