Costa Sun Glasses

[seawitch]

I am in the market for a new pair of sun glasses because I broke my old Oakleys. I want to buy a pair of costas but they make oakleys look cheap. Does anyone know if I should pay the Extra 100 bucks to buy a 580p pair rather than a 400g. I'm thinking about the 400g but idk if I'm making a mistake because there is no clear review on the 400gs on the Internet. Help me out, thanks

[seawitch]

I am in the market for a new pair of sun glasses because I broke my old Oakleys. I want to buy a pair of costas but they make oakleys look cheap. Does anyone know if I should pay the Extra 100 bucks to buy a 580p pair rather than a 400g. I'm thinking about the 400g but idk if I'm making a mistake because there is no clear review on the 400gs on the Internet. Help Me out thanks

[AllTerrainAngler]

So.... I am a costa snob. I'm currently at 11 pairs.All i buy are 580g. The lens colors are for all different environments and blah blah blah. If you sight fish copper is the way to go. Just basic freshwater you'll want a green mirror. Saltwater blue mirror. Clear water streams rivers and all that silver mirror. I work at a costa dealer and get killer deals so i kinda have a problem. Never had problems with them. ALso have great customer service! 

[seawitch]

So would you recommend a pair of 400gs?

[reason162]

400G/P is, in my mind, just a good pair of polarized lenses, comparable to Oakleys. 

 

580G is truly special, the contrast and clarity is remarkable. I would get the 580G for sure. Ebay has good deals. 

[Big C]

I don't have Costas, but I do have a pair of Oakley Dispatch.  I would stick with Oakley, Costas are just so expensive.  I'm actuallly about to switch the old scratched lenses for new polarized lenses. 

[atcoha]

I have an rx pair of costa's. Don't believe the hype on the warranty...For the $ I spent, I expected more.

Went with wileyx last year, and the warranty even covers my rx lenses. Fit great, can see great on the water, and about 1/2 the price of costa...overrated..?

To each his own.

[AllTerrainAngler]

Oakley polarized glasses are nice too. I just don't like how cheap they feel. I guess with the price I pay I can justify costas. The 400g are great. Hobie polarized glasses are pretty nice too. So are wileys. Just try out each one. But one big selling point of oakleys. Impact resistant lenses. So if a lure comes back at you your eyes are safe. Not so much the rest of your fave but the important parts

[Mike L]

We all buy what we like at the price point we can afford, regardless of what it is. In this case best is in the eye of the beholder.

Someone once said "You get what you pay for"

Mike

[papajoe222]

I've had, and still do, WileyX, Oakley Half Jackets and Costa 580G and of the three, the costas give me the better view into the water. They're heavier and more pricey, but when you find what works for you, you stick with it. Kinda like finding an awesome woman,but she likes expensive shoes and she's a bit overweight.....you start to appreciate that little extra and how awesome those pricey shoes look on her and what they do for her....... Oops, kinda got away from the sunglasses thing didn't I ?

[reason162]

If you're going to get Costa, get the 580G lens, and if you're only going to get 1 pair, I'd get the 580G in blue mirror. It doesn't darken nearly as much as my Maui Pure lenses for the same light transmission. I find the Green mirrors to be just a shade inadequate in bright, full sun, while the Blue mirrors are perfect and they're just fine in lower light conditions. 

[flyfisher]

I have owned many different brands from smiths, native, maui jim, oakleys etc...when i bought my first pair of costas with the 400G lenses i was literally blown away with the quality and the distortion free, even in the periphery, lens.  Unfortunately i broke the lens on them and haven't had the funds to replace them since i am out of work but i wouldn't hesitate to get another pair.  they are totally worth the money. 

 

And on a side note, oakleys were the least favorite of all the sunglasses i have owned from a lens quality perspective.

[ABW]

You only get two eyes in your lifetime. Treat them well! I was going to get the 400G's but at the last second I changed my mind and got the 580G's

[gulfcaptain]

I went to Kaenon 6 years ago and haven't owned anything but those.  But like stated above to each their own. No matter what glasses we choose, we are all choosing to protect the only 2 eyes we have.  I am thankful I was shown how much better polarized glasses were when I was 19.  20+ years on the water I'm sure my vision would be shot had I not protected my eyes.  Wear what you like or what works best for you.

[Vayned]

I would wear them but prescription sunglasses are probably too expensive.

[reason162]

Here's a good summary taken from another forum: 

 

"I am a newbie to this forum, but I am a certified optician who specializes in sport optics, so I thought I would weigh in.  So Oakley lenses are "Plutonite", which is their code name for polycarbonate.  Polycarbonate is cheap, tough, and UV blocking, but it has the worst chromatic abberation of any lens material.  That means distortion.  They do have aspheric lenses which reduces some of this distortion, but basically they are no better than a Smith polycarbonate lens.  Costa's flagship material is 580 glass, which already has a huge advantage over Oakley because glass optics are spectacular.  WAY better clarity than polycarbonate.  The 580P material is actually Trivex which has the toughness of polycarbonate but much better optical clarity- not as good as glass but perhaps a best of all worlds lens given its impact resistance.  Smith's glass lenses are REALLY good, as is their new Chromapop, which is Trivex.  Both Smith Chromapop and Costa 580 are patented to have increased contrast due to limiting light 'noise' at color intersections.  Not yet mentioned,Maui Jim has a great track record with its awesome glass lenses, and they are now using Trivex in some models in addition to polycarbonate.  I just had a patient who is a staunch Oakley fan put on a pair of Maui Jim glass lenses and his jaw dropped when he saw the difference.  This is how I shop for sunglasses:

 

1.  Choose a comfortable frame style

2.  Choose a great lens material (trivex or glass)

 

3.  Choose an appropriate lens color (brown-ish for variable light, grey for very bright light)"

[Frogfather]

As polarizing [pun intended] a topic this is, the results are simple. Anyone that puts on my 580G's wants to walk away with them! I was an Oakley guy. Then, I became a Maui Jim guy. Now, I'm all Costa. The reason is simple my vision is better with these glasses than without. Not to mention the protection/polarization, lens options, comfort, and style. This will be my 2nd summer with 580G's. Bottom line, you don't know how good they are unless you wear them. 

 

If you were to buy only one, as I have, here is what I would suggest: Blue Lens. 580G. Make sure you try on different frames. They have a lot and each seem to fit differently. If possible, get a frame with the holes at the bottom to reduce fog. 

 

Happy hunting!

[Bluebasser86]

Shop around and you can find them much more reasonable than what you're probably seeing them for. I bought my 580G Fisch last year for well under MSRP, brand new from an online golf shop. 

[Cameron211]

Ducket fishing glasses. They are great! Mossback green lenses. Great quality and stylish for right around 120

[BassinLou]

Get the 580's. Your eyes will thank you for them. The clarity is awesome. The warranty on these glasses are awesome as well. I have utilized Costa's warranty program a couple of times already and they have taken great care of me and returned my glasses good as new. Good luck on your choice. 

[rchiuz]

Side topic: Are there any good polarized sunglasses that fit over prescription glasses?

[tennsopher]

Look on e-bay for 580g I bought a pair (tortoise shell frame 580g green glass)last year for $130.00.This is my second pair and quite a bit cheaper than I paid for my first pair.Your eyes will thank you years from now!And yes they came as described,couldn't tell from new.

[Mccallister25]

I'm on my second pair of Costa's now. Just bought a pair of the blackfins. Go with Costa. You won't regret it. Def get the 580's in the glass lens.

[JT Bagwell]

Oakley polarized glasses are nice too. I just don't like how cheap they feel. I guess with the price I pay I can justify costas. The 400g are great. Hobie polarized glasses are pretty nice too. So are wileys. Just try out each one. But one big selling point of oakleys. Impact resistant lenses. So if a lure comes back at you your eyes are safe. Not so much the rest of your fave but the important parts

 

All of Wiley X's frame and lenses are ANSI Impact rated. Some of them are even Ballistic rated.

 

 

 

In regards to someone mentioning RX lenses. I would definitely recommend the Digital RX lenses from WX.

I have a pair of the P-17 with Digital RX lenses and they are really nice. I wear contacts most of the time so I don't wear them a lot

but when I need them it is nice to have an RX pair as a backup.

[Vayned]

Prescription sunglasses aren't cheap... would almost rather wear what I got than to pay for those.

 

http://www.adseyewear.com/prescription-rx-boating-fishing-sunglasses/