Polarized fishing glasses

[DickM]

ducksterman ..........
The Haber glasses are on an equal par with the Smith Action Optics which makes sense since Haber was started by the former owner of Action Optics. From what I heard, he sold Action Optics and retired. Spent a couple of years touring the world fishing and then got the itch again to form a new company producing polarized glasses.
The quality is excellent and when I got them he was just starting up and was selling them for 1/2 price.
They still don't come close to Costa's with the 580 lenses though in my opinion.
DickM.

[JohnScott]

.... is another alternative. They are pricey, but you get what you pay for. And if you take care of them, they could last for years, which might make them less expensive on the long haul than the less expensive glasses out there. ( The glasses I was replacing was a pair of seven year old $300 Nikons - bought for $40 at Sierra Trading Post - which finally started showing enough wear that it bothered me ).

I bought a pair of the Variant model a few months ago on sale. Follow the link. Read the SR-91 information while you are there.

http://kaenon.com/store/sunglasses/variant-v8.html

So far, I am quite pleased with the glasses, with one exception. The frames are a bit hard on my ears, but that problem was solved by using a style of "Chums" which cushions the frame contact with the ears and keeps the glasses on under difficult conditions.

John

P.S. I researched the Smith, Costa Del Mar, and Haber lines before I chose Kaenon. A couple points to keep in mind - glass generally will give you clearer vision but will shatter on impact, poly will give you shatterproof lenses but will more readily scratch, some glass lenses, like Kaenon, have high quality optics and are also shatter resistant. Protecting your eyes with good optics and from accidental breakage are two important considerations - more important than how comfortable the glasses are and how well you can see fish with them. You can always replace less expensive glasses, but you can't replace eyes.

[john]

Just an observation, but seeing fish(esp. on the flats) is to a large extent a learned skill. No pair of glasses will replace that. They certainly help, and are necessary, but not the end-all, be-all.

[MarkF]

I would not trade nor give up my Costa del Mar 580's w/ glass lens w/ the amber tint. The difference seeing in water is more than just amazing, it is uncanny. Had these two years and getting ready for another pair.

[gpatton]

Thanks for the tips everyone. As far as tint goes, it seems like the brownish yellow color tone is prefered. Quite a few recommend copper, others brown and another likes them amber. I haven't tried on the different options yet, but are these color differences that different or is the company just trying to make "brown" sound better by giving it a fancy name.

Thanks,
Greg

[Brian Moffitt]

Greg,

Brown is pretty much brown, but is sometimes marketed as Amber as well, but Copper generally has a slight red tint to it. I have a pair of Smith Riverside which have a brown base, but a green mirror finish on them. So when viewed from the front they look Green, but when you actually look through them they are a normal brown lens.

You can get into trouble though, as some Smith lenses are sold as "Amber" and they have a deffinite yellow tint to them. If that is what you want go for it, but if you are looking more for brown lenses with Smith stick to Brown.

Brian

[ducksterman]

I've seen some Costa Del Mar ads where they mention 580 but don't say wave ....does that make any difference?