Hi guys, I am looking for advice on a new pair of polarised glasses, I have a pair of Bolle Boomslang at the moment but they although they have good lenses for spotting fish, the overall build quality is really bad. So far, the lenses have fallen out more than once, the rubber has come away from the legs, and just the other day the rubber nose grips turned to putty (no chemicals have come in contact with them, including sun lotion), so any pointers would be gratefully received.
I think Maui Jims have the best lenses, but they are heavy. They are also pretty durable. I have been wearing a pair of Smith polarized and though the lenses aren’t as nice as the Jims they stay on my face better. I almost can’t wear the Jims anymore after a year of wearing the lightweight ones. It all comes down to ones that fit you well and are within your budget. You only get one set of eyes, so you might as well buy some good sunglassed to protect them.
wiley x has some awesome all purpose glasses. all polarised with interchangeable lenses as well a it take prescription lenses. gasket seals your eyes from water spray and dust.
check out alloutlenses.co.za
don’t know the american website but this is the south african one. here in sunny south africa thee glasses exploded onto the fly fishing scene due to the versatility.
I just bought a pair of Native brand from the local Sportsman’s warehouse. they have interchangeable lenses, lightweight, and are great for fishing with the polarized lenses.
There are a few good suppliers of fishing glasses out there. Over the years I’ve spent a lot of time on the water fishing with Action Optics and have been very pleased with them. My only complaint on the AA’s is that the frames seem VERY fragile. I’ve only ever broken 2 pairs of frames and both were AA Padres. Not impressed there as they don’t seem to hold up well. Other models may perform dirfferently. No doubt though that AA makes some good specs.
A couple years ago a good friend gave me a pair of Maui Jim Volcano’s as a gift for supplying him with some offshore flies. I fell in love with them. They fit great and work well for me. They are a mirrored gray lens so that’s what I wear with bluewater fishing on sunny days.
A couple of weeks ago I picked up 2 pairs of Orvis’s new Hydrovision glasses. One with gray lenses and one with the green mirrored amber lenses. I sure love the way they fit and feel and the look pretty nice as well. I’ll get a chance to break them in on the flats off Key Largo and Islamorada on the 20th and 21st so we will see how I like them once I get some time with them but I think they are going to be the cats meow. The guys at Orvis tell me that these are the finest lenses they have ever offered in any glasses.
Bottom line . . . I don’t think you can go wrong with these companies.
Jeff - AKA Dr. Fish
If it has fins and swims than I must chase it!
fishon didn’t mention that the Natives have a killer gaurantee…unconditional for everything but loss…that includes scratches…my son is on his 4th pair…you do need to send $20 for “S&H”
no, the set that is in the glasses when you buy them will be polarized, the other’s (yellow, orange, and clear) are not. of course, you can always buy the lense sets you want.
BN2Fish - Here’s the link to [url=http://www.habervision.com:ee5b6]HaberVision[/url:ee5b6]. You have/had an extra period at the end and you spelled it incorrectly.
I am not affiliated with this company, but their webpage was rather interesting.
[This message has been edited by luke (edited 13 February 2006).]
I agree with JC. I have a pair of AA Fishbone PC’s. Besides beeing lightweight, the optical clarity is second to none. A good pr of glasses at a decent price. My 2c worth, Jamie
Gotta go with the Maui Jims. Lightweight, wrap around and coatings out the wazoo. Spend the money on something decent - cataracts later in life really stink!!
Anyone know of a decent pair of wrap arounds? I wear glasses and currently use clip ons, but have not found any that are very good. I would like to try wraparound polarized glasses that fit over glasses. I have glanced at Sunglass Hut’s and other sunglass places in the malls I’ve been in, but have not seen anything like that.
Just posted this on another board in response to the same question
I have worn prescription lenses for most of my life.
I have also worn polarized sunglasses since my early teens.
I know a thing or three about them.
I have a pair of Lenscrafter’s polarized in dark grey witrh brown highlights ( the touch of brown provides increased contrast ).
They work well for fishing and driving and other outdoor activities.
I recently purchased a pair of prescription Smith ACTION OPTICS photochromic polarized sunglasses for fishing.
These are an exceptional pair of sunglasses and I recommend them highly.
They cost $300 but ( to me ) are worth it. Since I’m as blind as a bat, I need ALL the help that I can get.
I chose the glass lenses - heavier and thicker in my RX - so your personal choice may be for a lens of different composition.
Glass provides the best optical quality available, are most scratch resistant, and the heaviest.
THE QUESTION THAT YOU SHOULD ALSO BE ASKING IS “WHAT COLOR POLARIZED LENSES SHOULD I CHOOSE - and DO I WANT PHOTOCHROMICS?”
I chose photochromic lenses. They provide variable light transmission according to how bright or dark it is - i.e., they adjust their darkness.
This is limited to appx 13% - 30% available light allowed to pass through to your eye.
Constant density ( dark ) sunglasses allow about 13-14% light to pass to your eye.
Action Optics are available in constant density or variable densities in amber ( yellow ), copper, brown and grey.
I would recommend amber for fishing LOW light situations - early, late or cloudy.
I chose photochromic copper because I like the overall flexibility they provide - optimally medium to bright light with high contrast. Can u say rose-colored glsasses?
Brown gives enhanced contrast in very bright condidtiions
Grey is for very bright conditions with more true-to-life color rendition ( but lower contrast ).
BUT regardless, any polarized sunglasses will enhance your seeing into the water.
Gandolf I bought a pair of fitovers in a pinch a few years ago and they were great for flyfishing. I have never replaced my AOs cause I like these better. These are comfortable and light. They scratch easy so must handle carefully. Cabelas is the only place I can find them now. about $50 delivered, they charge a fortune in shipping. There is another company making glasses like these that are called cocoons but they are not half as good or comfortable. There are two sizes so make sure you order the right size to fit over your glasses.
[This message has been edited by Bugchecker (edited 14 February 2006).]
Garic
I had the same problems with Bolles. It was frustrating when the nose piece started to “melt”. Don’t know why I would by from the same people under a different name.
