SHADE Eyewear is an Australian brand based at Tugun on the Gold Coast. The local angle is not just a nice story, it means the product is designed for the conditions it is actually sold into, which is more than can be said for a lot of eyewear that lands here.

The real test

Glare off a car bonnet at three in the afternoon, a sideline at a kids' rugby league game with no shade anywhere, and heat that warps a cheap frame if you leave it on a dashboard. Most sunglasses are fine on day one. The ones worth writing about are fine in February.

Survival is the other half of it. A pair that lives in a family car is not being cared for, it is being used, and that is the honest condition to judge them in.