Maui Jim Spartan Reef-278

I love these sunglasses. The most apparent advantage for me is how solid and sturdy they are. While the feel of a good, light pair of sunglasses is great, I actually prefer how durable these seem to be. I love that I don’t feel like I need to treat this pair delicately when I put them on, take them off, set them down somewhere, or put them back in the case. The frames and earpieces are thicker than most and very smooth. They don’t catch or snag at all when I put them on. The rotation of the arms is a bit tighter than other Maui Jim sunglasses but not so tight that it feels like you’re prying them open. The nose pads are actually embedded in the rims which causes the sunglasses to rest a little lower than those with the extended pads. I have a slightly smaller nose which results in a slight feeling of nose-pinching (also barely noticeable). The shape and size of the lenses are perfect and could not possibly be better for my personal preferences: not too big and boisterous but not so small where you are forced to rotate your head to see everything within your frame of sight. In terms of visual quality, Spartan Reef is second to none. Why? Because Maui Jim made them. The clarity is amazing and the “pop” of color is incredible. We went on a mountain drive last week to see the changing fall colors. It was a bright, sunny day at high elevation, so I had my Spartan Reefs on. When we stopped, I took them off for a moment and did a double-take. The colors of the leaves were somehow more bright and vivid with the sunglasses on than with them off! I don’t understand how that’s even possible, but my wife can vouch for me. My very favorite sunglasses are those where within 10 seconds of putting them on, I don’t even notice they are there. I don’t notice the frames within my vision, I don’t notice the weight on my nose or feel the arms behind my ears. The Spartan Reef doesn’t quite meet that criteria given the slight increase in weight and size of frames, but the look,

The matt surface takes a bit getting used to. Quite a narrow frame. But sits snuggly. Excellent optics.