Climber Jimmy Chin in Revo Highside

REVO HAS REAPPEARED, and the return of one of the world’s great prestige brands is a revolutionary revelation for anyone who cares about performance sunglasses. Remember Revo? You wore Revo back in the late 1980s and the 1990s if you really cared about sharp lenses and super spiffy styling. That logo with the long e at the corner of your eyes meant you “got it.” You understood that sunglasses were more than a fashion statement. They were fashionable. Absolutely. But Revo wearers always coveted the technology that went into the best lenses of the era.

That’s still true. But both styling and technology have been totally updated. I’ve been wearing samples from the line since it was quietly reintroduced, and I’m delighted to report that the resurgent Revo has nailed it. Here’s the scoop:

Everything’s polarized. Why not? The world is full of glare. But polarization is polarization, right? Ahem… You haven’t been reading this site much, have you? High-end polarization like Revo’s is vastly superior to average polarization. Revo starts with the best film on the market, and does the lab testing to make sure that the filters are aligned precisely on the horizontal axis where they belong—and that the two lenses match. On Revo’s glass lenses, the filters are sandwiched inside. On Revo’s polycarbonate lenses, house-branded Serilium, the filter is infused inside the lens material, not applied to it. It effectively becomes one with the lens.

Alexandra Cousteau in Undercut

Super sharp. Revo’s glass lenses are as sharp as any sunglasses on the market, and its polycarbonate lenses are tapered to provide high-res optical quality through every portion of the lens. Trust me: Inexpensive sunglasses are not designed like this. Cheap shades let your eyes and brain do the optical correcting. That takes a toll on both. These are great lenses.

Coated. Revo also adds coatings—a wavelength-attenuation coating resolves diffuse glare, the kind that polarization can’t handle on its own; an antireflective coating means you don’t have to fight vague little reflections that weak havoc on the inside of the lens (again, do you think bargain shades do this?); and the hydrophobic coating banishes water, sweat, oils, and even dripping sunscreen from the surface of the lens.

Protective. The Serilium lens and nylon frame combination is virtually unbreakable and unshatterable.

Cool tints. Both glass and polycarbonate Revos lenses come in three tints. Graphite (gray) is remarkably relaxing. For me, the crazier the situation, the more neutral I want my lens. Revo’s graphite is color-true and has a calming, “ahh…” effect. It’s what I prefer in the mountains and on the trail. Cobalt looks bluish, but the effect from inside is neutral, though a bit more contrasty than the graphite. It’s a great lens around water, although in the polycarbonate version, light transmission is 21%—a bit light for a full day on the open ocean but superb for driving or golf. Finally, bronze, as always, is the most contrasty lens choice—it enhances everything you see, bringing colors to vivid life. Revo’s bronze amps up the world in ways you can’t imagine. It’s the difference between looking at Mars with your naked eye and seeing it in a powerful telescope. Wow. Especially in glass, you’ll never glean a sharper image of the world than through this bronze tint.

THE LINE

Revo Plot in Cobalt

Revo’s Flex line is svelte, lightweight, classy, with titanium frames that are amazingly strong for their gossamer weight. All the Flex models have Serilium (polycarbonate) lenses. I doubt the world has produced lighter sunglasses than these. My personal Flex choice is Plot ($303), but the differences are fine. Flex is supreme for street wear and driving.

Revo Discern in Glass Bronze

Shades in the Metal line have an aviator look. They’re all glass, and Revo hasn’t worked any miracles to make them somehow as light as polycarbonate. They’re noticeably heavier than the Flex line—not my faves for long stints of wearing—but soft nosepieces cushion the blow, and the lenses, remember, are “oh-my” sharp. I’ve been wearing Discern ($253) in bronze, and all I have to say is, “Oh my.”

Revo Highside in Graphite

The Nylon line is a mix of glass and polycarbonate lenses; polycarb models like Red Point, Abyss, and Highside are the best of the line for active sports or for summer at the beach. I feel cozily protected deep inside the high-wrap Highside ($193). (The frames are made of recycled material, by the way.)

Revo Headwall in Bronze

The Acetate line isn’t a line yet: It’s just one model, Headwall ($253), which has a handcrafted-looking frame and glass lenses, a superb fashion glass that embodies all the high-zoot Revo lens tech as well. Wear Headwall to make a statement. You’ll never go back to sunglasses that combine designer names with gas station–quality lenses.

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Reason No. 1: Your Current Sunglasses Just Plain Suck

You smugly congratulated yourself on finding $20 sunglasses that you think are as good as $200 ones. Or you blindly whipped out the Amex for $500 sunglasses because you saw them on some bimbo in Us or because they sported the name of an Italian designer who makes nice shoes. But do you honestly think that the cheapo manufacturer or the cobbler from Milan does the lab work, conducts the R&D, and goes to the expense of buying the best materials to provide optical acuity in their shades? No way. Bad sunglasses are worse than placebo medicine. They give you the illusion of protection, but they’re actually damaging your eyes.

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Reason No. 2: You Look Ridiculous

Still wearing slivery little shades from three years ago? Outré. Or grotesquely humongo, cringeworthy designer (or faux-designer) shades with dipsy-doodle temples, rhinestones, and leopard-print frames with bright gold logos? A good way to end up on some snarky blog post. As with clothing, price tags and good taste don’t necessarily tango. Want proof?

If this is the look you want, go for it. Otherwise, get real sunglasses.

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Reason No. 3: You’re Obsessed With Fashion

Nothing wrong with that. But if you’re paying $350 or $400 for sunglasses from a maker of Italian handbags, you’re paying way too much for truly awful visual acuity. Trust me: You can look way sexy and less like a fashion slave by buying from a company that makes (duh) sunglasses. Like Maui Jim, Revo, Kaenon, Costa Del Mar, Oakley, Hobie…. They all have great fashion shades that are as pleasurable to look through as to look at.

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Reason No. 4: Yours Aren’t Polarized

If you’re ever around glare coming off water, ice, or a long ribbon of highway, you want the oh-so-soothing effect of  polarized sunglasses. Polarization acts likes mini blinds within your sunglasses to cut glare and give your eyes a well-needed rest. Naturally, there’s cheap polarization (basically, glued onto the lenses where it easily scratches off) and good polarization, which uses high-quality film embedded into the lenses. Good polarization adds to the cost of sunglasses. Meaning: Cheap polarized sunglasses are really cheap. Don’t bother.

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Reason No. 5: Yours Are Hopelessly Scratched

Scratched lenses send your sunglasses stock plummeting. Yesterday’s pricy fashion shades, once scratched, might as well be gas-station sunglasses.  Plastic lenses, especially cheap plastic lenses, are delicate. They scratch easily, and looking through scratchy sunglasses is painful. You may get used to it, but your eyes are straining.  Better plastic lenses made of polycarbonate, NXT, or SR-39 (Kaenon’s proprietary material) are coated to resist scratching. But they can still get scratched. Replace your pitted shades with crisp new optics and the world will seem a better place. PS: Take better care next time! Use a case and a sunglass-specific lens cloth.

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Reason No. 6: You Lost Yours

Bummer. Two suggestions: 1.) Buy better ones this time. People lose Timexes, not Rolexes. You’re more likely to lose bargain shades than a good pair of Maui Jims. 2.) Croakies.
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Reason No. 7: Wrong Shades for the Job

Example: If the “job” is outdoor sports, you shouldn’t wear nice glass fashion lenses. They don’t wrap enough to provide peripheral protection, and an impact could shatter them and damage your eyes. Vice versa: Oakley Radar is a great model, but do you really want to rock the triathlete look on a stroll down Park Ave?
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Reason No. 8: Yours Are Too Light

If you bought sunglasses with a delicate fashion tint as a fashion statement, that tint is probably too light to do you any good. The Ozzy Osbourne look makes about as much sense as, well, Ozzy Osbourne. If you take your vanity seriously, listen up: Your wimpy shades might transmit 50% or more of visible light. That’s way too much. Over time, all that squinting and straining can lead to permanent crow’s feet—huge, unsightly wrinkles radiating from the corners of your eyes down the length of your body. If that’s not enough to make you aghast, know that excess visible light also harms your night vision.

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Reason No. 9: Yours Are Too Dark

If you bought cheapies at a discount store, they might be too dark. Your pupils are fighting to open widely enough for you to see—which is really bad if the lenses don’t provide 100% UV protection. Because as your pupils crank open, they invite the bad rays in with the good.

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