- Home
- Hiking & Camping Gear
- Sunglasses
- Polarized Interchangeable Sunglasses
- Smith Parallel Max Sunglasses - Polarized
Smith Parallel Max Sunglasses - Polarized
Available Colors / Styles
Detail Views
Be the first to upload your photo of the Parallel Max Sunglasses - Polarized. >
The Smith Parallel Max shares the lightness of their Vxe and Pivlock 90 series sunglasses; they're so unobtrusive you'll likely forget you're wearing them. The key difference is a matter of style. The Parallel Max has separate lenses where the aforementioned models use one full coverage eyeshield. This is also where the Max differs from the standard Parallel sunglasses. The lenses are just slightly taller and wider to offer a bit more coverage.
We'd call the Parallel Max a close-fitting design. After all, the base curve of 9 ensures that the lenses sweep all the way around your eyes for optimum protection from unwanted light and glare as well as physical objects. The frame is made from Grilamid TR90, a tough plastic that is at once flexible, yet tough as nails. This lightweight frame supports individual lenses that pop out easily, like Smith's sliders of old. The lenses use Smith's Tapered Lens Technology (TLT) to give you a distortionless view. As you might've already experienced, visual distortion occurs when light waves hit an aggressively curved lens causing them to refract. This refraction causes a prismatic effect, or distortion. TLT corrects the distortion by progressively tapering the lens thickness from the optical center toward the peripheral edges. With TLT, light waves travel directly to your eye to generate precise vision and reduce potential eye fatigue. Objects are clearly defined and seen in their exact position.
Seeing clearly adds safety, but so does Smith's Carbonic lens material -- the most impact resistant lens material money can buy. Smith treats them with an anti-scratch coating to keep them as new as possible, as long as possible. They're light, they exceed ANSI Z80.3 specifications, and they protect your eyes from 100% of the UVA, UVB, and UVC rays out there.
The Grilamid TR90 frame provides you with maximum comfort, maximum flexibility, maximum toughness, and maximum resistance to sweat and sunscreen. And the hydrophilic Megol nose and temple pads keep them locked in place on your face. They won’t slip. They won’t slide. They won’t fall off.
The Smith Parallel Max offers a close fit to your face and large coverage. It's available in Black w/polar grey and Brown w/polar brown. With either color option, you'll get two extra sets of lenses. The Ignitor lenses are great for overcast days as they increase definition and depth perception in low light. The Clear Mirror lenses are the best for very low light conditions. Switching between lenses is a total breeze and can be done in a matter of moments without tools.
Bottom Line: Max out your athletic eyewear options.
Talk shop with all the gear freaks out there: ask 'em questions, upload/browse photos, and give your 2¢.
By: Will Guru
November 30, 2011
The optics really are no different than the flak jackets but the flak jackets look a heck of a lot cooler.
2 Comments Last Comment: October 3, 2011 by: Will Guru
By: Will Guru
October 3, 2011
actually backcountry has em for 5 cents cheaper.......
By: Andrew Brandt
October 16, 2009
I was going to ding this as not really being a great review but I have to say I'll confirm mark the website has the SRP as $129.00. I love backcountry.com and I'm sure they have a reason for their current price, but it'd also be cool if they adjusted the price to Smith's suggested retail price. Perhaps they're a rarity right now?
Change me.
sweet
As usual from smith, great optics. Im not a huge fan of the frames but they really aren't bad. I wouldn't recommend these for running, but they more...
Great Sunglasses
I just bought these sunglasses for snowboarding in the winter and mountain biking in the summer. My initial reaction was they fit great, I have a med/small more...
- Frame:
- Grilamid TR90
- Hinge:
- steel
- Lens:
- Carbonic TLT polycarbonate
- Interchangeable Lens:
- yes
- Polarized:
- yes
- Face Size:
- medium
- Case Type:
- hard
- Nose Pads:
- yes
- Temple Pads:
- yes
- Recommended Use:
- athletics, casual
- Manufacturer Warranty:
- lifetime

Community Rating
