[Review] The Portola Sunglasses by Sunski

I’ve wanted to try a pair of Sunski sunglasses for a while now and am so excited to finally have my first pair. The Portolas by Sunski are a cute and classic style, fit amazingly well, and are lightweight yet not flimsy and cheap feeling. A huge bonus with the Portolas is that they are made from recycled plastics.

This classic frame shape is one that I feel like everyone should have in their sunglasses quiver. The frame style and feel is classic and subtle, yet the poppy mirrored rose lens adds a touch of color and lets people know you’re ready to have a good time.

The Portolas come in at only $68 and for sunglasses that are made of high-quality materials, are polarized, and backed by a forever warranty, that price is hard to beat. Polarization is important to protect your eyes from glare (in addition to UV rays) and while it’s often a better choice than non-polarized, I feel like many people have a hard time getting into polarized lenses because of the price. Not the case with the Portolas!

One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to sunglasses is the fit. Not only are my sunglasses heading out with me on adventures, they’re also imperative for my work and if my sunglasses fall off of my face when I bend over, they’re absolutely pointless for me! The Portolas fit really well and feel very secure no matter what I’m doing. The frame almost has a bit of a bend to it so that they fit the natural contour of my head, adding to the nice fit. There aren’t any rubber grips on the nose or temple pieces, however I’ve found that they aren’t necessary because of the overall fit of the sunglasses.

While I personally love the pink lenses and like the feminine touch, a male could absolutely wear these sunglasses! I have a medium sized face and I would say that they fit normally on my face. I think on a guy or gal with a larger face, they would appear as a little bit smaller of frames but not in a detrimental way.

One thing that should be noted is that the mirrored lenses are at greater risk of being damaged and scratched. If you are really hard on your sunglasses, I would recommend looking at the non-mirrored lenses and going that route. I try really hard to take good care of my sunglasses and I’ll often have different sunglasses for activities that I know are going to be hard on my shades. The sunglasses do come with a carrying case. I don’t love how the carrying case isn’t made of a material that can be used to clean the lenses, as Sunski stresses that the mirrored lenses should only by cleaned by soft microfiber. I didn’t receive a cloth for cleaning and the case is definitely not microfiber so if you have an extra lens wipe around it would be a good idea to keep it with the pouch.

While I have yet to test it (and it would definitely be my goal to never have to!) the Sunski warranty seems amazing. Pretty much everything is covered to some extent except losing your sunglasses. If you break your sunglasses under normal use Sunski will fix or replace them. Major damages to the frame will be covered but minor ones won’t – for the perfectly good reason of the fact that that is a waste of sunglasses. If you have broken or scratched lenses, chances are you weren’t taking good enough care of them and while Sunski can’t replace lenses for free, they will sell you lenses at cost.

This warranty seems so so legitimate to me and I love that they’re covering you for pretty much any damages to your shades, even if you instigate the damage by doing something stupid. To spend only $68 on a pair of sunglasses covered by this warranty seems like one hell of a deal to me. Not only are you covering your accidents, Sunski is also ensuring that perfectly usable products are not going to waste.

I really like the fit and feel of the Portolas and they’ll be a classic style for many years to come. The fact that you can get a stylish, polarized, well-warrantied pair of shades for under $70 is pretty mind-boggling to me. I would absolutely recommend the Portolas to my friends and I would also without a doubt try a second pair of Sunskis in the future. They are high-quality protection for your eyeballs but they’ll also keep you looking fresh and stylish. Be sure to check out all of Sunski’s glasses both from the recycled line and traditional line.