# Polarized sunglasses performance



## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

Some times it does. That's why I pull my buff around my head so it seals the sun glasses and cuts down on glare. I have an old pair that have the wings on the side to do this but I can't find them any more


----------



## pete_paschall (May 8, 2009)

I think it has a big effect on performance. In fact, I think fit is more important than "lens technology", as the ambient light will cause glare between your eyes and the lens, negating any "technology" the lens brings to the table. Take a look at any of the sunglasses discussions - 10 people with 10 different opinions on which lens/brand/color is best. If one were heads and shoulders better, I think we would see more consensus. I've used Costa, Smith, Maui Jim, and now I use RCI. But I think it's because of the fit that I am able to see better out of the RCI. All make great products. But my current glasses do the best job of keeping light from coming in from the sides. I can see fish better, and I have noticed far fewer headaches at the end of a day of fishing. Could be a coincidence, but I am going with less ambient light.


----------



## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

You could have the best lenses on the market and if there’s a bunch of light coming in around the frame a guy with $9.99 Strike Kings from Walmart will be able to see more fish than you. I wear nothing but Costa Blackfin frames because they fit my face perfectly and that is a deal breaker for me. I have seen a bunch of guys wearing wire frames and skinny framed shades while sight fishing and have to wonder how many fish they miss because they could not see them or see them too late. It took a while for me to find these but over the years you adapt to what works best for you. Lens color is also just as important in my opinion.


----------



## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

That's why my all time favorite glasses were the Costa man o war with the side shield. No idea why they quit making them, bad decision making on their part.


----------



## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

If I could find a wire frame with the old school leather side shields (for under $600, all the high end designers are making these now with flat lenses) I'd be a happy man, none of the ots frames fit my big head


----------



## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

el9surf said:


> That's why my all time favorite glasses were the Costa man o war with the side shield. No idea why they quit making them, bad decision making on their part.


You may be back in business if these be them
https://www.ezcontactsusa.com/costa-del-mar-man-o-war-black-frame-sunglasses.html


----------



## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

el9surf said:


> That's why my all time favorite glasses were the Costa man o war with the side shield. No idea why they quit making them, bad decision making on their part.


Loved those!


----------



## bananabob (Jun 3, 2015)

I lost a pair of Ocean Waves a while back and wore a pair of cheap sunglasses _once_ before replacing them.
So much light came in from behind and bouncing back into my eyes that the next day my eyes hurt from sunburn. Eight base frames or nothing...I don't care who makes em. If they don't wrap around and block direct and indirect sunlight you may doing much worse damage than missing a couple fish.


----------



## jonrconner (May 20, 2015)

A hat with a bill that wraps down around the sides helps tons, the best hat I’ve found is the long bill model made by Simms.
JC


----------



## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

ordered a set of these to try out with the removeable sides...primarily made for the mountain shades, but they're relatively inexpensive


----------



## blackmagic1 (Jul 3, 2014)

el9surf said:


> That's why my all time favorite glasses were the Costa man o war with the side shield. No idea why they quit making them, bad decision making on their part.


So I wonder what they're going to tell me when I send my current broken pair in.


----------



## Fishshoot (Oct 26, 2017)

I would echo what most people are saying in regards coverage. If I can beare it I wear a hat with a decent bill and a buff pulled up around sides. I prefer the guides choice style from Smith. Color of lense is also very important and I change glasses depending on conditions. For tarpon I am usually out before sunrise if the tides are right and wearing techlite yellow lenses. As the day gets brighter I will switch to amber lenses and at sunset/dusk I will go back to yellow. Get a deal if you can on a frame that fits your face well, but even if you have to pay full retail it is worth it IMO. I don't want to miss fish because I was to cheap to buy great glasses.


----------



## BM_Barrelcooker (May 4, 2011)

These are my go to.

They catch the ladies too.


----------



## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

blackmagic1 said:


> So I wonder what they're going to tell me when I send my current broken pair in.


They will probably offer to give you a pair of current production glasses either for a fee or under warranty depending on cause of breakage.


----------



## ifsteve (Jul 1, 2010)

There is a message here that hardly ever gets noticed. It is almost impossible to buy sunglasses on the internet unlesss:

a. You have already owned a pair of the same frame.
or
b. You go to some place and actually try them on then be an ass and order them from somebody else....lol

Seriously. You see all these guys selling sunglasses cause they just don't fit them quite right. Guess what. Chances are the guy who buys them will have the same problem. Sure sunglass companies make lots of frames choices for market appeal but there is also a technical reason for that. Everybody's face and head shape are unique. My approach. When I find a style that actually fits well I horde them!


----------



## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

POCtied said:


> ordered a set of these to try out with the removeable sides...primarily made for the mountain shades, but they're relatively inexpensive


so where did you get those?


----------



## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

ifsteve said:


> There is a message here that hardly ever gets noticed. It is almost impossible to buy sunglasses on the internet unlesss:
> 
> a. You have already owned a pair of the same frame.
> or
> ...


Yessir, you are spot on! I won’t buy my mom, girlfriend or anyone fishing glasses without them going to a store that has them and they try on frames until they find a pair I think fits right and they think are comfortable. Costa has measurements on the website so you can compare frames and find other styles that have similar dimensions.


----------



## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

permitchaser said:


> so where did you get those?


Amazon and Julbo site. $120


----------



## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

Who's used www.revantoptics.com? I just ordered a few sets of lenses for my Smith Outlier XL's for several light conditions. Figure I'll have an extra set to change up depending on the forecast in addition to my daily set.


----------



## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

Received those Julbo glasses, not sure I'm sold on the quality (made in Taiwan) but super lightweight, they fit my face almost perfectly, those side shields are seriously legit, and they come with a nice clip on lanyard that's stitching looks like it could last at least one trip ;-)


----------



## 7WT (Feb 12, 2016)

Man I tried on at least 30 different frames, even had suppliers order frames to fit try. And it made a huge difference. What I thought might work best didn't often. I settled for me on Costa Montauk green mirror copper progressive scripts: $600. Love Em. But if i had not fit test would not have worked. I think maybe most important tool other than knots.


----------



## anytide (Jul 30, 2009)

those giant wrap around/ cover all you see grandpa wearing are the way to go.
youll see all the ol timers that cast net from the bridges wearing them.
---drug store specials.


----------



## blackmagic1 (Jul 3, 2014)

POCtied said:


> Who's used www.revantoptics.com? I just ordered a few sets of lenses for my Smith Outlier XL's for several light conditions. Figure I'll have an extra set to change up depending on the forecast in addition to my daily set.


Im tempted to buy some to revamp some Man o Wars. What lenses did you get?


----------



## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

el9surf said:


> That's why my all time favorite glasses were the Costa man o war with the side shield. No idea why they quit making them, bad decision making on their part.


Super careful with my man o wars. Bought a pair of Double Hauls as backup because they fit right.... And then they discontinued those too!! Hopefully these last until they come to their senses. Seems like they're making more of the retro hipster styles now.


----------



## el9surf (Dec 23, 2008)

LowHydrogen said:


> Super careful with my man o wars. Bought a pair of Double Hauls as backup because they fit right.... And then they discontinued those too!! Hopefully these last until they come to their senses. Seems like they're making more of the retro hipster styles now.


I like my corbinas and permit but miss the man o war.


----------



## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

If you have a big ol’ biscuit head like me try the Blackfins. The rubber on the frame actually stays on now with the third generation revision.


----------



## pete_paschall (May 8, 2009)

Smackdaddy53 said:


> If you have a big ol’ biscuit head like me try the Blackfins. The rubber on the frame actually stays on now with the third generation revision.


"Big ol' Biscuit Head" would make an awesome screen name!


----------



## FlyBy (Jul 12, 2013)

I had a pair of Orvis "glacier glasses" with leather side shields. Looking through them was like having a tunnel into the water. Coating got scratched and had to retire them. Sunglass mfgrs make the frames to fit the current style, and today's styles don't shield very well. This, too, will turn around and the frames will get bigger. I fished offshore one day and a young guy told me how big and ugly my sunglasses were. I told him I wear them to see fish and I wouldn't be modeling that day.


----------



## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

Revant lenses came in, haven't used them on the water but fit is perfect and they have a nice coating where the water just beads right off, reminds me of the ceramic coating on my car. These are the Elite Brown with Rogue Green mirrorshield. I also picked up the Elite Flash Bronze with Flash Silver mirrorshield. For $50 bucks shipped I think it's a solid pick up if they hold up 25% as well as the less than robust lenses that came on the Outliers originally. 














Also, the Julbo frames I used this weekend and managed to find pod after pod of tailing reds, while the weather was perfect, they performed great on their first outing.


----------



## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

POCtied said:


> Revant lenses came in, haven't used them on the water but fit is perfect and they have a nice coating where the water just beads right off, reminds me of the ceramic coating on my car. These are the Elite Brown with Rogue Green mirrorshield. I also picked up the Elite Flash Bronze with Flash Silver mirrorshield. For $50 bucks shipped I think it's a solid pick up if they hold up 25% as well as the less than robust lenses that came on the Outliers originally.
> View attachment 27634
> View attachment 27635
> 
> ...


thanks for your report. Amazon sent me an email with the Julbo glasses and they had grey lens. I'd rather have amber
what are yours?


----------



## Pole Position (Apr 3, 2016)

FWIW, Amazon has several of the Sun Cloud models on sale now.


----------



## LowHydrogen (Dec 31, 2015)

Ok, super ironic but for you guys that were talking about discontinued Costa glasses. I was picking up a new river boat a couple days ago and I went in to pay the guy and do some paperwork, low and behold there were 3 pairs of brand new old stock Costa Man O' War glasses (I bought 2 of them, so should be one left) along with some other older models in a case labeled "Discontinued Discount Glasses" they were 25-30% off. I think I saw a couple pairs of Double Hauls in there along with others.

Found at: Jack's Boats in Perry, FL (850) 584-2162 http://www.jacksboatsandtrailers.com/


----------



## permitchaser (Aug 26, 2013)

Pole Position said:


> FWIW, Amazon has several of the Sun Cloud models on sale now.


I already have 2 pair of Sun Clouds and my grandsons have them too
Like the wings on the side off the Julbos


----------



## POCtied (Oct 19, 2016)

permitchaser said:


> thanks for your report. Amazon sent me an email with the Julbo glasses and they had grey lens. I'd rather have amber
> what are yours?


More grey than amber, they seem to work really well for me


----------

