Field Report

Costa Del Mar
Fathom 580 Sunglasses
December 4, 2005

Personal Information:
Leesa Joiner
leesaj@gmail.com
Southwestern Maine
44 year old Female
5'7" (1.7 M)
160 lb. (73 kg)

Product Information:
Manufacturer: Costa Del Mar
URL: http://www.costadelmar.com/
Product: Fathom Wave 580
Year of manufacture: 2005
MSRP: US $249 (from website)
Manufacturer's advertised weight: not available
Measured weight: 1.2 oz (34 g)
Measured width: (across the front): 5.4" (14 cm )
Frame style: Fathom
Frame color: black
Lens type: Wave 580 (grey)

Background:
    My camping, hiking and backpacking experience has included trips varying in length from one day hikes to two-week trips. My experience hiking began with my father when I was about six years old. We hiked along the river pathways in northeastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania. While enjoying the outdoors with friends and family, I spend time hiking, geocaching, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing and camping. Although I am not a lightweight backpacker, I am trying to 'lighten up' and primarily use an Ultra-lite Backpacker Asym hammock for sleeping.

Field Information:
    I use the Fathoms almost daily. Besides using them while hiking, I also wear them while driving. While hiking they allow me to see with much greater clarity than my own eyes do. I find that colors are brighter and the edges of objects are much more defined. While hiking on a very bright day, I found that I didn't squint, nor did I have to take the glasses off to look at things; such as my GPS. I was able to easily read the coordinates on the GPS, and also enter data. After the hike was over, I drove to the store to pick up some things on the way home. I shopped without taking off the glasses, which I have never been able to do before with sunglasses. Usually, wearing sunglasses inside makes it too dark to see clearly. To be honest, I didn't plan on wearing them inside, I just forgot I was wearing them.
I was able to wear the sunglasses twice while canoeing. Both days were fairly sunny, with quite a bit of glare coming off the water. The glasses were fantastic. I did not experience any problems with the glare.
    While driving, the glasses provide very good protection from both early morning and afternoon sun. My drive to work is along a very winding road that climbs and dips numerous times. I found in the past that I could go around a corner and be practically blinded by the sun coming up. That is particularly scary in an area where moose and deer cross the road frequently. The Fathoms do a very good job of blocking the brightness of the sun.
    They are very comfortable to wear. I do not find that they caused any rub spots on my nose or around my ears. It is very easy to forget they are on. One nice thing I've noticed, the frames do not seem to change temperature, I've worn them on warm, sunny days in the 80 degree F (27 C) range. The frames do not become warm, which would most likely become uncomfortable. I've also worn them in cold weather, about 20 degrees F (-7 C) and the frames didn't feel cold. Another aspect that makes them easy to wear is that they don't fog up during extreme temperature changes. When going from 20 degrees F (-7 C) into a heated building, the sunglasses didn't fog up. I found that really terrific, not having to clean off the glasses or wait for them to dry.
    Speaking of cleaning - the company recommends cleaning them with dish soap. There was no documentation that came with the glasses, nor was there any on the website. I had to contact the company directly. I have only had to clean them twice, mainly because I am extremely careful with them. The finger prints that I had accidently got on the glasses came right off. If I am not wearing them, they are either in the case, or in the eyeglass storage compartment in my car. I am wondering how this is going to work when I am on overnight trips. Do I carry dish soap, just in case? Most likely, I will carry a small amount. On camping trips during the summer, it wouldn't be an issue, since I already carry dish soap. On one hand, I think its great that they can be cleaned with a common household product. On the other hand, it just seems strange that a high quality pair of glasses wouldn't come with care instructions.

Test Locations:
    During the fall I have been hiking in western Maine and central New Hampshire, both with my children, and with a group of friends. We either set up camp and hike out from the base camp, or we backpacked into a camping area. We are fortunate to live in an area where we can drive just a short distance and take advantage of some great hiking. Now that the weather has turned cold and snowy, I will be snowshoeing and cross-country skiing a couple times a month (hopefully more), sometimes on short day trips into the wildlife management area behind our property, or on nearby trails. I frequently go to central Vermont during the winter and snowshoe there while visiting with family. Besides the time I spend hiking and snowshoeing, I am also outside frequently walking the dogs, geocaching and doing whatever else I can to avoid housework!

Test Conditions:
     The majority of my testing is done in northern New England, where the current temperature is 28 F (-2 C) and winter temperatures are often in the 0 - 32 F ( -14 - 0 C ) range. Most of my hiking is done below 3000 ft (914 m), but some spring climbs go over 4000 ft (1219 m). There is a wide range of types of terrain on these hikes, everything from well maintained trails to hiking through heavily wooded areas. Some trips involve backpacking into campsites and at other times I set up camp and hike out from there.

Continuing Test Plan:
    During the winter, the glare off the snow can sometimes be a problem - are these glasses able to improve visibility in high glare conditions? The glare off of snow can be as bad, if not worse than glare from bodies of water. Besides looking at how the glasses improves my vision while in the sun, I will continue to assess comfort, durability and scratch resistance. I will be able to tests these factors while snowshoeing and ice fishing, along with daily driving.

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Reviews > Eye Protection > Sun Glasses > Costa Del Mar Fathom > Leesa Joiner > Field Report

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