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Reviews > Eye Protection and Binoculars > Sun Glasses > Tifosi Optics Q3 Sunglasses > Test Report by Chuck Carnes

Tifosi
Q3
Up Close 2
Sunglasses
Initial Report: October 16, 2007
Field Report: January 8, 2008
  Long Term Report: February 25, 2008

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Name: Chuck Carnes

Age: 38
Gender: Male
Height: 6 ft. 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight: 175 lb (79 kg)
E-mail address: ctcarnes1(at)yahoo(dot)com
City, State, Country: Greenville, South Carolina USA

BACKPACKING BACKGROUND
I love the outdoors – I’ve spent time camping in the outdoors since I was born, and have been actively hiking and backpacking since then. I consider myself a lightweight hiker, usually carrying 20 – 30 pounds (11-13 kg) for hikes up to a week in length. I hike at an easy pace, averaging 2 mph (3 kph). I am a one-man tent camper for now. I like to carry a single trekking pole when I hike to help relieve stress to my legs and knees. I like to get out on the trail as often as I can.



PRODUCT INFORMATION Everything
Manufacturer:
Tifosi

Model: Q3
Style: Standard T-I090
Year of manufacture: 2007
Color: Metalic Blue
Fit: Medium to Large Faces
Included Lenses: Clear, Smoke, Yellow and AC Red
URL:
http://www.tifosioptics.com
Listed Weight:  0.85 oz (24 g)
Actual Weight:  0.80 oz (24 g)
MSRP: Not listed on web site

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

The Tifosi Q3 sunglasses are extremely lightweight and have the option of changing out the lenses for different visibility situations. The frames are made of Homoplyamide Nylon that seems to be very durable and lightweight. The lenses are made of Polycarbonate which makes them impact resistant and improves clarity. The nose and temple area are provided with a Hydrophilic Rubber for comfort.  The lenses and portions of the frame are vented for excellent air-flow.
  

I N I T I A L    R E P O R T
October 16, 2007

The Tifosi Q3 sunglasses showed up in a nice, ballistic material case with a zipper. Inside the case was the Q3's with the Smoke lenses already installed, 3 other sets of lenses (AC Red, Yellow and Clear), instructions on how to install and remove the lenses from the frame and a micro-fiber cleaning bag. After pulling the glasses from the case, I could not believe how light they felt. I ordered the Metalic Blue color but the blue seemed lighter in color than the ones on the web site. I immediately put the glasses on and the fit was perfect. I do not like sunglasses that are too close to my eyes where my eyelashes touch the lens. These were just the right distance away for this not to happen. The arms of the frame have a curve to them so the frames did not touch the side of my head until they reached my ear. The tips of the arms at the end has a small rubber piece as well as the inside of the nose area. This helps keep the glasses gripped to the face if sweating occurs.

The lenses have a small slot at the top and bottom, close to the hinge of the frame. This allows air to enter and escape the eye area, not that my eyes tend to overheat but it does help with anti-fog. The lenses are also easy to change from one style to another. To remove the lens simply hold the frames with the arms facing upward. With both thumbs and forefinger, spread frame slightly away from lens while pressing the lens out with the thumbs. This would be done for both lenses. To install the lens, hold the frames the same way except the arms are now facing down. Place the lens in place and easily spread the frames apart and using the thumbs, gently press the lens into place. The instructions that come with the glasses go into more detail with pictures on this procedure. When this is done, there will be finger prints on the lenses. The case contains a
micro-fiber cleaning bag that also acts as a cleaning cloth to clean the lenses after the installation. The case itself has a ballistic material feel to it and seems to be very sturdy to protect the glasses and lenses. Inside the case there are pockets to store the unused lenses.

I will be wearing the Tifosi Q3 Sunglasses most days if not everyday of this test period. I will most likely leave the Smoke colored lenses in for most of my journeys. If the weather calls for the others I will certainly change them out. The clear lenses had me wondering when I would use those but I realized that they will come in handy when traveling through thick brush or tree cover to protect my eyes from any object poking them, sort of like safety glasses. I look forward to many, many days with these glasses.



F I E L D    R E P O R T
January 8, 2008
In the Field

The Tifosi Q3 Sunglasses are very lightweight glasses and it has been a joy to wear them. I have worn them just about every single day from the day I received them. I keep them in my car and wear them to and from work and when I am out and about. But that is not what this report is for. I have worn them on several day hikes and during the day on an overnighter at Caesars Head. The temperatures during my day hikes have been from 75F - 55F (24C - 12C). The elevation has ranged between 1,000 ft. - 2,600 ft. (305 m - 792 m)

The glasses have worn very well. They are light enough to not feel them on my face. During my day hikes I mostly used the Smoke colored lenses because the sun was out or it was only partly cloudy. The lenses have a slight notch at the top and bottom that allows air to pass through them and into the eye area which I have found to be very nice. This keeps them from fogging if the body temperature is up and the weather is cool. The frames sort of wrap around my face which is nice so that I don't see the edge of the frames in my peripheral vision. At times when I would stop for a break on the trail I would slide the glasses on top of my head or on top of the bill of my ball cap. I like the way the arms of the frames have a curve in them to wrap around the head. This feels more secure to my face than the arms that wrap over the ears. I have not felt like I have had to have Croakies (TM) for these glasses because they do feel secure when I have pushed them up on top of my head or cap.

The Smoke colored lenses do well keeping the bright sun from making me squint my eyes and tiring them out. As I said before, these are the ones that I have used the most out of the four different colored lenses. I used the yellow ones during the hike out of Caesars Head. The cloud cover was heavy and the yellow lenses brightened everything up and made it very easy to see green foliage. After a while with these lenses in the frames, my eyes started getting tired, I would think from the brightness of everything. I endured this through the rest of the hike in but was pleased at how well I was able to see everything.

The frames and the lenses seem to be very durable up to this point. I have dropped them and sat on them and they are still working perfectly with no breaks or bends. The rubberized nose piece and the rubber tips on the ear end of the arm, seem to leave red marks on my skin in those areas if I wear the glasses for a long period of time but they are not uncomfortable. These glasses have been great to wear all the time and I look forward to switching out the lenses more often and continuing to test the durability and comfort of the frames.



L O N G   T E R M    R E P O R T
February 25, 2008

I have continued to wear the Tifosi Q3 sunglasses almost on a daily basis. I have worn them on three recent day hiking trips and a morning trail run. Not much has changed since my field report.

As far as the dayhikes, I wore them to a local state park where I took my dog for training days for learning to go backpacking with me and just general hiking. On these days I used the Smoke colored lenses because the sun was out or it was very bright and these kept me from squinting and making my eyes tired. The temperature ranged between 65 F (18 C) and 75 F (23 C) during the hikes at a range in elevation from 1,200 ft  to 1,300 ft (366 m to 396 m).

As before, I really like the Tifosi's as an everyday sunglass and they worked great in the field.
I would normally pick the lens out and place them in the frames according to the visability before I started my hikes. During some of the hikes I would make it into a trail run and the glasses stayed snug to my face and not droop down or slide down the bridge of my nose. Occasionally I would have a drop of sweat drip on the lens and I simply wipe the lenses with the micro-fiber cleaning bag and continue my run. I wore them on a morning run through our local city park the other day which the weather was a little bit over-cast and foggy and about 62 F (16 C). I decided to insert the AC Red lenses for better visibility. The red tint really makes it easy to see in foggy weather and it appears to make objects more clear and bold. The mist from the fog tended to build up on the lenses and I basically wipe them with my finger which made the visibility a little bit more obscure.  This didn't cause too much of a problem as I could still see where I was going and again the tint helped the obscured visibility.

I would like to include the fact that they have been great while mountain biking also. The vents at the top of the lenses are great as I ride and keep fresh air in the eye area and to keep them from fogging up when my face warms up. They have been very good eye protection from small limbs that I could not avoid.  They also stayed snug to my face and never felt too tight or gave me a headache from wearing them during long periods of time. I actually wrecked on my bike and the glasses stayed in their original position and never came off.

SUMMARY
The arms have stayed tight and I have not had to tighten them or repair them. The lenses have stayed scratch free so far and I have taken care of them by placing them in the dedicated spot in the case. I can't stress enough how much the Tifosi Q3's have held up in durability and how comfortable they have been. The great thing is that the light weight of the glasses lets the user have continuous eye protection from the sun's UV rays and not feel the glasses on the face or feel any fatigue from them.

Likes
    Very light weight
    The straight back arms
    The rubber on the nose and ear piece
    Changable lenses

Dis-Likes
    None really


This concludes this test series.
Thank you Tifosi and BackpackGearTest.org for this opportunity.

Read more gear reviews by Chuck Carnes

Reviews > Eye Protection and Binoculars > Sun Glasses > Tifosi Optics Q3 Sunglasses > Test Report by Chuck Carnes



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