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Posts: 307
| Recently I decided that it was time for a new pair of sunglasses. I have always felt that high quality sunglasses were worth it over the $20 gas station specials. Of which I've owned my fair share, both high and low end and have been wearing a pair of cheapies regularly for the past year. Costa Del Mar have been touted as the best of the best by many in the fishing industry. I researched them heavily and found a dizzying array of lens colors; green mirror, copper, amber, silver mirror, etc. So I went to the Costa site and ordered several pairs and did the same with Maui Jim, and gave them a head to head comparison. What follows is my review of the pairs that I ordered. I should note that this is a generally for low light/amber colored glasses, as I do own a pair of grey lens Maui Jim's from my flying days.
This test was performed on lake Alexander MN, which is a pretty clear lake with green vegetation just starting to grow up due to the late spring. I tested all glasses in shallow water with weeds, without weeds, with a decent choppy wind, and dead calm. I generally would anchor to where I could just barely see weeds dropping off into deep water and switch between glasses to see just how well/deep I could see the weeds. I also cast several lures out to see how they were affected by the lens' color and wind. The day started bright and sunny with a few puffy clouds. When the sun dropped lower in the horizon it also dropped behind heavy clouds giving more of an overcast feel to the light, then finally low enough where it could be considered very low light near dark.
Maui Jim Grey glass lens - This is very good bright sunny day lens, to be honest I was surprised how low in the horizon the sun could be and grey would still out perform the amber colored lenses. Unless the sky is actually overcast or heavily cloudy I think you will see better performance out of a grey lens rather than any amber/copper lens in sunny or partly to even mostly cloudy conditions.
Maui Jim Amber glass lens - This is an excellent lens for lower light conditions. In fact I would consider this pretty much a tie with the Costa silver mirror 580G lens.
Costa Silver Mirror 580G - Excellent lens for lower light conditions, and more or less tied with the Maui Amber for ability to view weeds and lures the furthest distance from the boat, when compared to other amber/copper lens'. In brighter conditions grey is still your best bet.
Costa Green Mirror 580G - This was the surprise to me since I see so many people with this lens. In my opinion it was the worst lens for ability to see lures or weeds from a distance. The lens color is a bit darker than the Costa silver mirror, but it is higher contrast. I think the trap that people may fall into with this lens is that when trying it on in the store the color definitely gives more "pop" to items that you are looking at. Unfortunately I did not feel that this "cooler" looking color actually translated to being able to see farther into the water. The small wavelets that form on bigger waves in a choppy wind I feel have more glare than with the Costa silver mirror lens or MJ amber. That being said it is still an excellent lens, and this is a very critical review.
Costa Sunrise lens 580P - This was the only plastic lens tested out of the group because it is available in plastic. This is a yellow colored lens specifically meant for low light to very low light conditions. In bright light it was better than no sunglasses since it is still polarized, but it was just far too bright. If you want a pair of glasses specifically for that last 20-45 minutes this is the one for you. I watched small baitfish circle around the boat and they really did pop out better than the other amber colored glasses. Their downside is that I feel the peripheral glare on the water is maybe a bit higher than the Maui Jim green lens.
Maui Jim Green high contrast lens glass - This was the surprise out of the group, and it's ability to see in the water. It's a fairly light colored lens, lighter than all the other lens' with the exception of Costa sunrise. Even in bright conditions it worked pretty well, but not as well as the true grey lens. This lens also worked very well in low light conditions, I could see the small baitfish very well, and it had better peripheral glare reduction over the Costa sunrise lens. In the last 10-15 minutes of extreme low light conditions the sunrise lens did outperform the Maui green lens, but not by a lot. So if you are looking for a good low light lens that can double in any light condition should you forget your other pair this is an excellent choice. If you are looking for the best you can get in the last few minutes go with the sunrise lens.
Cheapie $20 amber lens - Polarized lenses are obviously better than nothing and they do a very passable job of seeing into the water. They are not as good as the high end glass lens' though, especially the peripheral glare.
Conclusion - None of these high end lens' are so much better than another to be considered a magic bullet, or see feet deeper or farther into the water than the other. In my opinion Maui Jim is right there with Costa as far a ability to see, and anyone who says different I think has some brand bias going on. I went into this expecting that Costa would win on pretty much every level, which just wasn't the case. So go with whatever fits your face the best, and do not count grey lens' out in bright/semi-bright conditions. I know Amber/copper lens' are the hot item right now, and I like them as well, especially for everyday wear, but when it comes to seeing fish, weeds, and your lure, grey does a better job in many cases.
As far as me, I think I am going to keep the Maui Jim Amber lens, I just happen to like the Maui style a bit better than the Costa, it could have easily gone the other way. I'm also keeping the Costa Sunrise lens for extreme low light, and I already own a pair of Maui Grey lens' that will do the job for that regard.
Hope this helps some people. | |
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Location: sneaking out to get on the water ;-) | Now go try it on stained water. | |
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The Great Costa Lens Color Debate