Field Report - Smith Axis Sunglasses, Interchangeable Series

Initial Report

Personal Biographical Information
Background
Product Information
Introduction
Field Information
Field Testing Impressions & Considerations
    Lenses & Optics
    Fit
    Storage
    Areas of improvement
Summary
    Pro
    Con

Personal Biographical Information

Name	Pascal Deschênes
Age	30 years old
Gender	Male
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Weight	88 kg (195 lb)
Head circumference	57 cm (22.5 in)
Forehead width	13.5 cm (5 3/8 in)
Email	pasde at yahoo dot com
City, Province, Country	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Date	25 May 2005

Background

Long since I was young, I've always been an outdoor enthusiast: sea or white river kayaking, rock climbing, long and short distance hiking, classic and backcountry skiing, mountain biking.

I can describe myself as being a hiker with a paradoxical style. On one side I tend toward fast tracking while on the other I halt frequently, gazing at various points of interest, fauna and flora. I'm also geared toward lightweight backpacking but wouldn't let my solo percolator home.

Product Information

Manufacturer	Smith Sport Optics (http://www.smithoptics.com)
Manufacturing Country	U.S.A. (Clearfield, Utah)
Product Category	Sunglasses
Frame Color	Graphite
Lens Color	Dielectric Blue
Additional Lens Color	RC36 (Rose Copper), Yellow, Clear*
Case Color	Black
Year of Manufacture	2004
Listed Weight	n.a.
Measured Weight:
Sunglasses (frame + lenses)	25 g (0.9 oz)
Case	45 g (1.6 oz)
Lenses (pair)	10 g (0.4 oz)
MSRP
Sunglasses	$124.00 US
Clear lens	$20.00 US
Material
Frame	Grilamid TR90 Nylon (plastic-like)
Nose/Temple Pad	Hydrophilic Megol (rubber-like)
Lenses	9 base TLT Carbonic Lenses
Case	Synthetic leather + Velour type fabric

* The clear lens is not part of the Axis Graphite package but was provided for the purpose of this test.

Introduction

As promised, I have been using the Smith Axis sunglasses heavily throughout the field-testing period. Indeed, I have casually worn the sunglasses on an every day basis as well as during several strenuous activities. Briefly speaking, besides the bulky storage case, I have been very pleased with the overall sunglasses performance so far.

Field Information

Because of there rather intensive use, I will try to summarize below the various terrains and conditions in which the Smith Axis sunglasses were involved during this field-testing period, focusing on illumination aspects rather then the weather or location themselves.

In seasonal order,

• Several cross country skiing outings, mostly in Mont-Orford, in late morning light through late afternoon, where lighting conditions would vary between bright sunshine with some snow glare and heavy cloudy sky with or without snow fall;
• Everyday bike ride to my office in downtown Montreal, Canada during the late winter with a combination of both light and heavy snowfall;
• One backcountry skiing trip to the Portneuf Wildlife Reserve with clear blue sky, plenty of sunshine, high velocity wind and lots of snow glare over flat land;
• A few strenuous snowshoeing trips during the late winter days, which involved very bright sunshine with lots of snow glare due to melting snow crystals reflection;
• Everyday 45 minutes walk to my office in various early spring conditions including a mix of rainy, sunny, and foggy days;
• Lots of day hikes in the Laurentiens or the Monteregiens with an even mixture of bright sunshine, overcast sky, and nasty rainstorm;

Moreover, I have been using the Axis sunglasses casually on an everyday basis since the beginning of this test series.

Field Testing Impressions & Considerations

Lenses & Optics

I have been following manufacturer's recommendation regarding lens cleanup and the entire lens set are, for the moment, scratch-free. I am looking forward in testing this facet during the long-term testing period.

Beside its scratch resistance, the distortion-free feature of the lens series impresses me. Whatever the lens I snap on, my surrounding environment stays sharp independently of the standpoint. No curving increase could be detected (see right side picture).

At first, I was systematically tempted to use the Dielectric Blue lens during every outing that would involve sunshine. However, during this field-testing period, I have come to realize that the RC36 (Rose Copper) lens was more responsive to the kind of light I am subject to encounter while hiking in forested areas where foliage tends to disperse some of the light. Indeed, the RC36 provides the best vision where a mix of low and high light is expected. The clear lenses were mostly used during either light snowfall or heavy snowstorm, obviously not for solar protection but rather as a shield against snowflakes. I have yet to fully experience with the yellow lens and I plan to do so during the upcoming summer days.

Bottom line, for the reasons mentioned above, I have ended up using the RC36 lens the most as it provides broader spectrum coverage, as mentioned in manufacturer's literature.

The half-jacket (rimless) style of the frame allows unobstructed lower and peripheral view, which I found to be especially benefic for activities that require looking down at my feet like hiking. In fact, this particular detail, in combination with the fact that the lenses have proven to be distortion free, is the number one reason why I really like these sunglasses.

Fit

Although a bit large for my narrow face, I have found the Axis to be pleasant to wear either with a baseball cap, over a toque, or under large Sennheiser headphones. Because of its lightweight construction, I could wear theses sunglasses for several hours without even noticing them.

Both the Hydrophilic Megol™ temple pads and nosepiece are extremely efficient at keeping the sunglasses in place. I have been sweating like mad while snowshoeing in the Mont-Mégantic National Park: the Axis firmly stays glued on my head, unlike other sunglasses that would slide down my nose from time to time.

Although the lenses do fog from time to time while performing strenuous activities, the construction design has proven to be efficient in terms of ventilation. The minute light wind surrounds the frame, either through body movement or nature forces, the lenses come up free of fog.

Storage

I have ended up using a specially designed third-party sunglasses pouch made of satin-like fabric as a mean for both storage and carriage. Despite its nice crafting, the storage case provided by the manufacturer is simply too bulky.

That little storage pouch provided with the additional clear lenses was used to carry secondary lenses during most of my outing. However, most of the time, the lenses ended up out of the pouch due to the fact that there is not cord lock on the little draw cord.

Areas of improvement

• The whole storage system: Lenses storage pouch with mini cord lock, satin-like carrying pouch for the sunglasses themselves that would double act as a cleaning cloth)

Summary

Pro

• Very efficient ventilation
• Optic (no distortion whatsoever)
• Wide solar spectrum coverage (with featuring lens set)

Con

• No cleaning cloth
• No small form-factor carrying pouch.