Some weeks I interview microbiologists about water filters or take naps in hammocks for the Gear Guy column. This week, I got to beat the crap out of top-shelf sunglasses ($713 worth) to find out just how durable they really are. Here鈥檚 how my聽five picks stacked up in ascending order.
The Test
To start, I called several top brands and asked them to send me their most durable pair of shades. Then, to replicate the most common sunglasses mishap, I dropped each pair 10 times from shoulder height, lenses down, onto gravel. Next, I placed them,聽lenses up,聽on my couch and sat on them five times in a row. Moving on, I dropped my 48.5-pound Dagger Nomad kayak on each pair three times with the lenses face up on a patch of gravel. I took it a step further by running over each pair with my mountain bike. Finally, frustrated that I couldn鈥檛 do more than put scratches on these rugged sunglasses, I ran over each pair with my 2000 Toyota Camry.
The Results
#5. Electric Stacker ($180)
The Drop:聽Twenty scratches on聽鈥攏ine of which I would characterize as large and distracting. To be fair, these glasses had the largest lenses in this test,聽so there was more surface area to pick up nicks.
The Sit:聽Zero damage.
The Kayak:聽More scuffing on the lenses, but very minimal. Less than five scratches on the frames. The secondary part of the frame, which聽acts as side shield,聽popped out,聽but I was able to pop it back into聽place.
The Mountain Bike:聽Minimal scratching and聽the protective side cover popped out again.聽
The Car:聽One of the arms popped off and the metal hinge that attaches the arm broke, rendering the glasses unusable.
#4. Oakley Silver XL Prism Daily Polarized Woodgrain Collection ($180)
The Drop: collected 24 scratches鈥攕even of which I would call large. They were the most scratched of the sunnies we tested, and barely wearable after this test. They did have聽the second-largest lenses, so there was a lot of surface area to mess up.
The Sit: Zero damage.
The Kayak: Two significant scratches on the lenses, and three small scratches on the frame. Still fully聽intact.聽
The Mountain Bike: Minimal scratching聽and the right arm popped out. But I was able to pop it back in after.聽
The Car: This test popped both of the arms off the frame, but,聽again,聽I was able to put them back on.
#3. Spy Rover ($110)
The Drop: Nineteen scratches鈥攆ive of which I would characterize as large. But I would definitely still use these.
The Sit: Zero damage.
The Kayak: Two significant scratches on the lenses and one large scratch on the frame. Still structurally intact.
The Mountain Bike: No discernible damage.
The Car: Some scratching on the frames,聽.
#2. Smith Frontman Elite ($120)
The Drop: Seven small scratches鈥攖hese were聽barely perceptible with the glasses on.
The Sit: Zero damage.
The Kayak: Two large scratches on the lenses聽and three small scratches on frame, but still fully structurally intact.
The Mountain Bike: No discernible damage.
The Car: Very similar to the Spy Rovers鈥攁 few scratches on the frame, but still totally usable.
#1. Julbo Explorer ($125)
The Drop: Four tiny scratches鈥攏o real perceptible damage with glasses on.
The Sit: Zero damage.
The Kayak: One small scratch on the lenses聽and one small scratch on the frame at the bridge of the nose.
The Mountain Bike: No discernible damage.
The Car: Two small scratches on the lenses,
The Verdict
Most sunglasses are tougher than you'd think. Yes, they'll scratch when dropped, but I had to smash them with a car to get any of these to break. And聽three of the models didn't break even then.
In terms of a test聽winner, the Julbo聽Explorer聽definitely stood out.聽Besides a few minor scratches on the lenses, they showed very little wear. The only downside? They look great on a glacier, but maybe a bit dorky around town.
The Smith and Spy鈥檚 were almost tied because they were scratched up but still fully usable. While I was able to put the Oakley shades聽back together, the arms did pop聽off,聽so I ranked them third. The Electric sunnies聽came in last, but to be fair, they stood up to everything but my Camry. And they鈥檙e easily the most steezy of the bunch.
Of course, there are plenty of other durable sunglasses out there. If聽you have a pair that's聽stood up to seasons聽of abuse, let us know.聽