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

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 Information: Fathom sunglasses

    Before testing these sunglasses, I rarely wore sunglasses. I would occasionaly buy a pair, off the rack at a discount store, wear them a few times and either lose them, or find them too uncomfortable to continue wearing.    The Fathoms have changed my feelings about sunglasses. I wear them almost daily, mostly while driving. They are extremely comfortable, enough so that I forget I have them on!
    While wearing them in the field, they protect my eyes from the glare on the snow and ice while snowshoeing and cross country skiing. I have found that the grey lenses provide great color contrast, even in bright light. While icefishing I notice a huge improvement in visibility. The glare on some of the lakes is extremely bright. I appreciate not having to 'squint' all the time. I also don't end up with headaches from the glare. The eye piece of the glasses covers my complete visual field. The top of the frame is just below my eyebrow, and the bottom is just above my cheekbone. The center parts of the lenses are not visible while wearing the glasses. The outer part of the lenses is wide enough to block sunlight from entering from the side. Although the glasses protect my complete field of vision, they are not overly large, or 'owlish' looking. I am including a picture from the website so readers will have an image to go by.
    While snowshoeing in mid-January, I noticed that wearing the glasses not only cut down on glare, which improved my vision, but the glasses also kept my eyes from watering from the cold wind. This was an added benefit. I was on snowshoes for over 6 hours, and I noticed an obvious improvement over past trips where I would come home and my eyes would burn for a day or so from the wind and glare. On this trip I came home and my eyes were in great shape - I wish I could say the same for my legs!
    The Fathoms are very well made. I've noticed no change in the clarity of the lenses, nor play in the arms. The hinges appear to be as tight as they were originally. That means the glasses stay put, and don't slide down my nose. I haven't babied these glasses, other than to make sure I put them back in the case, or in the compartment in my car. I would hate to lose these glasses! Other than occasionally washing the glasses with dish detergent and water, they've received no other care.
One thing I've noticed, that may happen with all other glasses - I've noticed it on my husband's eyeglasses, when I go from a cold environment into a warmer one the glasses fog up. It usually disappears in just a minute or so, without leaving any effect on the glasses.
    In my Field Report, I noted 'Besides looking at how the glasses improve my vision while in the sun, I will continue to assess comfort, durability and scratch resistance'. I believe the glasses have measured up well in all these areas. I can see more clearly while wearing them, and suffer less eye fatigue. They continue to be comfortable, leaving no red marks on my nose or around my ears. The frames have held up well, holding their shape and maintaining a firm grip on my head. The lenses have no visable scratches.
    I have thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated testing these sunglasses. They are well made, and comfortable to wear. I will continue to carry them with me, enjoying the benefits to my eyes, as well as the possible reduction in wrinkles. Less squinting, less wrinkles!

Test Locations:
    During the fall and winter, 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 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 the weather has turned cold and snowy, I have been snowshoeing and cross-country skiing a couple times a month, sometimes on short day trips into the wildlife management area behind our property, or on nearby trails. I went to central Vermont during January and snowshoed 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! These sunglasses were also worn almost daily while driving.

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 was done below 3000 ft (914 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 involved backpacking into campsites and at other times I set up camp and hiked out from there.

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