ProView – Zeal Optics Fillmore Review

The shape of the Fillmore sunglasses is bold. When I pulled them out of the box I was a little skeptical that they would become part of my regular sunglasses rotation because they are such a unique shape. I was pleasantly surprised, however, with how flattering they were when I put them on. In addition to wearing them daily while driving or spending time in the backyard, I decided to put them through an extra test wearing them on a backcountry hut trip and taking them as my sunglasses on an eight day backcountry ski trip in Alaska. Spoiler alert: I loved them even in these situations that they aren’t necessarily designed for.

I started testing the Fillmore sunglasses during every day activities like driving to work and running errands. They are a comfortable, everyday option that make a statement with their shape but not so much that they aren’t over the top for daily use. 

My first long test with them was a Hut Trip outside of Leadville, Colorado. Normally I don’t skin in metal framed glasses because I’m worried about bending or breaking them taking them in and out of my pack, but decided to take them on the trip to really test them out. 

Often while I’m skinning my sunglasses slide down my sweaty nose and I find myself constantly pushing them back up. With the Fillmore sunglasses I was pleasantly surprised that they stayed put for the entirety of my skinning and the nose pieces were comfortable the entire time. I also loved the polarization which helped reduce the glare from all the sun. While we were in the hut for the weekend, several of my friends tried the glasses on, too, and were impressed with how comfortable they were and surprised with how good they looked on a variety of different face shapes and sizes.

After the success on the Hut Trip, I decided to take the Fillmore’s with me on a backcountry skiing trip in Alaska. The majority of this trip was either days touring on Thompson and Hatcher passes and I wore these sunglasses every single day both while skiing and driving our large RV around. They continued to hold up and were impressively durable. There were a few times I forgot their hard case and they did just fine being shoved in my backpack tucked inside of a hat squished in with crampons, skins, layers, etc. The wider frame shape also provided plenty of protection on sunnier days and I didn’t feel like I needed anything more from these glasses, even though I was using them for more than they are necessarily designed to do. 

Friendliness to the Earth

Zeal as a brand is very conscious of their impact on their environment and is passionate about reducing that impact. The Fillmore glasses are constructed with bio-plastic lenses and eco-friendly temple tips. All of their sunglasses use plant-based materials in their lenses and frames. In addition, Zeal is committed to giving back to their communities and environment through volunteer work, which definitely makes me want to keep purchasing and recommending their products. 

The Final Word

Zeal’s Fillmore sunglasses are an eye catching design that are both comfortable, high-performing, and environmentally friendly. I was incredibly impressed with them and am excited to continue to follow Zeal and purchase more from a company that clearly puts a lot of thought into their design process and cares for the environment and their community.

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