Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Sunglasses

I've decided to explore the world of better (I hope) sunglasses. Up to now, I've just used cheap polarized sunglasses, but since we are now spending about 40-50 days salmon fishing on tide water rivers, I'm looking to upgrade. I've had a good exchange with poster here and further suggestion would be welcome. I was headed to the Costas, but continue to see some negative reviews about their rubber coatings coming off.

I don't know about costas, but I've always been happier with the optical clarify of glass over poly, and blue seems to give the best contrast for me for both fishing and driving. It's a pain, because I have to have a second pair of sunglasses with poly lenses for shooting (safety). I just bought a pair of Nines that I am happy with so far. The hydrophobic coating seems to do its job in the rain and spray.

I like my Oakley Prizms.

Ive always worn ray-bans. The one pair of maui jims i tried on were super light and comfortable.

Costco sells last years models of Maui Jim glasses for $90. I’ve bought glass and plastic. I prefer the plastic for a bit of extra protection when fishing in case of flying lead etc.

I like the Costa 580 in glass - blue tint, though the green is good as well. They are pretty much warrantied forever, unless you get into the special editions.

I like Oakleys as well, but the Costa work better for me for fishing than my Oakleys do - the Oakleys are getting range time over fishing time.

For my face/head shape, the Costas give me less distortion over all.

Check out the Carribean Sun polarized glasses in the Vision Center at Wal Mart. I'm a Vision Center Manager/dispensing optician, and these are the best we carry. Precision ground glass polarized lenses with a quality back side anti reflective coating. They start at $68.00. Very good glasses.

I use safety glasses, I Fuuck sunglasses up quickly. I would be wasting money on nice glasses.

I’ve never been without polarized prescription sunglasses. Not that they are so helpful, but more of a fashion statement...

Aviators, drink...

I try to buy these Caribean Sun. Pretty good bang for the buck. I have a really nice pair of Maui Jims that my daughter bought me. Great glass, but I only use them for weed wacking now because they got scratched. Losing that amount of money stung. I can lose 68 every year.

Costa and Maui Jim’s are what I wear. Both lightweight and excellent

Costas for me.

I've had a pair of Costa's for a LOOONG time. I forgot when I bought them,but it has to be close to, if not over 10 years. The rubber on the temples did peel off. I fixed that with a can of plasti-dip. They are better than new. The plastic on the nose piece started to come apart. I simply pulled the rest off and let the hard plastic sit on my nose. It works fine for me. The lense quality is great.

But that said I'd not spend the money again. I have a Brother in law that manages an optometrists office and he sold the Costa's to me at cost or I wouldn't have them. If you look around there are some sunglasses in the $30-$50 range that are every bit as good. I've even bought some under $20 that were just as good. But I've also bought some $20 sunglasses that seemed OK in the store, but after wearing them a few times found they just weren't good enough.

I found this brand (Suncloud) at Sportsmans Warehouse for $50. They are every bit as good as my Costa's.



https://www.sportsmans.com/search?text=suncloud%20sunglasse

Went to a lot of Cup races in the 1980’s and ‘90’s and Gargoyles were de rigueur. Had a few different styles and colors and kept them in hard cases, just didn’t abuse them. Gathered them up about a year or so ago and sold 7 or 8 pair for over double what they cost 25 years ago. These days a pair of Polarized prescription lenses and a pair of Ray-Ban Wayfarers with the non-polarized, classic green G-15 lenses.

Costa 580 Glass....green mirror with copper base tint. I use them for fishing rivers and streams. Overall great performance in a wide range of lighting conditions. I like the 8 base lens style as it prevents light from leaking in around the side of the lens.

Maui Jim polarized for fishing. Love the light weight. I broke the frame on them last year (my fault) and they repaired them for $10 and back to me in a week.

I wear Randolph non-polarized for flying and driving since polarized blocks so many screens in the cockpit (or car).

Being on the water every day, the best sunglasses you can get are important. Like anything you wear all the time, how they feel is important too. Try them on with comfort in mind, not appearance. Plastic lenses are good , but they scratch very easily. If you plan on keeping them in a case and wearing them infrequently, plastic is good enough. If you plan on wearing them a lot, get glass. Costa 580 glass in a "Brine" frame is all I wear.

Good point. I should note that Costas polarization is best at cutting "glare". I went to three gas stations one day, looking for a pump that worked, before I realized that I was wearing my sunglasses....the digital screens were blank.

I like my Under Armour polarized sunglasses. They wrap around and add extra protection form stray fish hooks.

I’ve worn Costa, Rayban, Oakley, and Maui Jim. I’d rank em in that order with Rayban and Oakley being tied. The Maui Jim’s I have are light but too flexible and warp very easily if left in the truck, etc. - never had that issue at all with the others.

I’ve not had any issue with the rubber coatings on my Costas, but I’ve seen some sunscreen lotions, etc, that will attack rubber coatings.