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Posts: 706
Location: Richland Center, WI. | I bought a pair of Smith Optics with copper lenses with the case on closeout in the Cabelas bargain cave for $40. Pays to shop around.
Ken |
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| I think Costas personally are some of the best out there... I have 2 pairs of those, very nice.
I also have a pair of Habervisions...nice as well. I have had Smith optics yellow lense and the Sunrise lense from Costa is as good or better.
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Posts: 3508
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hi everyone,
I will definitely second. third, 50th, 100th what everyone has said about paying a bit more for a better pair of optics than the $20 ones you can get anywhere. One big reason is if you spend the money you will be more apt to take care of them among better vision. I happen to prefer Ocean Waves (boston frame for me) and ebay has some good deals here and there.
To me, any of the brands mentioned are great brands, but everyone has a different preference for what feels comfortable. I tried the H2O sunglasses, and they just were not comfortable for me...they rode up my face, but the interchangeable lens was really nice...yellow for evening, and brown or gray for daylight conditions.
If you are tough on glasses, then the more expensive pairs may not be for you, but for the money, I feel the higher quality is worth it...and I would bet one will take care of a better pair as well..
Steve |
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Posts: 1460
Location: Kronenwetter, WI | Pay more and you MAY get more durable, comfortable glasses that MAY come with a variety of lens colors. That said, polarized is polarized. $10 polarized glasses are polarized. $300 polarized glasses are polarized. I have no problem finding comfortable polarized glasses for less than $25. I have done side by sides with more expensive glasses including H3Os and Costa Dels....no real difference in performance. Take care of them and you should get service from them for a long time.
If you want something "more polarized" tune into the bipartisan health-care summit called by the white-house that will take place later this month.
By the way, there's a simple test you can perform to check to see if the lenses are, in fact, polarized. Find a reflective surface (glass case at the counter of the store), and hold the glasses so that you are viewing the surface through one of the lenses. Now slowly rotate the glasses to a 90-degree angle, and see if the reflective glare diminishes or increases. If the sunglasses are polarized, you will see a significant diminishing of the glare.
Edited by Cowboyhannah 2/12/2010 10:21 PM
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| Has anyone tried Maui Jim with the RX lenses? |
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Posts: 283
Location: beloit | http://tifosioptics.com/ they are nice and under 100 bucks for most of them |
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Posts: 233
Location: Iowa | I like my H30's storm. I always use the amber lenses. Bought them at gander mountain a couple of years ago. I think they were around $120.
Jeremy |
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Posts: 537
Location: Gilberts IL/Rhinelander WI | Rob Manthei, a guide in St. Germaine WI, is selling Ocean Waves on his website for around $120-$140. Not sure what style or anything , but would advise trying some on somewhere before buying. I got mine for $120 at the chicago muskie show a couple years ago. Paying $300 for sunglasses is approaching ridiculous. I see fish with mine that my partner can't, even when I point them out. Polarized is polarized , although the glass lenses are more durable, and I think the "fit" matters most. The H2O looks like a great deal with the different lenses, but I have never tried them. Didn't need to.
Brad |
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| bn - 2/12/2010 5:11 PM
I think Costas personally are some of the best out there... I have 2 pairs of those, very nice.
I also have a pair of Habervisions...nice as well. I have had Smith optics yellow lense and the Sunrise lense from Costa is as good or better.
I owned a pair of Costas with the Sunrise lenses for years and loved them until the lenses started delaminating and turned dark. I looked for some Costas in the Sunrise lenses until I heard that there quality had potentially gone down as of recently??? Don't know if that holds water or not but thought I would give the Smith Optics a try last year as they carried the only "yellowish" polarized, non-mirrored lenses I could find. I've used the Smith for a season and IMO they are the same as the Costa's/Sunrise lenses. I can't imagine using a lense that isn't sunrise, or yellow...it would drive me nuts. Those color lenses seem to light everything up even when it's sunny, yet your still protected from harmful rays. |
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Posts: 332
Location: Michigan | Cowboyhannah - 2/12/2010 11:11 PM
Pay more and you MAY get more durable, comfortable glasses that MAY come with a variety of lens colors. That said, polarized is polarized. $10 polarized glasses are polarized. $300 polarized glasses are polarized. I have no problem finding comfortable polarized glasses for less than $25. I have done side by sides with more expensive glasses including H3Os and Costa Dels....no real difference in performance. Take care of them and you should get service from them for a long time.
If you want something "more polarized" tune into the bipartisan health-care summit called by the white-house that will take place later this month.
By the way, there's a simple test you can perform to check to see if the lenses are, in fact, polarized. Find a reflective surface (glass case at the counter of the store), and hold the glasses so that you are viewing the surface through one of the lenses. Now slowly rotate the glasses to a 90-degree angle, and see if the reflective glare diminishes or increases. If the sunglasses are polarized, you will see a significant diminishing of the glare.
Yep, polarized is polarized. That's about the only thing cheap optics and a good quality lense have in common.
My main reason for wearing Costa Del Mars for the last 10 years is not for their ability to let me see into the water but rather for the protection of my eyes. The sun does a tremendous amount of damage to your eyes (especially on the water), UVC,UVB,UVA and HEV rays are killer on your eyes, cheap junk polarized simply dont do a good job of protecting your eyes from the harmful rays. What protection a cheap lense has usually rubs or scratches off fairly quickly. Cheap lenses are dipped into this "protective solution", while a good quality lense like Costa's, OW, Smiths.... have a quality UV protective barrier integrated inside the lens.
I could save some money "for more important stuff" and wear the cheapo's but i want to have the ability to see well for many years to come.
Edited by Slimeball 2/13/2010 7:06 PM
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Posts: 348
| i had a pair of h2os nice glasses except i hated the lense change outs.i took a trip to canada an i must not of locked the lense in all the way needless to say lense went into the drink an was gone.imo ill never buy glasses with change out lenses.an for the price they seemed to cheap to me.i bought a pair of oakleys bigdog series there great.also got a pair of wiley x's only wore once nice to but im very interested in the oceanwaves might have to sell my wiley x's
Edited by lehighmuskies 2/14/2010 9:16 AM
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Posts: 137
| I have used costa del mars for several years now, and wouldn't go back the cheap brands that I used for quite a long time. I always told myself that the expense wasn't worth it to buy good ones, but after I got my eyes fixed, I decided to at least try out some pairs and see if they were any better. I tried ocean waves, and, while the optics and view were unbelievable, they were heavy and didn't fit my face so they tended to fall forward quite a bit. Good glasses, they just didn't have a frame type that was comfortable for me. I returned them and tried on a lot of different pairs of glasses before settling on the costa del mars. Since I've had them, I would never go with a cheap pair again. When alternating between the glasses and several other cheap brands that I already had, I could definitely see more detail under the water, with much sharper vision than with the plastic lenses. But the biggest difference I have found is that I don't get headaches as often out on the water as I used to. I have sensitive eyes and get headaches easily after a long day of fishing, but the glass lens and reduced glare has cut down on my headaches a lot.
I have recently looked at the wileyx brand of glasses and considered trying a pair of them to see how they fare, as they are the only pair of fishing glasses that are actual rated safety glasses. This is something that could make me change to them, simply because there are so many impact dangers to our eyes when muskie fishing. Even if they proved to be slightly less comfortable glasses, or if they didn't offer quite the amount of clarity as the costas, it would still be worth a change in my oppinion, just for the fact that they would help insure I never lose an eye. |
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Posts: 113
Location: Twin Cities | I've been using Costa for two years and absolutely love them. These posts make me want to check out Ocean Waves though. Where do they sell them????? |
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