adidas has long provided some of the best athletic shoes, apparel and accessories in sport. From golf shoes to Muay Thai training apparel, adidas has some of the highest quality, highest performance and most comfortable offerings available.
As of January 2008 adidas has added the “adivista” line of golf specific eyewear. Just as adidas’ apparel and shoe offerings, the adivista line is comfortable, stylish, high performance, and provides protection for a part of golfers’ bodies which often goes unnoticed.
Technology
The first thing sunglasses need to do is protect. The adivista lenses provide full protection from UV A, B and C rays and blue light. Blue light can cause macular degeneration.
During a five hour round a golfer may experience an extreme variance in lighting conditions. The adivista’s “photochromic” lenses provide the “perfect lighting” via a “Light Stabilizing Technology or “LST.” The adivista’s LST helps keep the player’s eyes relaxed even when switching from extreme dark to light conditions. For instance, during a typical golf shot the player looks down at the ball and up to the horizon several times. In the case of Jose Maria Olazabal it may be several dozen times. The difference in brightness between the two can be 20x or more, causing the player’s eyes to need major adjustment in how much light is let in. This can cause extreme fatigue and compromise the player’s focus and ability to hit good shots. LST allows the golfer’s eyes to remain relaxed, preventing fatigue and promoting better play.
An important quality needed in golf sunglasses is “distortion free” vision. The curves in the lenses of many sunglasses may distort what the player sees and may cause the player to misread greens or misjudge the contours of the course. The adivista lenses provide a completely distortion free view.
Looks & style
My adivistas are very stylish and classy looking. Some sunglasses out there can make you look like an insect or an alien or worse, an alien insect. These shades are sporty looking, yet classy enough to wear to more formal outside events.
Fit – a.k.a. “TRI.FIT”
I don’t have the world’s most “normal” head shape and some shades just don’t fit me well. Some golf sunglasses slide off my nose during my swing. Some are crooked. Some give me headaches because they press against my head too hard above the ears. Not the case with the adivistas.
When I put the adivistas on they fit my head perfectly. I didn’t need to take advantage of adidas’ “TRI.FIT” system. If I did need a custom fit there are eight levels of adjustment in the temples which a person can make with the adivistas. This coupled with the “Double Snap Nose Bridge” and “nose traction grips” keeps the shades snug but comfortable.
At the course, the beach, the mountains…
I’ve worn my adivistas for dozens of rounds of golf now. I’m very satisfied with the colors and detail I see on the course. I’m able to read greens very well and see all the contours of the course clearly. At the end of a round, even like the last two I played in Las Vegas where the temps were close to 110F, my eyes were relaxed and not strained due to the brightness.
In addition to enjoying these super light and comfortable shades on the golf course, I’ve hiked with them up to about 11,000 feet. I’ve worn them at the beach in Southern California. Taking advantage of the TRI.FIT system and the non slip technology I even rode a bunch of roller coasters at Knott’s Berry Farm while wearing them. Free falling or going through loops upside down, my adivistas never hinted that they may fall off.
Case and cleaning cloth.
An important accessory which comes with the adivistas is the hard case. Golf bags take some hits and it is important for the case to protect the shades when in the golf bag. The adivista case does so very well. The case has a cool way of closing where some teeth lock into each other, allowing you to clamp the case down onto the shades to prevent them from shifting or bouncing around.
A cleaning cloth is also included which also serves as a soft cover for the shades.
Critiques
I have a pet peeve with adidas’ web site. I tried to find the eyewear lines there so I could get some information and photos. There’s so much fancy flash content you have to wait for and sift through, and the navigation of the site is quite unorganized and infuriating. I’d love to send you to a link to see adidas’ page on these shades, but I didn’t have the patience to wait for all the bells, whistles and fancy animations to fly around my computer screen.
Conclusion
adidas has a winner with the adivista golf/sport sunglasses. They’re high performance. They provide the golfer with the best lighting and distortion free vision. They’re super light and comfortable yet stay firmly on the players head even during hard golf swings. Last but not least, they look cool.
HOGWire – Golf Industry News
