
John and I have been ardent fans of Maui Jim sunglasses for many years and many pairs. Their glasses get ever lighter in weight and more comfortable and their lenses get ever better at cutting glare on the water (we prefer their super-thin polarized glass lenses in gray).
However, John’s last pair had a problem: the rubber tips on the arm pieces started coming off soon after purchase. Because we were out cruising, we didn’t have a chance to send them in for repair. That is, until we came to rest on the dock here in Charleston SC for the winter. By then they were a right mess: John had drilled holes in the arms through which he ran green leech line to both act as a neck strap and to keep the rubber pieces from falling off. When this didn’t quite work the way he wanted it to, he added small florescent wire ties to hold the leech line glasses holder in place. Then, when one of the arm pieces broke right off, he used duct tape to reattach it. And then, to add insult to injury, he wore this fluorescent, twine and duct tape bedecked contraption with his old disreputable Tilley hat. It was really quite terrifying.
When we finally sent the glasses in for repair, despite the elapsed time and John’s various Rube Goldberg inspired adaptations, Maui Jim replaced the frames and only charged us a shipping fee ($10.00). Now that’s service!
*Aloha traditionally meant affection, peace, compassion and mercy before being taken over by English speakers as a way of saying hello (Wikipedia). I think Maui Jim gave John his new frames for free based on the original definition of Aloha: compassion and mercy for the state of his old pair!
Which sunglasses have worked well for you? Please leave a comment.