Review of HSTN Amethyst Transitions 077S
Amazon has some colors of HSTN on sale. I got the Black frame with Amethyst Transitions model.
Overall I’m not impressed and it feels like it’s good at nothing and barely competent at anything.
Fit / Comfort
Out of the box it was very tight on my head as many others stated. After wearing it for about 30 minutes it’s now snug versus tight, the plastic has loosened up a bit. It’s good that it’s snug because I don’t want this thing sliding off my face. The arms have no texture or the usual Oakley rubber grips, just plain slippery plastic.
They are heavy but I was able to wear them for a day out in the hot Florida heat without notable discomfort; full sunshine at an outdoor mall with a few stops indoors to cool down. The weight was always noticeable.
Sunglass Performance
Fail. It’s a borderline F but a very strong D-. In full sunlight and heat these glasses never reach peak tint, in fact they barely tint at all except if I look up directly at the sun for a 45-75 seconds. Under normal wear I found it was not enough protection and I need to squint a bit due to the strong sunlight. If I charge the lens by pointing the lens to the sun for 45-75 seconds it does tint up and initially it’s now unusable in the bright Florida sunlight, but it lightens up relatively quickly. For whatever reason if the lenses are not point directly into the sun it goes to a light tint.
Indoor Use
Pass with an A+. Then lenses are very clear and no issues with clarity, quite surprised how good the clarity is considering it’s a Transitions lens.
Meta AI
Fail with a F-. Yes an F-. Meta AI is so dumb we should start a class action lawsuit they market it as AI. 5 out of 5 trees it could not identify, Siri on the other hand got all 5 right. General converstaion it also fails horribly. And the touted feature of reading barcodes on products at the store barely works.
Camera
Pictures are below my expectations, but I’ll give it a pass considering it’s a tiny lens on an eyeglass frame. The cheapest modern cell phone likely takes better photos, but the pictures are usable. Just don’t expect your gonna print high quality prints or see detail when zooming in, you won’t.
Videos
Same as photos, very below expectations but you know what good enough for basic YouTube or Instagram I guess.
I stopped at a Sunglass hit to compare them to Oakley Meta Vanguard and they were night and day more comfortable and of course a superior sunglass design for eye protection.
Final Thoughts
I tried the HSTN because I wanted something I could wear indoors and outdoors while vacationing. I knew going in it would be a compromise but turns out it’s not good overall. From a tech standpoint Rayban wont be any better, but Im gonna find a pair to try to see if they are more comfortable and stylish. The sale price I got at $399 is a solid deal, so i may keep it for when i finally take that vacation in June.