ProView – Zeal Optics Caddis

I wear sunglasses religiously (I’m kind of obsessed about protecting my eyes) and often get anxious when I forget my glasses at home. I have a pair of sunglasses for almost every activity including climbing and guiding, mountain biking, fishing, and a general pair for everything else. That’s a lot of pairs to keep up with, so when I saw the Zeal Caddis, I thought I should give them a try. They have several features that I thought might work well as a quiver of one. I’ve spent several days wearing these glasses climbing, fishing, trail running, and mountain biking, and so far they’ve worked exceptionally well for all of the above.

Fit/Comfort

While I don’t have a large head, it’s certainly not small either. I found the Caddis to fit me just right. It fits snugly to my head yet not too tight. According to Zeal Optics, the Caddis frame fit is a “generously sized frame construction for a larger head or face.” Comparing the glasses to other pairs I own and wear frequently, they are slightly smaller and seem to be more averaged-sized than large. Again, no complaints for me personally, but something to consider if you do have a large head. 

Look/Style

The Zeal Caddis aren’t overly flashy which I prefer. The frame shape and details are a style that I find appealing. With sunglasses, there are certain styles people are drawn to, so I can’t say they are stylish for everyone. I do like the accent detail along the temple which gives it a bit of color contrast. The frame on mine is black with a small blue accent along the temple which looks great. 

Features

These glasses have Zeal Optics Auto Sun lenses which blend photochromic technology with polarization. I found the polarization works well while fishing and for general protection from UV rays. Just to see how well they worked for fish finding, I was able to spot a fish while wearing them that I then immediately lost it once I took the glasses off. I spotted the fish again with the glasses back on. These glasses will likely be my new go-to sunglasses for fly fishing. When mountain biking, I have been wearing a pair of glasses from another brand that also have photochromic lenses. Those glasses go from completely clear to a dark tint, so this is what I am accustomed to. The Zeal Caddis start off with a slight tint and then darken from there. I don’t notice the change of color as much with the Caddis, since they already have a tint. Even though they are not completely clear, I have taken them on several mountain bike rides and when the lighting was low I was still able to see well. The other thing that impressed me with the Caddis was, given the humid climate in the southeast, I barely had them fog up on me, even after a grueling mountain bike climb in 90-degree heat with high humidity. Overall, I find the lenses and frames to be high quality and to function as advertised.

Durability/Construction

While I haven’t had the glasses long enough to really test the durability, they seem to be built well and will likely hold up to the abuse I’m known to put sunglasses through. I’m of the mindset of spending a little extra to buy a quality product that will hold up for years and I feel that the Zeal Caddis is certainly one of those products. The cool thing about the Caddis sunglasses is that they are constructed with Z-resin bio-plastic, a plant based plastic that is renewable, and reduces the overall environmental impact of the product. This alone had me sold on the glasses. I don’t know of many sunglass manufacturers out there that are using bio-plastics to construct their frames.   

Final Word

Overall, I think the Zeal Caddis are a great pair of sunglasses for all types of activities. They are excellent for spotting fish in the creek and perform well when speeding downhill on the gnarliest mountain bike trails. I love the fact that they are made from a plant-based plastic so even if they’re not the most expensive sunglasses, they certainly are top of the line in my book. With that said, I would like to see a bit more of a transition with the AutoSun feature and I think the sizing may throw some people off.   

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