Author: Rob Belloni
Frame Material: Monel Nylon Lens Material: Polarized Plus2 (glass) Lens color reviewed: Grey (12% visual light transmission) Eye Size: 57 Bridge Size: 20 Temple Size: 118 Overall Visibility: For this review, I reviewed the grey lenses which are a relatively dark lens for bright situations and general use. This is a lens that you can wear comfortably while surf fishing on a bright sunny day and staring into the whitewash. This is not a lens you want to wear early in the morning while sight fishing for bass, it simply cuts down too much visible light. The lens is very color neutral and the majority of colors appear true to life. White appears with a slightly purple tone to it and green appears with a reddish tint to my eye but overall color reproduction is accurate. I rate the lens a 5 for sight fishing and a 9 for all around bright sun use. Lens Durability: I always wait a few months to write a sunglasses review to see how the sunglasses are going to hold up. I can honestly say that after 4-5 months of regular around town wear, there is not a single scratch on these lenses. Glass lenses are scratch resistant to begin with but these really take it up a notch. If you want a pair of shades that you can stuff in your pocket and bang around without worrying about scratches, the Maui Jim lens is awesome. I rate the lens durability a 10. Frame Durability: The Volcano has an interesting and well thought out frame design. The tips are flexible and have a rubber cover with gripping ends to stick behind your ear. The hinges are heavy duty and snap to position either open or closed. The hinges also have some outward flex which is nice to help prevent snapping them off on accident. The frame overall is a heavy duty design with thick nose pads and thick edges all the way around the lens. The frame design exudes quality construction and this is not a frame that is going to break easily. I rate the frame durability a 10. Wear-Ability/Comfort: If there’s one place the Maui Jim Volcanoes show weakness, it’s the wear-ability and comfort factor. The heavy duty frame and glass lenses weigh quite a bit and I found that a 10 hour day in these sunglasses really puts a strain on the bridge of your nose. The lenses don’t fog much on hot days, but the bridge is a glossy nylon material and it has a tendency to slip down your nose on a hot sweaty day especially if you have sunscreen on. The best analogy I can think of to describe the comfort factor would be a backpack. You can have the most indestructible, well designed backpack in the world, but if you fill it up with a big load and wear it around all day your back is still going to be sore. The Volcanoes are a very nice pair of sunglasses, they’re just heavy. If your styling around town or heading to the beach for a few hours, it’s all good, but if you plan on being out all day sweating in the hot sun, this might not be your best option. I rate the wear-ability/comfort a 6.
Overall Visibility: For this review, I reviewed the grey lenses which are a relatively dark lens for bright situations and general use. This is a lens that you can wear comfortably while surf fishing on a bright sunny day and staring into the whitewash. This is not a lens you want to wear early in the morning while sight fishing for bass, it simply cuts down too much visible light. The lens is very color neutral and the majority of colors appear true to life. White appears with a slightly purple tone to it and green appears with a reddish tint to my eye but overall color reproduction is accurate. I rate the lens a 5 for sight fishing and a 9 for all around bright sun use. Lens Durability: I always wait a few months to write a sunglasses review to see how the sunglasses are going to hold up. I can honestly say that after 4-5 months of regular around town wear, there is not a single scratch on these lenses. Glass lenses are scratch resistant to begin with but these really take it up a notch. If you want a pair of shades that you can stuff in your pocket and bang around without worrying about scratches, the Maui Jim lens is awesome. I rate the lens durability a 10.
Frame Durability: The Volcano has an interesting and well thought out frame design. The tips are flexible and have a rubber cover with gripping ends to stick behind your ear. The hinges are heavy duty and snap to position either open or closed. The hinges also have some outward flex which is nice to help prevent snapping them off on accident. The frame overall is a heavy duty design with thick nose pads and thick edges all the way around the lens. The frame design exudes quality construction and this is not a frame that is going to break easily. I rate the frame durability a 10.
Wear-Ability/Comfort: If there’s one place the Maui Jim Volcanoes show weakness, it’s the wear-ability and comfort factor. The heavy duty frame and glass lenses weigh quite a bit and I found that a 10 hour day in these sunglasses really puts a strain on the bridge of your nose. The lenses don’t fog much on hot days, but the bridge is a glossy nylon material and it has a tendency to slip down your nose on a hot sweaty day especially if you have sunscreen on. The best analogy I can think of to describe the comfort factor would be a backpack. You can have the most indestructible, well designed backpack in the world, but if you fill it up with a big load and wear it around all day your back is still going to be sore. The Volcanoes are a very nice pair of sunglasses, they’re just heavy. If your styling around town or heading to the beach for a few hours, it’s all good, but if you plan on being out all day sweating in the hot sun, this might not be your best option. I rate the wear-ability/comfort a 6.
