Polarized Sun Glasses question

[gordon in nc]

What brand have you found to be of good quality and use in the UNDER $50.00 price range ?

Name brand .. Big Box store .. mail order ... personal preference ?

I know there a few dozen styles out there to choose from .. but each company will have several styles to choose from.

What have you had good luck with ?

Thanks!

Gordon in NC

 

[twfitw]

Hey Gordon in NC

Personally I suffer from an affliction... that is, the more expensive the sunglasses I have, the quicker I will lose/break them! So for the last 5 years I have gone for polarised lenses that are reasonably priced and look good...

With lense quality I have never had a problem with any of the cheaper brands that I have tried, and my eyes don't like cheap lenses normally, but the polarised glasses have been good to me.

These days when I need a new pair I head to Walmart and find a pair of polarised glasses that I like. The only thing tho is the best style for fishing are the types that totally wrap around and reduce the amount of light coming in. Those can be trickier to find, and if you are sight fishing a lot find those ones somewhere... but I still use the $20-$30 ones and I am happy with them... I use them for everything and not just fishing...

Hope that helps,

Nick

 

[crittergetter]

My two bits...

Don't waste your money. Spend $300 and get a pair that stops UV from burning your eyes out. You only have two eyes and a lifetime of fishing in the sun.. If you loose glasses get a teather.

The bennefits are... Your eyes are protected and you see more fish.

I love Maui Jim ($400 for the prescription kind with Bifocals)
Smith was my favorite ($170)

Sorry... WalleyWorld glasses don't work for me.

 

[FlyBum]

Theres two things I never go cheap on what I put on my feet and what I use to protect my eyes!

That said I still typically never spend full price on almost anything unless for the type and quality of item it is the full price is considerably less than other brands of the same quality!

 

[caseywise]

i've always been a big fan of smith sunglasses. great quality and pretty decent price not to mention a rock solid warranty.


casey

 

[cnanoski]

Costa 580s all the way... best I have ever used, just a fine product, and a great US company that cares about conservation and sustainability of the sport.

 

[gjcordray]

I have been using Suncloud glasses lately. They are about $60 retail, but I have found them for closer to $40 online. I really like them.

Gary

 

[wonderfulremark]

I wear only Maui Jim's...
Grey lens for sunny days
HT lens for really cloudy days and at dusk
Bronze for driving + when the water I am fishing is really green...

Maui Jim's sport line is quite affordable at $150ish...

 

[cw76]

I got some Coyote brand polarized sun glasses for work that i was pleasantly surprised with, i think in the 50 dollar range

 

[goldentrout]

I have been getting mine from Big 5 sporting goods for the last 10yrs since there is a store in town. I get Bolle or Body Glove glasses when they are on sale for 30.00 to 40.00. They make some nice wrap around designs for fishermen and different colored polarized lenses to suit your taste. :icon_cool

I have a nice pair of grey Bolle and a nice pair of amber Body Gloves. The BGs are a little larger and work better with my flip-up bifocals. :shades:

 

[Fly2Fish]

My two bits...

Don't waste your money. Spend $300 and get a pair that stops UV from burning your eyes out. You only have two eyes and a lifetime of fishing in the sun.. If you loose glasses get a teather.

The bennefits are... Your eyes are protected and you see more fish.

I love Maui Jim ($400 for the prescription kind with Bifocals)
Smith was my favorite ($170)

Sorry... WalleyWorld glasses don't work for me.

Sorry, Crittergetter, while I agree with most of your recommendations, I don't think you have to spend $300 for quality sunglasses for fly-fishing. Not to say that they wouldn't do the job pretty well, but really . . . $300?

Never tried Maui Jim's, but have heard nothing but good things about them.

I prefer Smith's also, but buy them on sale for way less than $100. They're the best sunglasses I've used (of the many I have). I did buy some Bolles for $200 once, but still prefer the Smiths.

 

[flyvet]

I need pretty strong prescriptions so I get my polarized sunglasses from my optometrist, they are not cheap. But a year ago I ordered prescription glasses from Costa and could not believe how much better I could see under the water. If brands like Costa, MJ, Kaenon, etc. are that much better than the ones I ordered from the optometrist, I would think they are many times better than the $50 would be. I wouldn't try to save money in that area, you may not know what you would be missing.

 

[crittergetter]

Ok.... Maybe I was a bit over-exuberant on my rant.
So, yes Fly2Fish you can get quality Sunglasses cheaper than $300 to $400.. Maui's non-script are $150 and up... Scripts cost double that.

I am cheap by default.. My biggest point is --- real fishing glasses will protect your eyes from long term damage, make them less tired, reduce glare (front and back) and give you an opportunity to spot fish quicker...

So cheap $20 WalMarts just don't work for fishing.. (in my opinion..)

If you try high end sunglasses for a weekend you will never go back. That is my humble opinion... minus my first post excited post.. I guess I had to much coffee

Crittergetter..
PS... If I didn't need scripts wonderfulremark has it figured out.. .Glasses for conditions.. the HT's gave me an extra 45 minutes if fishing time.

 

[twfitw]

Well I guess I still have to respectfully disagree... on one point that is... I agree with the cheap lenses tiring the eyes and I cannot wear those at all, but I do find a big difference between polarised and non-polarised lenses and I have used a lot of high end polarised sunglasses, everything from Smiths to Spy's to Oakleys etc... and I have had no problem with cheaper polarised lenses... I normally land up searching long and hard and don't settle for the first pair I find... but I have had excellent results from wally-world's glasses, and normally they run me in the $30-$40 range...

Just saying that they work and this is from a good few years of trial and error... When I look for a pair of polarised glasses it oftens takes me longer than my wife has patience for, but they are out there for far less than one needs to pay...

 

[Vans]

Ive personally gave up trying to wear cheap sun glasses quite a few years ago. I need something that isnt killing my face, nose and ears in under 30 mins.

Now, i just buy Oakleys. I can wear them all day in excellent comfort. I have the model called Flak Jacket. You can buy extra lenses and swap out the lens for what ever you need at the time. I did that a while then this past X-mas i got a gift card to Dick's Sporting goods and used that plus some cash and just bought another pair of the same. That way i have a set for fishing and a set for driving. Now i just swap out the lenses in my fishing pair to fit the conditions on the water. They are around $200. A bit more depending on the type of polarized lens you get. A bit less if non polarized. I had a set of lens i bought before hand($80) so i bought a pair with non-polarized lenses in them for $195. I think i paid about $275 for my driving set with extra polarized lenses.

I cant recommend them highly enough.

 

[whitefish_slayer]

I would go for the smiths. They have a big selection of glasses with interchangeable lenses, and the lifetime warranty doesnt hurt either. I've picked up 3 pairs of polarized smiths over the past year for around 50 bucks a pop. Check websites like geartrade.com or backcountryoutlet.com if they dont have the glasses you want check back in a couple weeks.

 

[dryfly87]

Sunclouds are what you want. They are made by Smith and are pretty good lenses for a $50 pair.

 

[FlyFlinger2421]

Been doing some research on polarised glasses. Nice to read what other fishermen have to say! Thanks guys!
Anyway, here is what I found. First, the cheap glasses have the polarizing layer on the outside and after cleaning a number of times, the layer wears off and they are no longer polarised. The expensive ones have the polarising layer inserted between the outer layers. The second thing is that most polarised glasses are made for driving and general use. This means the polarising layer lies in a horizontal plane. For fishing, the layer should lie in a vertical plane.
The material they are made of makes a difference also. Crown glass, polycarbonate, or C37? Do a Google search and decide for yourself since all have advantages and disadvantages such as weight, clarity, and diffraction values which determines the thickness of the lens. I have decided on C37.

 

[wabi]

I have tried only the cheaper polarized fishing sunglasses and they didn't work like I expected. Nothing like the advertisements for sure. They simply did what regular sunglasses do - made things a bit darker.
Do the good ones really work?

 

[Sasha]

Personally I like Maui Jim, Revo and Oakley; they have quality lenses and will protect your eyes. They do not fall into the "cheap" category; however they will protect your eyes won’t have distortion issues like cheap sunglasses.

Here is another way to look at it. Three years ago I purchased a pair of Oakley polarized (they also double as my eye protection when shooting outdoors) for about $200.00. I just replaced them as they were pretty beat-up. So that is three years of heavy use of a quality pair of sunglasses for .18 cents a day.