lets discuss polarized sunglasses for sight fishing.

i started wearing reading type glasses at work, they dont magnify or do anything aside from reduce glare from the computer screens. i work 911 dispatch and have 7 screens at my station working 12 hour shifts. i had been getting headaches and it turns out it was from the glare.

so it got me thinking... ive been using pretty cheap walmart clearance bin style polarized fishing glasses and in all honesty, they dont work very well, but i was being cheap.

im still young, but im coming to realize that i only get one body and one pair of eyes/ears, so i should protect them better. i wear ear muffs for mowing the lawn/snow blowing, but i never really wear sunglasses and i know i should.

ive heard costa and oakley make some top notch eyewear, but are they really worth the nearly $200 price tag.  what do you guys use?

a lot of my officer friends swear by their oakleys, some fish, they all shoot, and a lot of them ride motorcycles, so they have a pretty wide array of experience

whats your take on lens colors also?

You may be young Jax but your no dummy if your smart enough to wear ear muffs with power equipment. And that goes for any power tools such as saws as well.

I have a fair amount of experience with high end sunglasses and consider good sunglasses a "quality of life" issue. And since you are one of my favorites Jax I have come out of semi retirement  ;)  to see if if I can steer you on the right path.

First off.......unless style and image is what you are aiming for never pay full price, ever! My 1/2 price Costas are for fishing but my $300 dollar Maui Jims are for working with the public (sort of like a suit and tie  ;) ). Of course with your cop pals (ahem, police officers) sunglasses are a status symbol so $200 shades are the norm.

I prefer glass lenses but polycarbonate are lightweight, do an excellent job and a very good value. I like having 2 pair with me at all times while fishing, one pair for blazing sun and one pair for low light conditions. A little research will educate you.

For sporting glasses I go to Sierra Trading post and look for closeouts which are typically discounted rather heavily.
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Now comes the tricky part......learning to care for high end sunglasses........especially after having trained yourself to have throwaways.

*you MUST have a cord. If your not wearing them they are dangling on your chest. Otherwise you will set them down and I promise you that sooner or later you will either lose them or they will get damaged.

*you MUST keep them in a case. When they are not on your person they are in a case, period, no excuses. Good glasses always come with a case.

*just because you have a cord and they are dangling does not mean they can't be broken. I have broken 2 pair while dangling on a cord.......one pair broke when I pressed a 6/0 saltwater reel against them (am I allowed to say that?) and another pair when I took a nap with them on and crushed them. So, try and get into the habit of using the case.

*DO NOT drop your glasses on abrasive surfaces. They will get scratched or get nicked. I am highly attuned to scratches or nicks and find them a distraction from said "quality of life".......they invariably will be retired from use or put on work detail.

DO use a micro fiber cloth to clean your glasses. Make sure no sand or other abrasive particles are present or it will act like sandpaper. DO NOT use paper towel to clean your glasses.....to abrasive. TP is acceptable (use the white area ).

*DO NOT leave your sunglasses on your dash in your vehicle or in a very hot location for extended periods. It tends to degrade the surface coating used.

DO keep the receipt. Preferably in the case.....check out what the companies exchange policy is. For example: Maui Jims can be replaced for $50 by sending the old damaged pair in.

One last thought......A good way to care for glasses is to have several pair. One pair stays in the truck for driving, one pair stays with the camping stuff, one pair stays with the art show stuff, etc. etc. But that can be later down the road.......first relearn to take care and keep track of one good pair. You can find some very good deals at Sierra Trading post and from $50 to $89 you could get a very good pair of polarized glasses (maybe even less!). Save your money, spend it on a solo canoe and we can go fishin some day  ;)

MT   

Jax,

MT is spot on with his comments about sunglasses. I believe in wearing quality sunglasses. I wear "Ho'okipa" Maui Jims Natural Grays for normal everyday use. I am a salesman who drives around 45,000 miles per year and need a good pair of sunglasses. I have a wide temple and this model fits my wider face perfectly. They are light and reduce glare real well. Better yet they retail for $179 and you can get good deals when scanning the internet.

When canoeing/fishing I wear a pair of Ono Bifocal Polarized sunglasses. My eyes are now in need of bifocals when tying on lures and these fit the bill. A lifetime guarantee and they are very high in quality. A fly fisherman bud of mine got me wearing Onos.

polarizedworld.com is a great site to get Onos.

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@mt, i was hoping you would weigh in on the discussion. your insight is always greatly appreciated, your wisdom is vast, thank you!

i did an extended amount of research pulling information from all different sites/brands about lens color and what each does. wiley x had a really neat chart about lens color/uses, and ive decided i want an amber/brown/copper lens.

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blue/grey seems to be best for super sunny bright glare, whereas amber is best for underwater contrast. for the canada trip, in a canoe where there isnt as much 'sight' fishing, blue is probably the better lens color. the majority of my local fishing is done in the morning and evening from shore/dock/boats where seeing the underwater structure is more important, so amber it is.

jaximus wrote on May 19^th, 2014 at 12:00am:

@mt, i was hoping you would weigh in on the discussion. your insight is always greatly appreciated, your wisdom is vast, thank you!

HA! I have been accused of many things Jax but this is a first  ;). I believe it was Elenor Roosevelt who said something along the lines of "life is to short to learn from making your own mistakes so you must learn from others" (yes, I know I butchered the quote)........So I have learned from the school of hard knocks and just thought I would pass it on.

The copper lens are sweet but if your eyes are averse to strong light they are not the ticket. Rather I like them for morning and evening or overcast conditions.

I love peering down in the water. That probably explains why in large measure I like paddling the shoreline. So much to see and occupy ones eyes.......and good glasses make it all so much more pleasurable.  :thumbup

Jax - in very bright sun conditions on the water, I like my eyes really protected.  When I put on a pair of Bandana's made by Ocean Waves while out fishing one summer day, it was like taking a cool shower on a hot day.  Check them out:
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puckster

This was a very timely thread that reminded me that I, too, need a pair of polarized sunglasses.  My old sunglasses are prescrips and really old plus they are not polarized and therefore, useless on the water.  So, of course, I researched the hell out of this and decided, first, to go with copper tint.  I also discovered Kaenon sunglasses, which of all the brands struck me as the best quality.  I read a lot of comments from Costa people who switched to Kaenon but none going the other way.  Anyway, Jax, if you're still looking you might as well have the benefit of some of the excellent deals that I discovered.
Take a look at Kaenon first.  Here's the pair I bought:
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And here's another style at a good price as well:
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And these:
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I chose the Kaenon Burnys because I want a pair of sunglasses that really cover my eyes, especially the peripherals.
If you are interested in a pair of Costas these are a good price:   (You need to Login or Register
Sierra Trading Post is also clearing a lot of Serengeti models but in the end I was sold on the Kaenon lens technology,which is exclusive to their glasses.  Family owned company, very high quality and apparently very big amongst the sailing crowd.
Good hunting, Jax.

I'm also looking for good polorized sunglasses. What I need is something that will fit over my regular bifocals. Any suggestions? 8-)

jaximus wrote on May 18^th, 2014 at 1:17am:

whats your take on lens colors also?

I have a pair of Natives that I picked up from REI. They came with a hard case and two lens colors as well, for different light situations. Good value at right around $100, IIRC.

FWIW, REI has a sale going on now too.

FWIW

The Kaenon glasses that Kerry suggests are the same ones Superman wears (Yes, that Superman) and are Kryptonite resistant up to 300 meters.

mastertangler wrote on May 20^th, 2014 at 9:44pm:

The Kaenon glasses that Kerry suggests are the same ones Superman wears (Yes, that Superman) and are Kryptonite resistant up to 300 meters.

Huh? ::)

You and my wife would get along great Kerry......she rolls her eyes at my humor to. My daughter, on the other hand, thinks I'm mildly clever. Where did they ever come up with a name like Kaenon anyways? Admit it, they sound like they might be from another solar system.

So much for vague attempts at humor. (Everyone knows Superman wears Maui Jims).

Quite a bit of buzz about the Kaenon glasses for a while now. I would like to try a pair on some day.   

i ordered a pair of Costa caballitos with the copper lenses and they arrived today.

i was leary of ordering online as i wouldnt get to try them on and see how they 'feel'

they feel great and seem to work really nice. i stopped by the river before work today, and even though it was really windy, i could see pretty well with minimal glare.