Customer Reviews

Native Eyewear Hardtop XP Sunglasses, Asphalt with Brown Lens

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased these glasses a little over a year ago. I thought they were pricey for what they are, but, they have a lifetime warranty. They fit great and are so light you don't know you have them on. The warranty is a joke. I just had one of the sidearm pivots break and contacted Native about warranty repair. The said I could purchase the parts on their internet site. Warranty? ????? If there was something that was covered it would cost $30 service fee plus cost of shipping. This does not include lenses so I am not sure what would be covered. Anyway I went online and the sidearms with sports band, that broke, is not available. I did not buy these on Amazon(should have). They cost me $129 which for what you get is ridiculous.

I don't think you could purchase sunglasses over the Internet, as there is no way to tell how they fit and match the shape of your face. Visit a mall kiosk or REI, try on all the Oakley's and Smith's and Native's and see what is comfortable and looks good actually on your face. Take a friend who isn't afraid to tell you how silly you look in Blue lenses or whatever. I took my wife :-)

I can't recommend Polarized lenses enough. They make a huge difference and you can see things you otherwise wouldn't, like through the windshield of oncoming cars that without the lenses just look like reflected sky. But other than the extra spying on passers-by, it is all about minimizing the reflected glare that hits your eyes. My wife chose a pair of Oakley's because they were the most comfortable and she liked how they looked. Let me admit that when I put hers on, and compare the lenses to mine, that the Oakley polarized lenses are a little better quality. You'd never know without comparing side by side or if your eyesight isn't perfect (mine is 20/15). Also, cheap polarized lenses can actually show a horizontal-blind effect, so I'd stay away from cheapies unless you are always breaking or losing your sunglasses.

That said, I've had Native Hardtop XP in Gunmetal with Polarized Silver Reflex lenses for over 2 years. If you need the taller lenses for your face, consider the XP. As far as I know, that's the only difference between the Hardtop and Hardtop XP. I had to spend some time bending the ear-ends of the sides outwards to make them not pinch my head so bad in that spot, but I have a larger head (X-Large motorcycle helmet size).

Perhaps a year ago, the left ear-cushion started to loosen, and within a few months would actually stay on my ear when removing the sunglasses. I opted to fix it with a dab of Gorilla SuperGlue (the only brand of superglue I've ever found that doesn't dry up into a worthless tube of solid remains after a while - highly recommended FYI) rather than spend $30 for a warranty service for them. This week, something must have gotten set on top of them in the car because the hinge end of the same left side broke where the hinge-hole is, so now I have to do something. Again, rather than spend $30 on a warranty service I see that I can order a whole PAIR of replacement side pieces (including new ear-cushion things) for $25 plus $1.95 shipping, so in a few days I'll be back in business.

I'm pretty careful with my sunglasses. I've owned about 5 pairs of Oakleys over the last 20 years, and I just didn't want to spend quite that much for Polarized lenses this time around. I expect these to last me another 3 or 4 years. If you want something that won't scratch you'll have to look for sunglasses without coatings on them, the Iridium and Reflex coatings that Oakley and Native use will scratch if you drop them or get hit with a sandy volleyball spinning just right. With these Native you also get 3 other sets of lenses, so you could switch to the non-coated when you know you're going into a rough and potentially scratchy environment, or use the Yellow "shooters" lenses, or the Clear lenses which are just for UV blocking and eye protection. In all these are a good value. You can find worse, you can find better, and you can always find someone who wonders why you spent more than $10 on a pair of sunglasses. That's fine, I don't see what anyone sees in a $300 pair of designer-brand ugly things either. To each their own, and again that's why you need to do a bit of foot work or borrow a friend's pair or something in order to narrow down your choices before buying online.

Hope this helps someone!

Update: July 2010
After nearly 4 years, I finally rubbed my lenses after they got splashed, rubbing them what I thought was carefully on my shirt (maybe the shirt was sandy or dusty?), and the Reflex coating rubbed off pretty badly in the center of both lenses. After washing them and polishing them thoroughly with a soft cloth, they don't really effect my vision (I assume I "smoothed out" the edges of the missing spots by polishing them) but anyone looking at them can easily notice the center shiny parts all rubbed away, so these are now "junk" lenses I'd put in the frames before I went somewhere I expect to get them abused. I'll experiment with rubbing the rest of the coating off without scratching the actual lenses so I still have a polarized lens set that doesn't look bad.

I bought these sunglasses for a 3-month-long sailing/sea kayaking trip to Mexico last year and I've been using them HARD ever since. They have held up unbelievably well. I've used them for sea kayaking, sailing, hiking, driving, motorcycling...basically everything. They've been stepped on, dropped, bumped...I even dropped a DeWalt Heavy-Duty cordless drill on them, and the frames have remained 100% intact; the lens has one barely noticeable scratch. They're so light that I barely notice that I'm wearing them, yet they fit well enough to not fall off, even during intense recreation. The polarized lenses improve vision, especially for driving and/or motorcycling.

The only thing I will warn of is that the reflex lenses will lose their shine in salt water. This is really no big deal, since they still work perfectly as lenses, but I would advise you to save those lenses for less intense occasions.

Very Comfortable and effective sunglasses but the temples broke after two months with only normal wear. Look for a different brand.

These are awesome sunglasses! I am on my third pair (not because they broke, but because I have a tendency to loose things), and have been wearing these (same model - Hardtop XP) since 1996.

I compared these a while back to a pair of my Ray-Ban sunglasses and I couldn't believe how much better these cut the glare and made the view much more clear.

The ability to change lenses is great for those days were it is cloudy and bright, but not so bright that the dark lenses are needed. Also, I have a round, and wide, face/head and these fit much better than other sunglasses.

Very comfortable sunglasses with excellent optics. Unfortunately, the joints that connect the sidearms to the frame are very fragile. You can buy new sidearms for about $25 a pair, but you'll probably find that you break the same joint every time (must have something to do with how you put on and take off the glasses), so you're really spending $25 a PIECE. I've now gone through 3 sidearms (always the left side), and seriously wonder if it makes sense to plop down another $25 for a replacement.

I bought both a blue tint and yellow tint lens pair (primarily for different ski conditions) but now I have the replacement "clear" extra lenses for driving. Creates incredible depth perception improvement even on overcast days. I am a customer for life! Plus with both the hard case and the soft case -- that doubles as a lense cleaner -- these are a bargain even though the initial price might seem high. Very well engineered and packaged!!!!

Great sunglasses. Top 'vents' keep them away from my face and prevent fogging. Polarized is only way to go. Bought because of the lifetime warranty because I usually wear stuff into the ground. Used them in in sports, running, beach, you name it. Came with great extras.

These glasses are lightweight, stay on my non-narrow head, don't look too ridiculous (AKA, not superhero chic) and let me see where I'm going with perfect clarity. I bought these for biking but have been wearing them everyday, pretty much every time I'm outside. It makes protecting my eyes from UV rays so effortless! Hardy design. Doesn't get dirty/greasy. All in all, a perfect product. (Oh ok, if you must know, the bottom of the plastic lenses sometimes sits on my cheekbones, which sort of hurts.) Almost perfect then.

This is the second pair of sunglasses that I purchased. They fit just as well as the first pair. Very durable and very well made.