Smith Optics Showdown Sunglasses

www.smithoptics.com
I love aviators. I kind of feel like Maverick from Top Gun when I rock them. Smith’s Serpico was my all time favorite pair, incorporating a wrap-around curve that added function to the timeless aviator fashion. It’s shortcoming was durability. The answer? the Showdown. They’re so light you forget you are wearing them, yet, they stands up to significant abuse. The upgrades–barrel hinges with a slight overlap at the arm junction and new way of holding the lens in place–mean that the shades forgives my occasional dropping and smashing. Coupled with Smith’s $10 Zipper Case, I am able to leave these in my cargo pocket while I ski, and in my checked luggage when I travel. I even put them in my wing suit’s leg wing on BASE jumps and skydives. It rattles around in there, but they come out unscathed.
-JT Holmes