Smith Prospect Review
Living in the state of Colorado where there is as much sunshine as there are Subaru’s, I find that I am wearing sunglasses more than the typical outdoors person. For whatever reason, I started young with wearing sunglasses a lot and I have never turned back. Over the last month, I have had the opportunity to test out the Smith Prospect Sunglasses, which are sports/activity oriented sunglasses.
Uses
For testing the Prospect sunglasses, I took these sunglasses out on a number of runs including both road and trail, hikes, and I also tested the fashion sense at a few spring/summer bbq’s. For running, I found the Prospect to breath well and not get too sweaty while running. There were a few times when I would have to wipe the sweat from the lenses, but sometimes the heat wins out no matter what technologies are used. For hiking, I liked the fit of the Prospect sunglasses as they stuck to my head, but weren’t super tight around my temples. One of the features that helps hold them on your head is the rubber that is used on the inside of the sunglass arms and on the nose pads.
Frame
The frame of the Smith Prospect is made from the Smith Evolve material. This material used is Rilsan Clear, which is approximately 53% bio based (eco friendly). The frame is semi-transparant which I found to be pretty cool looking. Typically with sport glasses, you get a solid color for the frame, but I found the Rilsan Clear material to perform just as well and not allow additional light in.
Lens
The lens that Smith uses in the Prospect is called Tapered Lens Technology, or TLT. With the TLT in the Prospect lens, you don’t get a bunch of distorted rays, but you get one direct ray that allows your eye to read what it is seeing more accurately. I find that when I wore the sunglasses, my views were sometimes more clear than without the sunglasses on. Objects seemed to be a little more defined, which makes life a little more rosy…
Fit
The Smith Prospect sunglasses have a medium fit. The frame measurements for these sunglasses are as follows 61-19-125. Since each persons head is a different size, I won’t get too much into the detail on how they fit my head. I feel that I should mention that I have a medium sized head and that the Prospect sunglasses fit perfectly.
Frame and Lens Options
The Prospect comes in five frame color options; Blue Blazor, Matte Black, Black, Blue Stripe, and Brown Stripe. I tested out the Blue Blazor frame and I really enjoyed the color on the frame. It was close to black, but it had a little flair to it with it being a somewhat clear blue color. The Lens options include; Polarized Gold Mirror, Polarized Blue Mirror, Polarized Gray Green, Polarized Gray, and Polarized Brown. I tested out the Polarized Gold Mirror and found the lens/frame combo looks great.
The Smith Prospect retails for $119 which is a standard price for a quality pair of sunglasses these days. Overall, I really enjoyed the Smith Prospects and I would suggest them for people looking for a sport sunglasses that can be doubled as a casual sunglass.
