Flimsy, loose, and not durable.

By Benjamin Smith Ranked #453 - Polarized Lifestyle Sunglasses August 24, 2008

I really like the form factor and look of these glasses, but they do not hold up well to even casual wear. I am a fan of Smith Optics. They sell relatively inexpensive glasses with decent optics and a variety of styles, but this pair was not a good representation of what I have come to expect.

First off, the nearly frameless design requires that the sides and nose bridge are held in place with a single screw on each end. These screws never stay tight. To worsen the situation, the screw requires some custom tool to tighten. I checked with three optical stores, and they all said they had seen the screws before, but could not help me adjusting them.

The inner lens coating is very sensitive, too. I noticed it wore through after a few days with just casual cleaning with the included cleaning cloth.

Finally, for a titanium frame, I would have expected a standard feature like a spring-loaded hinge. These have a standard friction hinge, which seems to suffer from the same loosening problems that the other screws on the frame do.

The style and feel was great, but I couldn't put up with what seemed like shoddy technical design and materials so I returned them.

View Details: Smith Venture Sunglasses - Polarized

Helpful Votes: 0 Yes