Reviews > Eye Protection > Sun Glasses > Native Eyewear Dash XP > Test Report by Brian Tannehill

NATIVE DASH XP EYEWEAR
TEST SERIES BY BRIAN TANNEHILL
FIELD REPORT
August 04, 2008

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TESTER INFORMATION

I am fairly new to backpacking, but I have hunted/fished/camped all my life in East Texas, Colorado, and California. My young kids (4, 10, 12) limit me to weekend overnight camping trips, or day hikes Geocaching. I am also an avid mountain biker. Currently I live in Colorado Springs, Co at the base of the Rocky Mountains. Pike National Forest surrounds me at 9000 - 14,110 feet (2743 m - 4301 m). Snow can happen 10 months out of the year and summer is the hottest reaching 65 F + (18 C +), the other months average 45 F (7 C).

INITIAL REPORT

PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS

Fig 1 courtesy of Native

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

My wife called me at work when the glasses arrived. Her first statement about them was they looked cheap. When I got home and examined them, I was very impressed. The glasses are really lightweight and sturdy.

Fig 2 courtesy of Native

READING THE INSTRUCTIONS

The instructions are simple. There are pictures to explain the process.

To remove the lens, grasp the lens in the middle with thumb and index finger and in one motion pull lens slightly away from nose area then down.

To install lens, holding lens by the edges, insert squared lens peg into nose area socket. Insert rounded lens peg into side-arm socket while gently flexing lens.

I'm like a bull in a china shop sometimes, so to "gently" do something is sometimes tough. I was a bit concerned about installing the lenses as they did feel like I could break them pretty easily. I've now become comfortable after installing them a few times.

TRYING IT OUT

I've worn these glasses now everyday for 6 days. They stay in place!!! I can't say that enough. Sometimes it feels as if I have to pop them off my head. I can't believe how well they fit. They do not slip down my nose, and they do not put any pressure on my temples or side of my head.

However, I do wish the lenses were just a hair bit bigger. I've used them while fishing and some of the reflection off the water gets in under the lens or in from the side. My wife mentioned they look small on my face as well.

The black polarized lenses work good for fishing. I can see fish and objects under the water that I have not seen before. The water here in Colorado is very clear. These glasses cut the glare and reflection from the water and allow me to see things I normally would not have seen.

I have noticed on some occasion that with the black lenses, I get a reflection of my face on the inside part of the lens. It's kind of annoying when I see my reflection.

TESTING STRATEGY

Here is my testing strategy for the duration of this test series.

Scratch Resistant:
How scratch resistant are the lenses? While I have a hard case for my glasses, I do leave them around a lot, and most have gotten scratched. How will these hold up? They will have to handle being shoved in a pocket or in a pack sometimes without the hard case. Will the lenses delaminate over time?

Staying in place on my face:
I have an oily complexion, and sunglasses tend to fall down my face. The Native glasses tout a self adjusting Cushinol nose pad, that stays in place. How well do these glasses ride on my face? The nose pieces do not look to be adjustable. They are made of some Cushinol material, which I have no idea what it is. Will they stay on my face?

Interchangeable lenses:
How easy are these lenses to change out? Other pairs of interchangeable lenses/glasses I have owned were fairly easy, and had a secure fit once in place. How secure are these lenses? Over time will they wear out and not hold the lenses as well? Will they fall out while running? Biking? How will they hold up to impact? The web site says they have an Anti Ocular Intrusion system that keeps the lenses from hitting your eyes in a high velocity impact. What are they expecting? Hopefully that won't happen, but while mountain biking I could see getting hit in the face by a limb or something.

Interchangeable Gator-Lok temples:
The website touts a quick and easy interchangeable system for more extreme use. Looks like they have a strap that goes with the glasses that I can change out when I need a more secure fit. How well does this hold up over time?

I have a pair of glasses now that have a similar system. They were issue items and have a ventilation system around the lenses. I notice that when I wear the glasses with the strap, they force more of the lens onto my face, and this causes the lenses to fog up pretty quick. Will this happen with the Native glasses as well?

SUMMARY

In summary, I am so far impressed with these glasses. They fit well and stay in place on my face. They are very light weight as well.

This concludes my Initial report. Please check back in about 2 months (end of July) for the Field Report.

FIELD REPORT

FIELD LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS

Since the initial report I've worn these glasses everyday for the past two months for a total of 60 days. Conditions have ranged from cool crisp mornings to 100+ F (38 C) in the desert of Las Vegas. I've worn them on five different four mile (6.4 km) trail runs and one six mile (9.6 km) road run for the Bolder Boulder Race. I've worn them while driving to work in the morning, due east and the sun is directly in my face for 30 + mins. I wear them for work, while playing sports, exercising, and even while building stuff.

PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

These glasses have performed great for the abuse I have put them through. They have been dropped a number of times (at LEAST close to 10) on everything from rocks to pavement to grass. There are a some chips in the lenses but nothing major that I can notice while wearing. I had to use the macro setting on my camera and get within 2-3 inches (5-7 cm) to take the picture to see the chips.

Fig 4

There are maybe a dozen or so little chips on the front of the lenses, and some minor chips on the bottom edges of the lenses.

Fig 5

Fig 6

The lenses have fogged up on me some. On 26 May 2008 I ran the Bolder Boulder 6.2 mile (10K) road race. Temperatures were about 52 deg F (11 C), cloudy, and rainy. It rained on me about mile 5 (8 km), and the glasses started to fog up. I took them off, and propped them on my head and they fogged over even worse. At that point I had to take them off, wipe them down with my shirt, and then put them back on my face.

I also noticed one morning while playing ultimate frisbee that the glasses would fog up on me ever so slightly. It happened just after a long sprint. I was walking into a stiff wind about 8 mph (13 kmh) and I was breathing really heavy. I noticed the wind was pushing my breath back into my face and fogging up the glasses. This didn't last but just a second or two and immediately cleared up. Since those times I have not noticed them fogging up anymore.

A couple of things have broken on the glasses and case. The first is the nose piece on the glasses. When I received them, I noticed a few days after the initial report that one of the nose pieces was coming out. I only glued it back in place around the 24th of July. I waited as long as I could, and surprisingly it held up well, but eventually I had to glue the piece back in place. Fig 7 is a picture taken about a week and a half after I glued it back in place. I used superglue and I already need to try and glue it in place again or send them back to the company.

Fig 7

The other thing that broke is the zipper handle on the sunglass case.

Fig 8

It's not really a big deal, just makes the case a bit harder to close now. If that's the least of my worries then I have it made.

Now the good stuff! Like I said earlier I've worn these glasses every day. Recently I wore them while working in the Las Vegas, Nevada heat. Temperatures ran around 105-107 F (40.5 - 41.6 C) for the whole time I was there. I didn't work directly in the heat all day, but I did have to go out in the heat numerous times in the day. I also ran in the late evenings outside with the sunglasses on. The glasses stayed in place on my face great, even while pouring down with sweat.

I also wore the glasses on the drive to and from Las Vegas, for a total of 4 days total, 2 there and 2 back (16 hours drive time). On the way back, I noticed with my oily complexion that the glasses would slip down my nose some. I fixed this by wiping the bridge of my nose off occasionally, and cleaning the nose pieces of the glasses.

SUMMARY

So far I absolutely love these glasses. They are light, durable, and fit well on my face.

This concludes my field report. Please check back in about 2 months (Oct 2008) for the long term report.

Reviews > Eye Protection > Sun Glasses > Native Eyewear Dash XP > Test Report by Brian Tannehill