Initial Report

Costa Del Mar
Fathom 580 Sunglasses
September 21, 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)

First Impressions:
    The Costa Del Mar sunglasses arrived in good condition, with a hard sided case, and two small cards with product information. One provided described the Wave 580 lens technology, the other provided the warranty information. The glasses come with a lifetime warranty against defects. The website accurately describes the glasses, as far as color and appearance are concerned. Further testing will determine if other claims are accurate.
    The glasses fit well and are comfortable to wear. I have not worn them while doing anything more than driving and walking yet. They are good looking (in my opinion and from the comments of others). I like that they don't 'slide' down my nose, nor do they leave marks on my nose.
    I have never been one to wear sunglasses on a regular basis, but I have noticed as I get older that I squint a lot.   I am hoping that wearing the glasses will cut down on eye strain, as well as wrinkles!   I chose the grey lenses because of the claim 'Grey-A neutral color that provides natural contrast and minimizes color distortion, even at low light levels.' (From the website). My testing will look at how much contrast they provide, and if color distortion is a problem.
    As stated, I find the glasses comfortable to wear. I am concerned that they may scratch easily, and that cleaning the lenses may require special products. I have not found any information at the web site regarding cleaning. I will contact the manufacturer regarding the cleaning process.

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.

Test Locations:
    During the fall I will be hiking in western Maine and central New Hampshire, both with my children, and with a group of friends. We typically either set up camp and hike out from the base camp, or we backpack 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 school has started these hikes will be limited to weekends, with a couple of long weekends. Once the weather turns 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 watching soccer, walking the dogs, geocaching and doing whatever else I can to avoid housework! This will give me the opportunity to test the Fathom Sunglasses in many conditions.

Test Plan:
    As hard as it is to admit, I am getting older and I notice that I squint my eyes in the sun more than before. Or maybe I've always squinted, but now the wrinkles that are appearing make me more aware of it. I will test sunglasses' ability to filter light, and help me to see more clearly. One problem with many sunglasses is having to take them off as conditions temporarily change. I would like to see how well I could see if for instance, I went inside a shelter - would I have to take off the glasses? Could I read a map or GPS while wearing them? The web site states, in regard to the gray lenses "A neutral color that provides natural contrast and minimizes color distortion, even at low light levels" I would be curious as to how well they live up to this claim. 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 am interested in how well made they are - comfort, durability and scratch resistance. I would expect that they would be made to be somewhat rugged, as they were designed for use when fishing. While I am not a sunglass 'expert', I am interested in the UV protection, which is as important for ones eyes as for the skin. I will concentrate on improved vision, comfort, durability and usefulness (can I go from bright light to low light without a long transition time?)   One other area I will be watching, is the effect of temperature change on the glasses - do they 'fog up'? I do not wear eyeglasses, but have noticed on others how going from cold to warm areas causes moisture on the glasses.

Test Conditions:
     The majority of my testing will be done in northern New England, where the current temperature is 82 F (32 C) and winter temperatures are often below the 0 - 32 F ( -14 - 0 C ) range. Over the next four months temperatures will drop and we typically have a rainy early fall. It is not unusual to have snow on the ground by November. 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.

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

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