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Maui Jim World Cup Review

Great coverage and security for being around water, though not our favorite style
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Maui Jim World Cup Review
Credit: REI Co-op
Price:  $250 List
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Manufacturer:   Maui Jim
By Maggie Nichols ⋅ Senior Review Editor  ⋅  Sep 11, 2019
69
OVERALL
SCORE
  • Lens Quality - 30% 9.0
  • Comfort - 25% 6.0
  • Frame Quality - 20% 5.0
  • Style and Versatility - 15% 5.0
  • Coverage - 10% 9.0

Our Verdict

The World Cups are right up there with the best of them for sheer lens quality. Their SuperThin Glass lenses are crystal clear and provide excellent protection and a clear view of the colors and contrasts of the world. Their wrap-around style helps cut down on glare from the water or road, though at the cost of your peripheral vision. While we appreciate their protectiveness, they're quite heavy and their style isn't for everyone.
REASONS TO BUY
Great clarity
Excellent on-water coverage
Doesn't distort colors
Wrap-around security
REASONS TO AVOID
Heavy
Wobbly hinges
Sporty style doesn't work for everyone
Lose peripheral vision

Our Analysis and Test Results

We tested the World Cups with Neutral Grey lenses, Maui Jim's best for on-water activities under bright light. They're a medium-large fit, come with a semi-rigid, zippered case and microfiber cleaning cloth/bag case, and can be ordered with prescription lenses.

Performance Comparison


maui jim world cup - these shades are great quality and provide excellent coverage and...
These shades are great quality and provide excellent coverage and protection.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg

Lens Quality


Maui Jim's Neutral Grey lenses provide excellent eye protection in a quality package. Not only are they 99.9% polarized, but they are also one of just a handful that offer any amount of HEV or blue light blockage. Made of SuperThin Glass, these lenses are superbly clear and naturally scratch resistant. A high gloss coating helps cut out even more glare and an oleophobic layer repels oil, making them easy to clean.

Neutral Grey Lenses
  • 99.9% Polarization
  • 100% UV Protection
  • 8% Visible Light Transmission (Category 3)
  • HEV/Blue Light “Reduction”, 0% Infrared Blockage
  • Color: Grey, Material: SuperThin Glass
  • Not Impact Resistant, High Gloss, Anti-Scratch, Oleophobic

However, being made of glass means they're not impact-resistant, so be careful about dropping them! The Neutral Gray lenses also offer very little in the way of enhanced contrast compared to many others. At the same time though, they do provide a crystal clear picture with undistorted colors, for a crisp view of your surroundings.

maui jim world cup - glass lenses provide exceptional clarity.
Glass lenses provide exceptional clarity.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg

Comfort


Though those glass lenses are great to look through, they come at a heavy cost - 53 grams to be exact! That's about double the weight of most of the competition with polycarbonate lenses and lightweight frames. However, the wrap-around style of these specs help to hold their weight close to your face while balancing it well, so you hardly notice the added grams. This same wrap-around fit brings them pretty close to your face and can feel a bit tight above and behind the ears. If you don't like your shades to touch anywhere other than nose pads and ears, these might not be the right choice for you. But if you're down with that, the secure fit of these glasses is actually reasonably comfortable.

maui jim world cup - though they're heavy, they ride close to your face so you hardly...
Though they're heavy, they ride close to your face so you hardly notice the extra grams.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg

Frame Quality


The World Cup's beefy frames help round out their overall burly appearance. A rubberized matte finish helps cut down on scratches to the frame, though does hold onto fuzzies a bit more than slick frames. Made of high-grade injected nylon, each piece fits together seamlessly, and Maui Jim offers a 2-year manufacturer warranty. The only thing about these frames that we worry about are the comparatively skinny spring hinges. Even after tightening them repeatedly, they let the very wide bows wobble quite a bit - not the best sign for years of use to come.

maui jim world cup - the hinges are rather narrow for these wide bows and despite how...
The hinges are rather narrow for these wide bows and despite how tight we tightened them, they're still wobbly.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg

Style and Versatility


Our crowd has mixed feelings about these sporty duds. If “sporty” is the look you're after, the World Cups may just be your bag. Others were bothered by the lack of peripheral vision, the weight of the shades, and how it “makes me look like a cop”. Unlike some of the other, more versatile sunnies we tested, these don't work for everyone.

maui jim world cup - not everyone loves the look of these sporty shades, but those who do...
Not everyone loves the look of these sporty shades, but those who do really love them.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg

Coverage


This is another place where the World Cups do well. A base curve of 8 gives them a pretty wrap-around, face-hugging fit. Wide bows help block out glare from the side, and their close fit prevents most top light from entering. For a long day on the water, these are a great, protective choice. For everyday activities like driving or bike commuting, they cut out a bit too much of your peripheral vision to be ideal.

maui jim world cup - though not a complete face-wrap, the world cups provide excellent...
Though not a complete face-wrap, the World Cups provide excellent coverage that comes in handy for long days on the water.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg

Case Quality


The World Cups come with a semi-rigid, zippered case with a little plastic clip on one end and a microfiber cleaning cloth/bag. This case isn't our favorite, as the zipper has small teeth that are pulled back a bit from the matching edges, making zipping and unzipping a bit harder than it ought to be. The bag/cloth does a great job cleaning the lenses and acting as a protective layer when we don't need a full-on hardshell case.

maui jim world cup - the complete world cup package.
The complete World Cup package.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg

Value


The World Cups aren't cheap, and are more expensive than most other options we tested. If you're on the hunt for “one pair to rule them all”, we think you'd be better served spending your dough on a more versatile pair. But if what you seek is awesome, secure on-water coverage and protection, these will certainly deliver!

maui jim world cup - for on-water coverage and protection, the world cups bring their a...
For on-water coverage and protection, the World Cups bring their A game.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg

Conclusion


This pair of Maui Jims offer the same high-quality lenses we've come to expect from the company, in a secure pair of frames that provide superb coverage against the harsh glare from the water's surface. Though they're a bit heavy and have a specific style that isn't for everyone, they're a good quality pair of glasses that deliver great on-water protection and performance.

maui jim world cup - what they lack in style, they make up for with performance.
What they lack in style, they make up for with performance.
Credit: Maggie Brandenburg

Maggie Nichols
 

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