lets talk about Sunglasses

yea-who

yea-who

Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2008
Messages
232
There are so many kinds of sunglasses on the market today, they range anywhere from the $5 glasses at the dollar store to $1,000 glasses at eye centers with no prescription. What does polarization acctually do? i know it helps cut down on the glare. but are some better than others. (Cabelas vs. Wal-mart) i own a pile of glasses i loose them over the winter and everytime i go for my license i end up getting glasses and one of those plastic holder things. then i find them through out the year. i have one pair of glasses that i spent more than 10 bucks on there poloroized but i don't where them fishing.
 
Smith Action optics makes a good pair. I had their crystal lens, in a fresh water amber. The best pair of fishing glasses I've every owned. I left them on top of my jeep. They fell off some where on 76...All gone.

I wish I could tell you to just get a cheap pair of glasses, but I can't. Get the best pair you can. You won't regret it.
 
I bought a pair of Peppers for like $25 at gander mountain the other year that were pretty stylish in my opinion so I got them. I wear them everywhere, not just fishing.

Heres a pretty good explanation of how polarized glasses work:

Light reflected from surfaces like a flat road or smooth water is generally horizontally polarized. This horizontally polarized light is blocked by the vertically oriented polarizers in the lenses.
 
I got a cheapo pair for like $12. They work okay, but I would never take them brookies fishing in the middle of the wood because it would seem like night.
They do their duty on bright days when all I'm looking for is a movement of my leader/indicator. Plus I know I won't go blind because of the bright sun.
I have trouble paying over $50 for sunglasses for fishing, especially when my $12 pair works just fine. However, when I was a life guard, I bought a $135 pair of okley's, but 11 hour days staring at the pool, it was well worth it. Besides, what else was a 16 year old going to spend his money on?????

My usual advise to high priced items is: if you got the extra cash and want to splurge on yourself, then do it. We all deserve to get ourselves some nice things every once in a while.
If you don't have the cash, cut out something a little marginal in your life; like stop getting an apple pie and sunday from McD's after your large size extra value meal. Saving a little at a time, the money will add up.
 
Dear yea-who,

What a cool screen name, three thumbs up for that. ;-)

If you don't need prescription sunglasses the Babe Winkleman "Flying Fisherman" glasses for about $ 20.00 do a marvelous job.

Back when I wore contact lenses and could actually see I had that "raccoon" face from sunburn and I loved those glasses. there were none better.

Now that I'm blinder than three bats I have to have prescription glasses to see and I figure this go around I'll go with Smith/Action Optics so long as they make glasses in my script?

I wish they would make a pair like the old Babe Winkleman's I had, I really miss the raccoon eyes. They told a lot about the person who had them.

Regards,
Tim Murphy :)
 
I've got 3 pair I use regularly...two smith action optics (one in yellow lens for low light, and one in brown lens for brighter conditions.) I also have a pair of orvis with a dark lens for very sunny days. I have some cheaper ones but really do feel the better ones cut the glare on the water much better. For one pair, I would go with the mid-darkness lens...these are the ones I wear 50% of the time out of the 3 pairs.
 
I just bought a pair of Smith Action Optics on clearance for less than $60. Very nice.

http://www.mrfc.com/MadisonRiverShopping/SearchResult.aspx?CategoryID=4
 
I go cheap but I always have a gray pair and an amber pair...on any given day and light conditions, one always seem to work better then the other..if I lose a pair (and it seems happen to me too often) I don;t get as worked up if I lose a 10 dollar pair.
 
orvis hydrovisions are the best i've ever had but will run you over hundred - i'm using the amber lens
 
Tim,

Have you tried Cocoons? They're about $40, and they fit over your regular glasses.
 
Tim Murphy wrote:

“Dear yea-who,

What a cool screen name, three thumbs up for that.”



Tim,

His Uncle named him that….and for good reason.


Like Tim, I too gave up my “Flying Fisherman” glasses (they did work well) and now need prescription lenses. And I too have struggled with the lenses being too dark or not dark enough in different lighting situations.

I found that the solution for me was photochromic lenses, which automatically adjust to different light conditions. One brand name that you see advertised is “transition” lenses. Action Optics makes them in prescription and non prescription models. They cost a little more, but they work great from dawn to high noon to dusk, and its cheaper than purchasing multiple pairs for bright light and low light conditions.
 
About four years ago, I spent a bucket of cash on Oakleys. I wouldn't change a thing. They are the most comfortable glasses I've ever worn, they are built sturdy as hell, and they look good. I attribute the fact that I've gone so long without losing them to the cost...

http://www.zappos.com/n/p/dp/22728467.html
 
I go cheap and probably always will. I get a pair of sunglasses and within a couple of outtings I have a scratch in the lens. I've done it with expensive and cheap glasses. I love the walmart ones for like $12. I wouldn't mind getting an amber lens pair sometime but I just can't justify spending much money on glasses when I go through a pair every year and I always keep a spair pair just in case I really scratch my lenses up.
 
bigjohn58 wrote:
I love the walmart ones for like $12. .

I had a pair of those with glass lenses, polarized , flexible frames..got them for 8 bucks 4 years ago...loved them...they don't (or at least mine doesn't) have those same ones anymore...they are also probably why I still have my left eye...heres what they look like after the deer came thru the van window in July...
 
Got a pair of Sunclouds. The company is owned by Smith and the glasses come with a lifetime guarantee. $49 Probably more of a $10 glasses guy though. Got thought I would throw that one out there.
 
I just picked up another pair of sunglasses a few weeks ago at Gander Mountain. They are the 'Fish Eyes' that they have on the big rotating displays in the front of the store. Ran me around $15, they work good enough for me, but I am thinking of getting another lighter tint pair for fishing back along places such as clarks where even on the sunniest days it is dark along the creek. My last pair of them lasted almost a year before I lost them during the late rabbit season.
 
TimMurphy wrote:
Dear yea-who,

What a cool screen name, three thumbs up for that. ;-)

If you don't need prescription sunglasses the Babe Winkleman "Flying Fisherman" glasses for about $ 20.00 do a marvelous job.

Back when I wore contact lenses and could actually see I had that "raccoon" face from sunburn and I loved those glasses. there were none better.

Now that I'm blinder than three bats I have to have prescription glasses to see and I figure this go around I'll go with Smith/Action Optics so long as they make glasses in my script?

I wish they would make a pair like the old Babe Winkleman's I had, I really miss the raccoon eyes. They told a lot about the person who had them.

Regards,
Tim Murphy :)

Same pain here Tim. Geeting old sucks. I have to give the Smiths a try. At some point I'm going to give up and get lens implants.
 
For me, the chance of losing or destroying my sunglasses is directly proportional to the amount I spend on them. The cheaper they are, the longer I seem to hold on to them. Definitely get a polarized lense. Non-polarized sunglasses for looking at water is like a wooly bugger with the hook-point broken off. I do think the lenses stay clearer and resist vest-pocket abrasions better on the expensive lenses, but if you sit on a nice set of clear lenses, they are just as broken as a slightly scratched or cloudy one.
 
I alternate between $16 mini market shades and $20 tackle shop models. I'm pretty sure they are all made in the same place. I go through about a pair per year, but then I always have a few spares that aren't worn out yet to loan to buddies or use if I leave mine at home. I know for a fact that if I buy good ones the Jack factor will come into play, so I just keep getting the cheepies. They work for me.


Boyer
 
My Walmart polarized sunglasses have camo frames and I love the camo! lol The new ones they have at Walmart have camo lenses too and they suck. You look through them and the camo pattern is like pok-a-doted design on the lenses and the visibility is horrible. Glad I got a spare pair when they had the good camo ones!
 
Back
Top