Polarized Fishing Sunglasses

[wdp]

I need some new polarized sunglasses. I lost my Costas back in early Fall few months ago. Had them around 17-18 yrs. I had prescription lenses put in them about 11 yrs ago. 
 

Here’s my dilemma….. I hate to buy another high dollar pair of fishing sunglasses like Costas only to turn around & have after market prescription lenses put in them. I mean the great lenses are part of what makes Costas expensive, I would think.

 

 Thinking of just buying some inexpensive frames & having my eye Dr send them off for the polarized prescription lenses. What does everybody do?

[MediumMouthBass]

Wiley X. I paid $250 shipped.

UV protection, ANSI rated, scratch resistant (optional) super light weight and comfortable. And i have the same exact pair without prescription that fits and feels exactly the same.

They are a little pricey if you buy them off sale, or start adding on different feautures. But worth it 100%.

 

Most fishing glasses wont hold up to a heavy lure coming back at it fast, Wiley X will. Something to think about. Look into the testing they do.

 

I use the same ones as @padlin. Omegas for prescription, as well as Omega Jacob Wheelers for fishing. That color scheme lets me see in the night/indoors too.

Edited January 20 by MediumMouthBass

[padlin]

I use WileyX Omega’s. As I use them a lot I opt for the WileyX lenses, I’m on my 3rd pair over maybe the last 10 years and have never gotten a scratch on them, unlike my daily glasses. Having progressives I use an optician as opposed to mail order.

[Tackleholic]

1 hour ago, wdp said:

I need some new polarized sunglasses. I lost my Costas back in early Fall few months ago. Had them around 17-18 yrs. I had prescription lenses put in them about 11 yrs ago. 
 

Here’s my dilemma….. I hate to buy another high dollar pair of fishing sunglasses like Costas only to turn around & have after market prescription lenses put in them. I mean the great lenses are part of what makes Costas expensive, I would think.

 

 Thinking of just buying some inexpensive frames & having my eye Dr send them off for the polarized prescription lenses. What does everybody do?

From experience, low quality frames will deteriorate from sweat, sun, and spf.  The frames will crack and lenses will fall out.

[TOXIC]

A lot of the “major” brands are owned by the same big company, with a little research you can find out which manufacturers have their own lense labs.  When I was in the market, Oakley sent their frames in to their own lab. 

[WaskaCrank12]

You may want to check out Solar Bat.......the guy that owns/runs it is an optometrist and fisherman.

I have a pair of (non-prescription) Solar Bat sunglasses and they have served me well on the water.

[OHBuckets]

I got a few different styles from Island Optics. Quite like them and very comfy over a couple straight full days chasing Chesapeake bull reds

[Smirak]

@wdpI have/had costa prescription. Reason I say have/had is that I purchased the frames and lenses from a “non authorized” doctor. What that means is I bought the frame and lenses from an authorized costa dealer, but the only doctor/shop that has the ability to use the actual costa lens is Lens Crafters. I found that my lenses were just a little off in that they didn’t fit the frame exact. Now by exact, I mean the only way you would know is there was just the smallest amount of flex in them. The frames were in need of replacement a few years back. The first question they asked is if they are prescription. If you answer yes, you are required to go back through the shop purchased. I’ve replaced a few frames with Costa and it was about a week turnaround (usually). With the shop I purchased at, the turn around time was about 8 weeks. So, I just placed the original lenses back in the glasses and sent back to costa. Went to Lens Crafters to get a lens replacement cost and it was cheaper to just get a new pair with lenses. I’m in progressives, so that might have had something to do with it as well, but…

 

just my 2 cents…

[FishTax]

I've used Zenni for prescription polarized cheap sunglasses. I view them as disposable. Don't compare them to costa, look at price difference and set expectations accordingly. Again... disposable. 

 

I tried the kastking ones, they are way too narrow for my big head and caused headaches. They'll probably crack in half  or an arm fall off soon as tight sunglasses tend to do. 

 

I'd love some good polarized ones but I feel confident as soon as I spend the money they'll go swimming, so unless they make them to float I can't buy them. 

[C.Tucks]

Smith’s chromapop lenses are fantastic and the glasses come with a lifetime warranty. 
I’m not too sure about rx lenses though as I wear contacts. 

[Smirak]

If anyone wants some good, cheap polarized sunglasses, check out Goodr and/or Knockaround. $25-$35/pair. Academy, REI, and running stores usually stock them. I usually have a few pair kicking around. Umpire bag, kayak, tackle bag, truck…for $25, they are excellent…

[woolleyfooley]

20 hours ago, TOXIC said:

A lot of the “major” brands are owned by the same big company, with a little research you can find out which manufacturers have their own lense labs.  When I was in the market, Oakley sent their frames in to their own lab. 

Luxottica and safilo.

 

My .02, I like Oakley.

 

[Tennessee Boy]

Glasses cost $20 - $40 to make.   Anything you pay over that is due to the Luxottica monopoly and your preference for known brands.

[DaubsNU1]

Back in the day my Dad's buddy used to sell produce on the street...raised it all himself, cash operation. Did pretty well for himself. 

 

One day another guy walked up and asked if he could sell sunglasses. Whelp, since he wasn't selling produce, go ahead, knock yourself out. 

 

That guy was selling Blue Blockers...those sunglasses sold on TV for $30. This guy was selling them for $5. Sold quite a few. 

 

They got to talking after a long day of selling. That guy was getting those Blue Blockers factory direct from China...his price per pair...

 

...wait for it...

 

Twenty-seven cents each ($0.27)!!!

 

I have several pair of Kastking polarized sunglasses in my boat, in the trunk of my car, and in my truck. They seem to work well. I've tried on a few pair of Costas...they fit nice...but I just know they would get broken quickly, or dumped over the side and sacrificed to Davey Jones Locker. 

[Smirak]

Back in the day…late 80s/early 90s, I worked selling fireworks during the seasons. We were selling bottle rockets at $4.95/gross. The company was paying a hair over $0.02/gross. 

[Steveo-1969]

Instead of prescription polarized sunglasses I went another route. I bought “over-the-glasses” polarized sunglasses and wear them over my normal prescription eyeglasses. They were about $20 on Amazon.

 

 Do I look like a dork? Yep. Do I care? Nope. I fake a Minnesota accent and introduce myself as Babe Winkleman.

[padlin]

I got a set of those from Wally World a year ago for the times I leave my good ones home and need something for a drive. The issue I have with them, other than not fitting in the overhead sunglass holders is they slide down, I’m forever pushing them back up. But they do work, ugly as they are.

[Smirak]

If I had my druthers, I’d wear contacts with my regular costas. However, my progressive prescription is not user friendly with contacts. My doc and I worked on quite a few different options, but we never could get it right. I’m secretly hoping that my prescription is changing fast enough to get to where I can wear contacts sooner rather than later. I have to have a pair of glasses in my life jacket as well as in my umpire ball bag because I can’t see up close. My sight started dwindling about 10 yrs ago (along with my hearing - thanks a lot Army).

[Gera]

Find cheap Oaklay on Amazon or even better find one of their outlet stores.. there not really a lot of difference in quality than Costas (Luxottica brands)

I even find them more light and comfortable. 

[rboat]

I got mine at the optical store in the walmart. Found some frames I liked and gave them my prescription, told them I wanted polarized lenses in a certain color, with scratch protection. They took a couple measurements and told me to come back and pick them up in 5 days. Work great and I now have 2 pairs I have had for about 4 years. Check first if they take your insurance, some will. Good luck.

[J._Bricker]

Interesting timing @wdp as I just dealt with a similar situation. This past summer after a day of fishing I had my prescription Costas resting on the front of my baseball hat. As I was getting out of my truck I looked down and my sunglasses fell off my head and landed lens down, ear pieces up on the asphalt scratching the lenses. 
 

The optometrist at LensCrafters said the lenses were beyond repair and the frames were warped due to heat. Wait, what!?, my question was they’re sunglasses and should be able to handle being in the sun and periodic triple digit heat. I was surprised to hear this happens frequently. Long story short, as @Smirak mentioned above it was way more cost effective to buy a new set of Costa glasses (frames and progressive lenses) than buying the lenses and installing them in an existing frame. And that was the route I went because I personally believe Costas are the best sunglasses for me on and off the water.

 

 

[Smirak]

I forgot to add that you can order the prescription glasses or sunglasses on the costa site and have them delivered to Sunglasses Hut. They may also be an authorized dealer to order Rx from, though I don’t know 100%. 

[Tennessee Boy]

2 minutes ago, Smirak said:

I forgot to add that you can order the prescription glasses or sunglasses on the costa site and have them delivered to Sunglasses Hut. They may also be an authorized dealer to order Rx from, though I don’t know 100%. 

Sunglass Hut is also owned by Luxottica.  They are part of the evil empire.

 

 

 

[wdp]

@J._Bricker mine fell off top of my head reaching down to lip a bass. Unfortunately this lake is super grassy & I immediately lost sight of them. Oh well, I got plenty of use outta them in 18 yrs.
 

Think I’m gonna buy another pair of Costas & have prescription lenses put in them.  My insurance might pay for the prescription lenses. I’ll have to check. 

[J._Bricker]

@wdp, I did use my insurance to purchase the Costas, I believe our sight is be valued and good, quality sunglasses are important. Just wanted to say the difference between new Costa lenses and new glasses was almost $300.00, kind of a no brainer. And don’t think I didn’t just buy a couple of Costa croakies/lanyards before the new sunglasses have arrived, just some more insurance.