Costa - Bay Frame Sunglasses

Test Report by Joe Schaffer

INITIAL REPORT - September 18, 2018
FIELD REPORT -December 5, 2018
LONG TERM REPORT - January 7, 2019

REVIEWER INFORMATION:
NAME: Joe Schaffer
EMAIL: never2muchstuff(at)yahoo(dot)com
AGE: 70
GENDER: Male
HOME:  Bay Area, California USA

     I enjoy California's central Sierras, camping every month with a goal to match my age in nights out each year. For comfort I lug tent, mattress, chair and such. Typical summer trips run 5-8 days; 40 lb (18 kg), about half food and water related; about 5 miles (8 km) per hiking day in the bright and sunny granite in and around Yosemite. I winter base camp most often at 6,000 to 7,000 ft (1,800 to 2,000 m); 2 to 3 nights; 50 lb (23 kg); a mile or so (1.6 km) on snowshoes.

Product: Bayside sunglasses

Manufacturer:  Costa Del Mar

    Website: https://www.costadelmar.com
    Features: from website
           
    Frame Fit: Medium Fit
    1. Frame Width 137.0 mm (5.4 in)
    2. Bridge Width 18.0 mm (0.7 in)
    3. Lens Width 56.0 mm (2.2 in)
    4. Lens Height 45.0 mm (1.8 in)
    5. Temple Arm Length 125.0 mm (4.9 in)

    Lens composition:
    C-WALL Molecular Bond
    Mirror (Optional)
    Polycarbonate Lens
    Polarized Film
    Polycarbonate Lens
    C-WALL Molecular Bond

Frame colors: Tortoise (received), Bahama Blue Fade, Black, Matte Coral

Lens colors, polarized glass or plastic: Blue Mirror (for open, reflective water), Copper (for variable light, driving) (received), Gray (for every day activities), Green Mirror (for high contrast), Copper Silver Mirror (for natural contrast), Gray Silver Mirror (for every day activities).

My Specs: 
        Weight: glasses alone 1 oz (29 g); cleaning cloth 1/4 oz (4 g); case 2 3/8 oz (69 g): total = 3 3/4 oz (105 g)
        Dimensions:
             Width: 5 1/2 in (14 cm)
             Bow length: 5 in (12.7 cm)
             Bow height: 7/16 (11 mm)
             Lens width: 2 3/16 in (5.6 cm)
             Lens height: 1 3/4 in (4.5 cm)

MSRP: US $199

Received: September 12, 2018

My Description:
    These are relatively thin-frame sunglasses with a moderate 'wrap' around the face. The 580P polarized lenses are mirrored slightly. Built-in nose pads intend to offer cushioning and better grip on the nose. Bows bend slightly down at the ear, but do not curve around the ear. The glasses come with what seems a sturdy zip-close hard case and a cloth wipe. According to the company's website the lenses are more clear than other sunglasses because of patented composition. The lens is actually six layers (itemized above). Two top and bottom layers are C-WALL, a molecular bond which is scratch resistant. Two layers are polycarbonate (and trivex in prescription) for light and durable lenses. The mirror layer is optional. The composition is claimed to cut haze and blur for greater clarity and provide 100% protection from UV light, also absorbing HEV light known to cause macular degeneration, pterygium, cataracts and other eye diseases.
    Costa sells a wide variety of frame styles and includes prescription lens options. They also sell a large assortment of tees both long and short sleeve; hats and accessories. Costa also supports environmental causes, including getting plastic out of the ocean, a big problem that rings my bell. A company that sells plastic products should be so involved in responsible disposition of the daily tonnage of plastic used and tossed ultimately into the ocean.
 
Impressions:
    My first impression was how light they are--second, actually, as they don't look feather-light. I find the lenses phenomenally clear and I like the copper shading. Of course the mirror lenses are really cool because no one will be able to see where I'm looking. I like narrow bows that don't block a lot of peripheral vision, yet the wrap looks enough to keep most light out. The nose pads appear to offer good grip on my narrow bridge, and overall the fit is terrific.  No 'sock' for carrying, though there is a cleaning cloth.

Field Conditions: all USA
    1. Oct 5-12, 2018: Dinkey Lakes Wilderness, California. Eight days backpacking 15 mi (24 km) including 4 mi (6 km) cross-country. Camping at 8,300-10,000 ft (2,500-3,000 m); 29-65 F (-2 to 18 C). Half the days mostly sunny; rest of days partly or all cloudy with brief snow showers one day.
    2. Oct 20-25, 2018: Emigrant Wilderness, California. Six days backpacking 12 mi (20 km) including 3 mi (5 km) cross-country. Camping at 7,200 and 7,600 ft (2200 & 2300 m); 32-60 F (0-16 C). Sunny.
   3. Nov 14-16, 2018. Lake Alpine, California. Car camping two nights. 7,400 ft (2,300 m). 32-60 F (0-16 C).
   4. Nov 20 & 24, 2018. Interstate driving. Mostly sunny. Mostly clear pavement with 100 mi (160 km) of light ice and snow; predominantly North going and South returning.
    5. Dec 1, 2018: Highway driving, sunny.
   
Impressions:
    1. Oct 5-12, 2018: I left the car wearing the sunglasses into the forest. One can expect rapidly changing light from shadows to bright sun, and that's what the first day offered. Immediately I liked the copper lenses for how well they let my eyes relax in bright sun, yet for the clarity of stuff in the shade and shadows. Glare-cutting was great, without feeling dark.
    Hiking was cold, but the glasses did not fog. The curve of the frame and size of the lenses did a good job of keeping glare at bay, but let enough cold air behind the lens to keep things from fogging. I don't much care for 'seeing' frame and I barely noticed it. In sharp gusts I could feel air coming in under the glasses and my eyes would get cold. I probably wouldn't want them for mountain glasses, but they work great for down-to-earth hiking. I'll take the trade-off of cool peepers for the sanity of not having to clear fogged lenses.
    The glasses are so light I had no difficulty with them slipping down my very narrow nose bridge. Occasionally I would tip my hat back and that would cause the frame to lift up, but the specs never fully abandoned their perch.
    I wore the glasses for all of the five-and-a-half hour drive home in bright sun and felt no fatigue.
   
    2. Oct 20-25, 2018: No additional observations.

    3. Nov 14-16, 2018: No additional observations.

    4. Nov 20 & 24, 2018: I wore the sunglasses about 450 mi (725 km) of the 550 mi (900 km) trip each way-from when I started in the morning until sundown. Given the direction of travel I rarely had sun directly in my eyes, but when I did the glasses were not dark enough to keep my eyes comfortable. The trade-off is that at all other times my eyes felt completely relaxed. My eyes easily made the transition to light under clouds or in shadows. This is the longest I've worn the glasses, about eight hours each way, and I remain impressed with their comfort. Sometimes I feel 'enclosed' wearing sunglasses, but that never happened. I also never developed any sore spots at the ears or bridge of my nose. They stayed in place so well I quickly forgot I had them on. The temples are fairly narrow and situated above my level line of sight, such that I never felt any impairment of peripheral vision.

    5. Dec 1, 2018: No additional observations from driving 120 mi (190 km).

LONG TERM REPORT

Field Conditions:
    6. Local driving, mostly sunny.

Impressions:
    No additional observations.

Accumulated wearing: 129 hours. Driving and hiking: 2,074 mi (3340 km).

SUMMATION: Light! Comfortable. Good coverage and clear vision.
  
Thank you Costa Del Mar and BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to test this product. The test is complete.