|
| Home | Guest - Not logged in | ||||||||||||||||
|
» Register
» Login
Gear Reviews
Documents
Tools
» Contact
|
Reviews > Eye Protection > Sun Glasses > Smith Factor with Ignitor Lenses > Jennifer Hay > Long Term ReportLong Term Report
| ||||||||||||||||
Specific Information on
Factor Frames |
Specific Information on
Ignitor Lenses |
|
Color of Factor Frames: Dark Ale |
||
Color of Lenses: Polarized Sienna Brown, RC30, Clear,
Yellow |
Actual Weight of Ignitor Lenses: .3 oz (8 g) |
|
Actual Weight of Factor Frames: 0.8 oz (20 g) |
MSRP: N/A |
|
MSRP: 109.00 USD |
Recapped Description & Preliminary Thoughts
The Smith Optics Factor Dark Ale Frames with their Polarized Sienna Brown
lenses arrived in a soft-style collapsible carrying case with 3 other sets of
lenses (RC30, Clear, Yellow). The Smith Optics Ignitor Lenses, not
included with the Dark Ale Factor Frames, have become the predominate
lenses of choice for the duration of the testing. For further information regarding the initial thoughts and
descriptions, go over here.
Current Test Setting
The Northwest Florida Panhandle has been a diverse locale for visual conditions for testing the Smith Ignitor Lenses
and the Factor Frames. The beginning stages of my test have included some use on the bright sandy white beaches
of Perdido Key, as well as in the Long Leaf Pine, and the River and Live Oak canopies in the Blackwater River State
Park areas. My testing continued along the Blackwater River within the state park and even some use out on the Gulf
of Mexico during a chartered fishing excursion. The temperatures have been pretty consistent with averages of 55 F (12 C)
to 84 F (28 C). Most of the days in the early testing had been more overcast than our typical clear skies for late winter
with very little change. In the later part of the testing there were clearer skies and an opportunity for use during a short,
yet very heavy downpour. The elevation for this test area averages less than 50ft (12.7m) above sea level.
Finishing the Test Plan
Continued Thoughts on Every Day Use
The majority of use with the Smith Optics Factor Frames and the Ignitor Lenses have been in my daily commute
to and from work in my car because I catch the direct morning and afternoon sun. I had shown a preference to
the use of the Ignitor lenses early on in the testing stages over the other 2 "daytime" lenses, because of the truer
color I felt the Ignitor lenses gave. Adjusting to the curve of the sunglasses took some time in the beginning. I
have become so accustomed to wearing the frames that I feel awkward when I am not using them while outdoors.
March 10, 11 and 12, 2006
Calloway Landing, Blackwater River State Forest, FL – 2 Days/2 Nights Camping
Temperature: 78 F(26 C)/69 F(21 C), 82 F(28 C)/62 F(17 C) and 82 F(28 C)/60 F(16 C)
Most of the time spent in the woods over this weekend was spent in overcast. Unfortunately being under the tree canopy for
most of the weekend I did not need the glasses as much as I could have. Instead they stayed on top of my head for most
of the daylight hours. I forgot about them the second night I was out there and nearly went to bed with them on. This
affirmed to me that I was getting use to the type of pressure the frames place on my head. When packing out the next
day, the glasses were nearly packed up in my camping hammock, but were quickly removed and set aside due to the
overcast. I forgot about them being placed to the side and were packed away in my pack. Due to the location in the pack,
they suffered no traumas during their ride home.
March 18 & 19, 2006
Calloway Landing, Blackwater River State Forest, FL – Overnight Camping
Temperature: 72 F(22 C)/48 F(9 C) and 72 F(22 C)/54 F(12 C)
I arrived to the woods early on Saturday the 18th. In the earlier hours it was a pleasantly sunny day. I setup camp
wearing the glasses the entire time. It was looking to be the start of a beautiful weekend in the sun, until around 2:00 p.m.
CST, when the bottom dropped out on us. It seems the March and April time frame is always good for a surprise deluge
and small hail storm. Because the area darkened so much with the incoming clouds, the sunglasses spent some time on the
top of my head while I sought shelter from the pour sitting under my camping hammock. Even though the rain did not
register on the precipitation charts, we were even subjected to small moth ball size hail stones, 0.5 in (1.3 cm) in diameter.
When the rain concluded and the sky began to lighten up some, I removed the sunglasses from the top of my head to wear
them again. However due to the temperature change from being atop my head and the drop in temperature from the rain,
the lenses took a while for the fogginess to clear.
The next day was predominately sunny, so I spent a lot of time playing in the Blackwater River. I like to collect rocks, so much
of my time was spent bending over to pick up some new collectible. With all of the bending over to pick up rock I never had to
worry about the sunglasses slipping off and falling in to the river. There are also clay pockets up and down the river at some
point in time while manipulating the wet clay, I felt something on my forehead and without thinking managed to smudge clay
across the top portion of my right lens. The clay was easy to wash off in the running water of the river, however it was the
following weekend that I saw the clay stuck between the lens and the frame.
At one point during the weekend I placed my glasses on my towel I had placed on one of the sandy beaches along the river.
Somehow, whether by the will of the wind or that of a six year old boy, I found my glasses nestled in the sand. While there
were no visible markings on the lenses of where they had been, I knew there would be some issue later. When I went to
clean them up with the alcohol eyeglass wipes I had, I could hear the grinding in the corners as I removed the lenses from
the frames. I could not see the grains of sand, but the damage was thankfully only in the outer corners of the lenses where
they insert into the frames. Both the frames and the lenses have the friction marks from where the sand was rubbing. Thankfully
other than that, there are no other visible markings that they were ever in the sand, unlike other sunglasses that would have the
sand lodged in the edges of the lenses connected to the frames.
April 22, 2006
Fairway II, Gulf of Mexico offshore of Orange Beach, AL – Red Snapper Tournament
Temperature: 84 F(29 C)/57 F(14 C)
On this excursion I was glad I wore the sunglasses that day; not only to reduce the glare from the water
and the very bright white boat, but they also kept a lot of the salt water out of my eyes. However, when
I planned to catch sea spray from the Gulf of Mexico in my test plan, I was not trying for a full on frontal assault of waves.
Turns out I get motion sickness while on a boat. So I spent much of my time sitting midpoint on the deck of the
starboard side of the boat being hit with wave after wave coming over the edge of the boat, so I was covered
head to toe with saltwater. One thing that I was really glad for was the Hydrophilic Mogul on the nose piece,
because after being drenched for a good half an hour and coming to our first stop, I was met with the unexpected
desire to lean over the side of the boat in order to alleviate my sickness. I think had it been any other pair of sunglasses,
they would have been sacrificed to the great Gulf of Mexico since I do not like wearing sunglass chains or cords.
Saltwater has a tendency to crystallize when drying so there were numerous times when we stopped that I had to
wipe down the lenses because of that film that began accumulating on them. While this film did hinder the clarity of
the lenses at the time, they cleaned up very well with alcohol eyeglass wipes.
The Test Plan Concluded
I feel I had some great opportunities to test these glasses to their fullest potential through the many days of use during
the test period. One of the things I had hoped to do while testing during the camping trips was to compare the use of the
yellow lenses to the Ignitor lenses. Unfortunately the only time that arose for low visibility was while driving alone on
Interstate 10 back in April through heavy brush fire smoke, and changing out the lenses at that time were not conducive
to a long life. I also did not have the opportunity to test out the use on digital screens such as a GPS system, due to changes
in plans during the course of testing. One of the things I really liked about these glasses is that when I mucked them up,
they were easy to clean, making them a low maintenance eyewear for me.
Many thanks, again, to BackpackGearTest and Smith Optics for allowing me the opportunity to test these very groovy sunglasses.
