HOBIE EYEWEAR

HOBIEEYEWEAR.COM

Hobie glasses are a “started in a garage” success story by a water-loving boater and surfer who wanted something better for his sport. The polycarbonate lenses have five coatings: a hardness coating inside and out to combat scratching, a coating to prevent water spotting, a mirror layer, and a polarization filter to reduce side glare and confine light transmission to horizontal beams. Frames are made of Ultem and TR-90 materials. Spring-loaded hinges open precisely, and comolded temples and nose pads are bonded to the frames for durability and to secure a friction fit.

The Huntington frames we tested in the blue-mirror polar lenses ($109) were ideal for a larger face. They provided good side-glare protection from the face-hugging curve of the lens without peripheral-blocking wide temples. The twist to our Huntington style is it offers the owner seven different interchangeable clip-lens options ($40 to $50 each). Blue-mirror polar lenses were great for blue water and seemed to transmit more light, which is helpful in lower light. The greenmirror copper lens worked best in brown water.

The Bells frames ($120) came with magnetic clip lenses and are available in five different flavors. We liked the green-mirror copper for inshore, and found the magnetic clips far easier to change than the standard clips of the Huntington. The smaller frame and more rounded lenses are an ideal fashion statement, but still effective for most boaters with a narrower face. Both frames boasted narrow temples, allowing better peripheral views.