Prescription sunglasses

[deanb10s]

I'm looking for advice for fly fishing specific Rx sunglasses. Do most of you use gray or amber tint? What brands would you recommend? This is going to be a high $ investment (about the price of a Sage One) so I need your help. Thanks

 

[dwtalso]

My current pair and my previous pair are/were Rayban frames. They've been rugged, lightweight, and worked well.

I prefer gray tint on mine. I like a darker feel than amber gives me.

Be sure to order polarizing, and make it clear that you want polarizing. The folks I've met who write those orders tend to confuse anti-glare with polarizing and they are very different.

 

[webrx]

amber tint, polarized, and I had them build in a 3x bifocal so I could better see to tie on my flies. normal bifocal is 2x they tell me, so I asked the doc to write it for extra strong.

d

 

[alexs]

I don't like grey. Definitely amber for me, but I would even go to yellow or (I've heard) pink. Supposedly pinkish lenses give a great definition to under-water objects...
I think I'd like a pair of Smith Optics Chromapop Ignitors (prescription), when my finances will allow... Here is a link:
Smith Frontman Sunglasses Chromapop Collections: Smith Optics Elite Site

I found that I don't need dark lenses if I ware a hat with all-around brim. Baseball style caps don't work as well, at least for me.

Cheers,
Alex

 

[fredaevans]

On the cheap and excellent: Cocoon's. They're about 40-50 bucks and very good optics. Cocoons Eyewear - Fitover Sunglasses and Low Vision UV Filters The wide ear frames are the way to go as they really block 'side glare' from the sun or water.

 

[jpbfly]

Got both colors of polaroid prescription glasses I use the gray ones more often,but don't know exactly why...I don't remember paying the price of a Sage one

 

[Ard]

Bear with this explanation and maybe it will be helpful

I've worn a contact lens since 1980 so that I could use fish finder glasses and that was a good system. However I realize not everyone can or likes to wear a contact. I always had to carry a pair of reading magnifiers with me because the contact corrected my vision for seeing fish out there in the river but once I was working up close with a knot I had trouble focusing.

Problem was that with glasses I could see at distances fine and by looking under or over them my up close vision was great too. So where's the problem? If I wanted Rx polarized glasses I would still have to carry a pair of clear lens for low light and after dark......... Carrying an extra pair of glasses or sunglasses is just one of those things that works great until something goes wrong. So I stuck to my long wear contacts and readers until 2 years ago. In the meantime I went through plenty of readers, broken & lost were the primary causes for replacement.

2 seasons back I discovered that I could get a pair of very small Rx in a frame by Oakley. Super light & small enough to look over or under when tying knot etc. The real surprise was that I could get a photo chromatic lens with polarization layer also. The polarizing quality for spotting fish is not quite as good as a pair of dedicated fish finders but they work well enough for me to be able to spot fish and see my flies on the swing in most situations. They are clear when it's dark or raining but even then the polarizing properties work. No 2 pair of glasses, no readers, and I wore them on all the fishing trips last season.

If you are going to spend a bunch of money on a pair of glasses this may be something to consider. They are good for fishing and good for everything else also.

If you are going to fish salt water then a pair of Cocoons like Fred suggested will get it done and you can save a bunch on your Rx glasses.

 

[ts47]

If you are looking for regular style sunglasses, there was a long thread a few months ago. I just ran a search under the "Tackle Talk" > "Other Gear" forum for prescription sunglasses. I found it and several others. I'm hoping the search results show up when you click here: The North American Fly Fishing Forum - Search Results

If not, just go to that forum and search "prescription sunglasses".

For my part, I had a grey pair of Zeiss lenses that I'm pretty sure were some type of plastic ($500) that were great. It was like seeing in HD. I currently own a pair of brown that came from Costco, a discount warehouse if they are not in your area, ($200) that are not that great. I'm not sure the color had anything to do with it. It's more the sharpness (quality) of the lens that seems to be the problem. I also had a mirror coating added to the cheaper pair that was apparently a mistake. I do STRONGLY recommend you get the anti-reflective coating. It won't affect your vising. It will stop things from reflecting off the glasses though. It's a real pain standing in the water trying to focus on something and realizing you are focusing on a reflected image rather that what you were intending to look at. Hope this make sense...

My prescription is for progressives. I use a lanyard when I wear them and have not had a problem fishing or tying on flies in them.

 

[deanb10s]

Great info guys, thanks.

 

[karstopo]

https://www.costadelmar.com/shop/sunglasses/prescription

Old thread this is, but Costa Rx lenses are an excellent option for the fly fisherman. I wear the 580g glass (copper base, green mirror tint) in my prescription and it's like I have X-ray vision cutting through all the water surface glare to see what's below the surface. Any sight caster or structure fisherman will benefit from using Costa 580g lenses. There are enough options on frames sized to your face and head and lens coatings to have eyewear taylor-made to your particular needs.

I'm not a Costa rep or have any relationship with the brand. I just like this product and wanted to share.

 

[el_deanyo]

I'm glad you posted this, actually. I've been confusing contacts because I can't hardly see when fishing with my sunglasses. Hadn't considered Rx sunglasses until now.

 

[fredaevans]

I'm glad you posted this, actually. I've been confusing contacts because I can't hardly see when fishing with my sunglasses. Hadn't considered Rx sunglasses until now.

If you can find some that fit, 'clip on's' really work. opcorn:

 

[sweetandsalt]

I consider Rx Polarized real glass shades to be among my most important pieces of gear. I like photochromic copper for most fresh and salt applications but have amber for low light too. Plastic is light in weight but far more easily scratched than glass and hardly glass's equal in visual acuity. Both Costa and Smith have proprietary tints adapted to sight fishing; I have been wearing Smiths for some time now always with an eyewear retainer attached.

 

[dennyk]

Good thread. I need to,"look" into sunglasses with readers built into them. I have always likes the polarizing gray tint. Switching back and forth between readers and my sunglasses is a hassle.

Denny

 

[sweetandsalt]

There is a rationale in fishing eyewear color. Gray is color neutral, it simply eliminates an amount of light transmission. It is often preferred by deep water fisherman who value neutral color. Our eye/brain does not focus blue light waves very well so, in sight fishing, filtering out some blue light enhances visual acuity by increasing contrast. Hence the popularity of the yellow, amber, brown and cooper tints.

Hunting elusive gray ghosts on sun drenched pale bottomed flats requires maximum contrast and many prefer yellowish amber lenses. This color tends to brighten as well as contrast making picking up slight shadowy movements a little sharper. I still prefer cooper and definitely do trout fishing. Cooper sharpens contrast too and warms colors a bit but more pleasantly than yellow.

And, a long billed hat shading your face is a vision enhancer too.

 

[moucheur2003]

I consider Rx Polarized real glass shades to be among my most important pieces of gear. I like photochromic copper for most fresh and salt applications but have amber for low light too. Plastic is light in weight but far more easily scratched than glass and hardly glass's equal in visual acuity. Both Costa and Smith have proprietary tints adapted to sight fishing; I have been wearing Smiths for some time now always with an eyewear retainer attached.

+1 for Smith photochromic copper. That's what I've been using since before Smith bought Action Optics. You can save some money with bifocals instead of progressive lenses. My everyday glasses have progressive lenses, but for fishing sunglasses I find bifocals adequate. (Bifocals combine a regular prescription lens for distance with a "reader" lens for up-close reading, tying tippets, etc.)