As part of our Outdoor Retailer experience this year we started with Hobie Polarized. Our goal is to bring new products and companies into the Loadout Room That we have not showcased before. Case in point; Hobie Polarized. At first I was a little leery of talking to another sunglasses company because we have showcased other sunglasses already and honestly how many pairs of them can we review before it becomes uninteresting and not worth your time.

After we sat down with the representative and started talking I posed the question to her; What sets Hobie Polarized apart from Oakley, Smith Optics and Gatorz Eyewear? She didn’t hesitate with her response. What set’s Hobie Polarized apart is two-fold. First off, ALL Hobie sunglasses are polarized no matter what style you choose. The second and probably more impressive reason is their Hydro Lens Technology. I’ll reference their website so that I don’t screw anything up in the translation.

From their website:

Hobie Polarized has always stood for the highest quality polarized lenses available. With the addition of our new revolutionary HydroClean Plus lens coating, you get unmatched vision on and off the water. The lenses start with Hobie’s proven polarized film technology. A series of enhanced hydrophobic and anti-reflective coatings are then applied to each lens under carefully controlled conditions. The result is a lens that sheds water, resists dust and grime and is easy to clean. Our HydroClean Plus lenses continue the Hobie Polarized tradition of eliminating glare, innovation and quality you’ve come to trust and rely on.

HYDRO INFINITY LENSES 
We have raised the bar with the new Hydro Infinity lens technology! We took out Hydroclean Plus coating and wrapper it 360 degrees around our Hobie lenses, giving you the best hydrophobic and oleophobic coverage available. Only Hydro Infinity lenses repeal water, sunscreen and sweat from all angles, making them perfectly suited for any outdoor enthusiasts who can’t stop to clean their Hobie’s while taking on the elements!

All in all we left the meeting pretty damn impressed and with a pair to test and evaluate for you guys. We got an opportunity to get some cool pictures of them while we were doing some recreational free climbing.

Stay tuned for a more detailed review of these shades!