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Polarized glasses?

4K views 31 replies 28 participants last post by  Matey 
#1 ·
Looking into a good pair of polarized for low water steelhead and salmon fishing. Since they come in different lense colors....ect I was gonna see in any of you guys had maybe a perfered pair you liked for this northwest region? I got some cheapos now but Ive fully come to the conclusion when sight fishing low water steelhead, a good pair is definitley in order to be really successful at spotting fish before they see youl. So again, if anyone here has a pair they are very happy with I'm all ears. Thanks


Jake
 
#3 ·
iagree
For streams and shallow lakes, amber or copper does the trick, and Action Optics puts out an amazing variety to suit the purpose, including for wide or narrow heads. Anything plastic will scratch and be soon worthless. Also think about photo sensitive glasses, that lighten up as you approach that magical time right before sun down...extends the time you can use them to cut glare. Find a pair with non-slip rubber built into the nose bridge and you're good to go.
 
#4 ·
I too like the amber lenses. But for cloudy days(we have a few of those in the Northwest) and the late evening light or a river canyon after the sun goes behind the hill, I find that the yellow lenses let far more light in but still provide the polarization that is needed to combat the glare. Yellow is also good for driving on cloudy days and late evening.

Since I need prescription bifocals I buy Cocoons or Fitovers to wear over them. I guess I am pretty careful with them as a pair seems to last 3 years or more, very little trouble with scratching.

Ive
 
#5 ·
I also like the yellow lenses for gray days and low light conditions. For bright days I like the brown color lens as these work great with all light colored bottom structure and can be used salt and fresh waters everywhere. I have had the most durability out of RayBans. I have had glass and plastic for lenses and glass is easier to care for but if you are religious about using the proper cleaning kit plastic will last a long time.
 
#11 ·
I have a pair of Smith / Action Optics "Chambers". They were quite expensive ($179) but I was willing to pay more for the Techlite glass lenses, figuring it would be more scratch resistant than plastic. They're also photochromic which has been useful during lower light conditions.

On my first fishing trip with them I managed to get a couple scratches smack in the middle of the left lens. I was pretty careful with them and have no idea how it happened. Obviously it's not a warranty issue, but I wrote to Smith and asked them about a non-warranty repair. They responded promptly, saying that they can't replace the lens, but they would sell me a replacement pair for $70.

I will probably take them up on it, but I think that's the last pair of $179 sunglasses I will buy. In the future, I will buy cheapies and toss 'em when they get scratched.

 
#12 ·
Don't flame me for this, Walmart sells a few lines of decent glass lensed shades. I've been wearing a pair of Carribean Sun since last summer and like them just as much as my Smiths. Think I paid $70. bucks for them in a hard case.
 
#13 ·
I began by wearing cheap polarized sun glasses. The two main advantages of them is they were cheap and lightweight. Then I moved up to optical glass, which is more comfortable on my eyes for long days of wearing, but uncomfortable to wear due to the heavier weight. Then I got my first pair of Maui Jim sunglasses (rose colored lense, a variant of amber in practice). They are plastic lenses, but cause no eyestrain even when I wear them for very long days in the tropics. They are very light, and I often forget that I'm wearing them. They can scratch, but the overall comfort makes it worth it for me. I'm on my third pair, having dropped the first in a river, and the second were stolen from my car. I must really like them.

Sg
 
#15 ·
I traded a decent reel that was excess in my collection for a pair of Smith photochromatics. I have worn them as my primary sunglasses now, fishing, driving, whatever. The seem very comfortable on the eyes, fit my melon head pretty well and allow me to see things clearly beneath the glared surface. Tough to improve my looks, but these glasses look good too. I have had good success with cheapos and other high dollar ones but since these were getting mentioned I wanted to add my favorable experience with them.
 
#16 ·
Regardless of what kind you get, glass, plastic, amber, yellow, expensive, cheap etc... make sure that they wrap around the side of your face well and cut as much of the side light out as possible. If they are going to be strictly fishing glasses you might even consider getting side shields as an add on to help eliminate all the side light, I would stay away from the wire frame style, they typically don't hug your face as well as the larger styles do. Might even look for a hat that has a slightly longer, wider bill to help with the light issue as well. Amber is a great all around color, but light yellow is a bit better for low light conditions, the photocromatic is a great option to go with but you will pay the $$$$ for them. Action optics (Smith) is a great company and very customer friendly, so dont throw your money away for the cheap stuff, if you can afford them support your local fly shop and buy a warrantied pair of glasses, they will usually be more than willing to repair or in most cases replace your broken or scratched glasses to keep you as a return customer.
 
#18 ·
2 scents
Amber is traditional & very good for low light & generates high contrast but I don't care for the pukey color. I'd say for LOW light just get some clear lenses (safety glasses) to protect your eyes from errant flies. On a brighter day the copper lens is good and many prefer grey for really bright conditions. I really like the Maui Rose (Maui Jims) for an all around lens. The pair I have is pretty heavy though. I'm about to look for something lighter weight and therefore probably polycarbonite.
Free advise, what did you expect.
 
#20 ·
I agree with most posts here regarding lens choices and especially agree with the wrap around frame. I bought a pair of Native Silencer polarized glasses from REI a few years back and they have been the best fishing/hiking/driving/all purposes shades I have had. They are lightweight, have removable lenses, air ventilation at the top and they wrap around my face nicely. I have the silver reflex polarized lens for bright conditions, an amber/brown polarized for fishing and other stuff and a yellow lens which came 'free' with the silver reflex. I was surprised how great the yellow lens was in low light conditions and use them more often then I thought. The glasses are not cheap but they aren't crazy expensive either.
 
#21 ·
Maui Jims for me. Rose or amber (more brown than anything) incredible optics and they weigh nothing, I forget that I am wearing them all of the time. I have three pair and wear nothing else. New from Maui Jim are "readers", no more flip focals with the readers. Polarized sun protection with bi-focals, it is perfect. They have a great warranty and excellent service. I paid about $140.00 for my last pair.
 
#22 ·
I have good ole Kaiser health insurance at work, they have polarized Seiko prescription glasses that are awesome! They take a beating and spring back to original form. $250.00 glasses, my co-pay is $40.00. Might check your insurance provider, just a thought
 
G
#23 ·
Everything that Tyler said, and don't assume that all your glasses have 100% UVA & UVB protection. Recent studies have shown that wearing glasses with 99% UV protection is actually worse than not wearing any glasses at all. Makes sense, but most folks don't even think about it......they just see cheap glasses, save money.
 
#24 ·
OK, two cents is two cents, but since I am so hard on stuff, $20 for a pair of Berkley amber bifocal cheapies (kmart, walmart, ect) is what I spend, and I buy every pair they have when I find them LOL. They even come in different magnification powers and are a sport style wrap around, which I prefer... and macular degeneration being what it is in us older guys, LOL I know "stop trying to tie looking through the damn beer bottle knuckehead....."

Earl
 
#25 ·
I have prescription glasses and wanted polarized lenses for fishing. I checked out Costco and found a frame with semi-wrapped lenses and a light brown tint to them that actually brightens all of the fish colors when they're in the water. When the fish are in the water, not the glasses... I think I paid under $100 for them, I've had them for 3 seasons and they're still great. It's only a matter of time before I drop them in the river or my kids ruin them...
 
#29 ·
I recently purchased "Driveware" polycarbonate polarized photochromic progressive lenses installed in a moderate wrap Ray Ban 2027 Predator frame to replace my 15 year old Action Optics Polarized Copper/Rose Photochromic single vision prescription sunglasses that have become increasingly difficult to use with the onset of presbyopia. Unlike most other photochromics, Drivewear lenses react to both UV and visible light(!) so they darken behind a windshield in bright sunlight. The plastic Drivewear lenses and the Ray Ban 2027 frames are very lightweight and very comfortable for a long day on the water.

In cloudy or foggy weather the Drivewear lens has a 20% yellowish green tint. That provides a noticeable increase in visual acuity because there is more contrast with the yellow/green tint. During rainy weather they reduce glare from falling rain and raindrops and in the car it reduces glare from streaks on the windshield.

My standard polarized brown sunglass lenses are a darker tint than the Drivewear even in bright sunlight. However on a bright sunny day visual acuity is a tiny bit better with the Drivewear lens because of the lower quality of the sunglasses lens and the Drivewear copper tint in bright sunlight provides better contrast than the brown lenses. The lighter tint of Drivewear lenses does not create discomfort; just a brighter scene that is sharper with more contrast in comparison to polarized brown sunglasses or my non-polarized brown Transitions daily wear. In fact on the 15 minute drive back to the office from the optician with my Drivewear shades, and later 30 minutes home, the unusual feeling of my facial muscles being completely relaxed was absolutely amazing!

On the water with the sun high in the sky when I can barely make out the features under the water with the naked eye the Drivewear lenses are nearly as if I have lowered my head into the water with a scuba mask on. They are also effective in the early morning or just before dusk looking down in the water directly in front of me but if I tilt my head up to look ahead 15-to 20+ feet away the lenses create a light/dark pattern of glare/polarization like glazed window panes that looks a bit odd. It doesn't hinder movement though, and my other polarized sunglasses are not able to allow me to see underwater out that far.

In summary, I bought the Drivewear as trick polarized shades for fly fishing. But I often find myself pulling them out of my fishing bag to wear in the car for driving. These are awesome glasses.

Prescription Drivewear in a progressive bifocal is pretty expensive but I got frames & lens quotes from 3 optical shops to get the best price in the area, and my remaining insurance vision benefit paid about 30% after covering 100% of my daily wear. However it is interesting to note that the Ray Bans normally cost $145+, I got the frames for $60, and the lens lab returned the stock polarized lenses with my finished prescription sunglasses. There has got to be a mighty big markup somewhere to pay for that.
 
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