Just an FYI … I wear eyeglasses and have (for many years) been planning on getting some prescription sunglasses. I still haven’t done it yet, for some reason.
I’ve tried two or three pairs of sunglasses that fit over my regular glasses, but the execution was never quite as good as the idea … gouged ears, pinchy nose, etc
On Wednesday I tried on a pair of Cocoons (they come in many sizes) at a local shop and BAM found a pair that fit and work perfectly. Totally impressed, I bought one pair and ordered a second. They’re $46 (Canadian) or (US)$40
If you find a frame you like, let me know and I will make you some prescription lenses(need an RX) for a good price.
I’m an eye doctor and flyfisher and will be more than happy to cut fellow flyfishers a deal.
I’d use nothing else but good, quality polarized lenses for fishing.
Personally I use polarized progressive bifocals. Everything in one pair. Using clip-ons over regular lenses is one huge PIA!
Wow … thanks … that’s very gracious of you. It just so happens that I’m getting my eyes checked (for the first time in about eight years) on Thursday.
I’m 57 and have very weak eyes … I too use progressive bi-focals but (when I’m changing flies) I have to remove them and hold the darned fly about five inches from my nose.
big bad wolf I am blind in one eye and have a cataract developing on the other. For the last couple of years I have had difficulty seeing even large flies and reading road signs while wearing any sunglasses. Do you know of any glasses that I could use for uv protection and hopefully polarized that are not so dark? Thanks
I agree with BB Wulff’s approach. I too have polarized progressive lenses and it is so much easier than anything else I’ve done. They work right (like my non-sunglasses), stay in place and there is no fiddling around with it.
I too wear bi-focals and need to take them off to see up close.
I’ve gotten to the point where I have more stuff hanging from my neck than Mr.T
The Bi-focals, the fitover shades, the magnifing glasses, and often a lanyard.
Tangles in my line and leader are nothing compared to this **** :roll:
Any sunglasses are going to give you problems due to them cutting down on total light coming thru the lens. Is surgery an option for your cataract? I can imagine you are a bit tentative due to being one-eyed, but modern cataract surgery is extremely safe and very effective. You can even aske them to leave you artificially corrected to see up close but your distance vision will be blurred(a trade off).
Thanks wulf I was afraid you’d say that. The doc says the darn thing isn’t operable yet but it is beginning to be a first class nuisance. I’m due for an eye exam this winter; maybe it will be far enough along to remove.
The salesperson here in Winnpeg (at a very upscale eyeglass shop) was so totally out-of-touch that she insisted that the first ones that I bought were not polarized … and still I soldiered on and ordered another (polarized) second pair … and then (within hours of my curious e-mail to Cocoons) the GM 'way off in California wrote me two detailed responses that made me believe that they cared about customer service.
I’d be glad to cut-and-paste them …
The first …
[i][b]If the glasses you bought are Cocoons, then they are definitely polarized. In fact, if you bought any Live Eyewear brand; the glasses are definitely polarized.
Could you send me the model number that is on the inside temple? That will identify the product for me and I can verify the lens characteristics.[/b][/i]
The second …
[i][b]Hi Ron,
The model number you quoted is indeed a polarized product. All Cocoons are polarized; there are no non-polarized models with tinted lenses.
I have copied Alex Burke in on this reply. Alex handles consumer issues and can send you a Cocoons cleaning cloth at no charge via the mail. If you could reply to Alex with your mailing address, he will get one off to you today. In future, if you are ever need to determine if a sunglass has polarized lenses, follow these instructions.
Remove one lens out of the sunglass and place it in front of the other lens in the exact same position as the lens that is in the sunglass. You should be able to see clearly through both lenses.
Then, rotate one of the lenses 90 degrees while looking through the lenses. As you rotate the lens 90 degrees, the lens will ?black out?? and you should not be able to see through it any more. (This is because the polarization axis which were running horizontally, much like a Venetian blind, are being crossed over each other, effectively blocking out all light) If you can?t see through the lens as it ?blacks out?? the lenses are polarized. If nothing happens, and you can still see through the lenses… they are not polarized.
Regards,
Kieran[/b][/i]
Everybody’s shopping-experience is a bit different … on my head they fit great.
Thanks for the Cocoons post Ron, I haven’t tried them but I just checked their site and they looked good so I then checked at LL Bean and lo and behold, there they were and I was able to order online, using my LL Bean Visa card (no freight that way plus more points) and I had a $10 off coupon that I needed to use by 1.10.07 so I’ll be trying the ‘Aviators’ on for size so to speak. I got them for $29.95 out the door !
Thanks again for the post Ron, I have been in need of sunglasses just like these for a while now !
Just a heads-up on the sizing. I was lucky enough to be able to try on the various sizes. I have trendy-looking oval glasses that are a full 5 1/2 inches wide on my fat head. Top-to-bottom dimensions were obviously not a concern but according to the sizing chart on the Cabelas site I too should have had to choose the Aviators as well. However, I was able to use the one-size smaller Pilot model and everything just fit perfectly.
There’s a bit of discrepancy between the sizing specs on the LL Bean website and the sizing spects on the Cabelas website. Cabelas says the max width for Pilots is 5 3/8 and LL Bean says that it’s 5 1/2. In this case at least the LL Bean specs are more accurate.
Just an FYI … you may not have had to go to the larger size.
Thanks again Ron and I looked everything over really closely before ordering and went with the ‘Pilots’ because I’d save some bulk and maybe even a small amount of weight. If I had my way I’d have the finest sporting sunglasses on the planet…and I have had such before…in my prescription to boot. A huge sheepdog sat on those at a SO. California beach and the second pair of prescription sunnies were stolen right off my bike in front of a friends place so since then I’ve used ‘wear overs’ or just found good big sunglasses that work over my regular glasses (Wayfarers) and gone with that.
The Cocoons look like the way to go for me and once I researched the company it was plain to see why you bought yours ! Thanks again Ron in Winnipeg and I will def let you know what I think of them. They should be here mid week (Bean is really good that way) and I’ll post this thread again with my opinion.
I originally said that the price was $60 Canadian (at an eyeglass dispensary) but have since found the Cocoons for just $46 at a large local outdoor retailer … a great store called S.I.R. here in Winnipeg.
Well I received my Cocoons Pilots a few days ago and I liked them right out of the box. Wore them the same day on a walk and they fit and performed just fine, better than I imagined they would even. There is no lens distortion and glare was pretty much non-existant.
Of particular note was the matte black finish…the description just said black. The matte doesn’t create any ‘back glare’ and that’s always been a problem for me with any kind of shiney glasses, sun or otherwise, so the matte black finish was an unexpected bonus. These people know what they’re doing. So overall, I like the fit over Cocoon Pilot sunglasses just fine. Thanks again Ronnie_D !
[b]Darn … I was so impressed that I bought two pair.
Ron[/b]
No, no Ron, if you’re that impressed, you supposed to by the Company! :lol:
Great thread. Lots of insight on a subject I’m thrashing over. My head says go for the progressives; my wallet says give the Cocoons a try. Thanks for insight, folks…Tim (also from Winnipeg)
Morning Tim, are you able to go somewhere that sells Cocoons near you? I ask because I did mail order and since they have different sizes to ‘fit over’ regular glasses, the possibility exists that one could get Cocoons that are too small. For example, the description for the Coccoons I chose (Pilots) states: “Fit prescription frames up to 51/2"W x 17/8"H.” Hope that helps.
