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.

I don’t think you can beat the combination of optical quality and warranty of Costas. Yes, if you have a model with rubber on the arms and nose, they will eventually break down. Then you send them to Daytona and they repair or relace, free of charge. I haven’t found anything better.

Costa.

Smith optics or native also good considerations.

Oakley have gone down hill in past decade or so.

I have Costa Blue Waters for fishing, love them. I have a pair of Ray Ban prescription sunglasses for everyday and I like them as well. There are a lot of good brands to choose from, go try a few on and see what fits and feels best for you.

Smith

Costa RX for me 580P. Best sunglasses I have owned in 65 years . I know a Dr that does field testing for them, top notch company

I wear mostly Oakley’s with the polorized black iridium lenses for driving and Smith Optics for Fly Fishing to be able to see trouts rise to a dry fly.

Prescription or OTC?

I've had all the big brands- ray ban, maui jim, costa


I am a glass, polarize lens sunglass consumer.


Ray bans stayed in the dark ages for too long on looks and fit. Got tired of looking like a viet nam pilot. And their shît scratches too easy. One thing I cannot stand is goddamm nosepads. Ray bans are not for people who sweat and do physical labor. Slip off your head when you look down or dig into your ear with those wires. Only people I see wearing ray-bans are fat, cûnty old Lt colonel's wives.


Maui jims I had were great, I even had those made up into a prescription set. Would still wear them but they got scratched up pretty bad and no one will put new lenses in them for less than $300. So they are weed-eater glasses now


Costas, I have had the same pair of 580blue GLASS for over 4 years. Wear them all day, every day. No scratches, the coatings still look great, no rubber coatings are peeling. One of best $260 purchases I have ever made.

I used to buy Oakley's but I'd always end up losing them or wrecking them.

I'm content with $7 Walmart specials these days.

I've had RayBan, Oakley and Maui Jim. Pick your poison and enjoy! Which you will, cause its worth it.

I have settled on Oakley’s and a few el cheapo pairs from gas station.

I had what I thought was a pretty good pair of polarized Megellan (Academy) sunglasses but I was at one of my grandson's baseball games and got busted checking out the cleavage of a hot divorced Mom who was always asking me baseball questions. I didn't think she could see my eyes but she could and covered her cleavage. She wasn't offended and just smiled. I told I was sorry for peaking but that I had a highly developed cleavage detector. I bought a better pair of Oakley glasses after that. She still talked to me all the time and was very friendly.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Costa's are simply the best; I like the Blackfin's. Glass is a little better vision but at the expense of weigh so I'll take the plastic for everyday use.

I like the green mirror / slight brown tint for fishing best.

The Oakley's get used for casual wear only anymore for the most part &, actually, a pair of Harley Davidson branded glasses are as good as any of the Oakley's I've ever had at half the cost.

MM

I’ve had Revo’s, Native, Ray Bans, Maui Jim’s and Wiley X. I prefer Maui Jim’s. I do like the safety lenses on the Wiley’s when I’m fishing or hunting. My 2 cents.

The only relevant post on this thread 👍🏻

Smith polarized glass lenses. Blue or green for ocean fishing, brown for fly fishing

the Stihl ones from ace hardware are my go to. They are about $12.00 and last me about a month before I get smashed in the face or my son steals them and loses them. Somewhere around my house a treasure trove of sunglasses.

I’ve had two pair of Callaway sports glasses for pushing two decades now. One in amber, the other a very light brown. Both are high impact-resistant plastic, supposedly scratch-proof, polarized, and the second one has transitional lens for hunting/fishing in very bright conditions.

They’ve been very serviceable and have had them long enough to change the scripts at least once now and could again. I ordered them through a local optometrist and at the time were pretty spendy but considering how long I’ve used them they have proved to be very economical.

Cheapest ones I can find as they will be broken/scratched/lost with-in three weeks.

I have been through the Rayban/Zeiss phase and they lasted about as long as the cheapies.

That is good to know since I lost my $250 pair.

Even though I eventually lost that pair, I will say this. Once you buy expensive sunglasses they will last you a lot longer than the cheapies because you just automatically take better care of them.

OTC

Hah..says you !

I like Costa and Maui Jim. Have some of both. As stated by others, I like glass, but I insist on poly for shooting and fishing, most especially flyfishing.

I counted, and I have seven pairs of Costas, mostly bought at a deep discount at places like Sierra Trading Post. Mostly these are all different colors for different flyfishing conditions. A few years back I bought identical ugly camo-framed Costas, each with a different color poly lens (yellow, amber, gray) for $68 each. These and others get varied use for hunting and shooting as well.

I have a set of Costa Tuna Alleys at the warranty shop as we speak. The turtle frame snapped at the nose bridge while taking them off. We’ll see how good Costa’s warranty is.

I have had 2 experiences with Maui Jim warranty, and both times it was impeccable. Love Maui Jim glass too, though the frames tend to be less robust, and so I shy away from them for hard use.

Check out The Watchery nice watches and sunglasses,bought some real nice stuff there cheap.

Costa Permit model and Maui Jim Hanalei model is what I’ve worn for seemingly forever. Costas on the water and Maui’s driving. Very pleased.

Had all mentioned + Mako's when in Australia.

Once the mako's died, bought Native's, 7 years ago (mid priced) that I still wear today.

Excellent side, above & below coverage.

Glass costas.

Though I’ve got a big melon head and they only have a few frames that fit.

I do wanna try the Maui Jim glass “onshore” model.

Have 3 pairs of Maui Jim Spartan Reef's, a pair of Costa Jose's in blue glass and 2 pair native kodiaks with copper polarized and silver polarized. I wear Maui Jim's every day all day and love them. Gave my Costas to my son and the natives ride in the truck for when I'm weed eating or cutting rebar or anything else that could damage them.

Maui Jim polarized with glass lenses are the best sunglasses I've ever owned.

I like the Costas with the 580p lenses. I wear the blue/gray lenses in the summer and green/amber in winter. I like the Blackfin but everybody's noggin is different

I’ll umpteenth the Costa Del Mar’s. I’m on my last pair of Sandman’s and will upgrade to a newer version when they fall out of my pocket and I step on them. Again.

Mirror front surface and polarized.

find 24 hour gas station

Just found another set of Costa Tuna Alleys with the rubber nosepiece completely unglued from the black plastic frame.

These are at least usable for now I suspect, if a PITA, but assuming the warranty is worth a darn, these will be going back as soon as the others are returned.

Have 2 pairs of Oakley and 2 pairs of Bolle.

All good to great glasses. But, to my eyes, the Bolle's are optically superior at 1/2 -1/3 the price.

I’ve had original glass Ray Bans, Gargoyles, Bolle, Oakley, Maui Jim and probably others. My hands down favorite on the water are my Maui Jim titanium sports. It’s like nothing is on your face and the resolution and colors are spectacular. Right behind them I like Oakley M frames with interchangeable lenses for different conditions. Gargoyles were good, but I left them on the back tire of a tractor I was fixing in the field and by the time I remembered them they were unusable.

Haven't read all of this, but I am always amazed at the number of sunglasses that must be sold, given the ads. The majority of the people that I know wear prescription glasses, so it seems to me that plain sunglasses would have a more limited customer base than they seem to have.

Costa and Wiley X both polarized.

Issue Aviators by American Optical.

Maui Jim are awesome when new, then the lens coating goes to crap and they’re hell to clean.

I’ll take Costa.

Have worn Ray Ban Outdoorsman’s since 1976. Never wanted anything more.

Same here but I lose as many as I break. I buy them 3 at a time.

https://www.amazon.com/3M-Protective-Eyewear-11215-00000-20-Anti-Fog/dp/B007JZ26QA/ref=sr_1_14?crid=VKYW86T9I2IE&keywords=3m+safety+glasses&qid=1560823019&s=gateway&sprefix=3m+safe%2Caps%2C214&sr=8-14

Same here--the best, around $250.

Fourteen dollah & twenty nine cent with the diopter of your choice.

Safety glasses, readin' glasses, sunglasses.

Paying more is for liberal metrosexuals who think that people can tell the difference.

https://gemplers.com/collections/sa...y-clark-nemesis-rx-reader-safety-glasses

Costas and Maui Jim’s

^^^^^^^^^^^This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

There glass sandwich polorizers are practically scratch proof. Have used them for over 20 years replacing only for changes in prescription. Have many lens colors, styles and sizes.

They are even better at $90.

A point which seems to be almost universally missed.

Every pair of good sunglasses that I spent good money I’ve lost them, usually overboard, within a couple months. When I spend $20 or $30 on sunglasses they never get lost. I’ve got cheap pairs that I bought 20 years ago that are still going strong. I’ve got several pairs in each truck and most are used for emergency backup since they’re scratched up pretty good. I’m probably due to drop another $19.99 at the local True Value store since it’s that time of the year. I tend to wear sunglasses everyday since my eyesight is important to me. I still have 20/20.....20/25 vision but my hearing isn’t the best. Running fire engines, aid cars, medic units, police cars, etc with the window down has destroyed my left ear.....I’m sure all the shooting I’ve done hasn’t helped it.

I might breakdown and get a pair of aviators this time around since my wife says they look good on me. I just have a tough time dropping that kind of money for sunglasses for myself. 😁

Maui Jim in their "Maui Brilliant" material. It'll have similar impact resistance to poly but be significantly better optically.

I've got Costa glass prescription lenses, hate the weight so I never wear them, $400+ down the toilet IMO.

People having their optometrist make them prescription sunglasses can ask for polarized Trivex material. It's optically superior to poly, nearly as impact resistant, and quite a bit lighter weight. There will be fewer color options.

This; been wearing them for 25+ years, Great selections; Great customer service .also. I crushed a lens last year; my fault, no defect. Sent them in ; they said pick out something on their website and take 60% off. Hard to beat that.
My current favorite is tortoise Ridgewell w/ brown polarized lens.