Looking to get some sunglasses to bring along this year. I'm wondering what the recommended lens color would be. I probably would want for fishing so polarized would be a plus. But what works best to spot the fish, Dark lens, yellow, orange, silver? I've even seen light green. What do people use up there? Should I be in the fishing forum?? As always any advice is appreciated. Thanks

If it were me, I'd focus less on lens color and more on how comfortable/practical they are for your use. If you checked that box, polarized lenses next because if they aren't comfortable you might not be wearing them anyway. I prefer lighter smoke polarized lenses as I wear them more throughout the day, thus gaining the polarized benefit as long as I can.

I can't seem to tell the difference between lens color as far as seeing more fish. Polarized glasses do make a difference for me but I have never had anything fancy. I agree with dudz - get something that is comfortable for you.

Make sure to get the lanyard right away to go with your new sunglasses. When you take them off and put them on your hat when it gets cloudy out and then take your hat off for some reason you don't want to lose them in the lake. Ogish and Pan each have a pair of mine.

Costa Del mar has good info on different lens colors.

Costa

I love my Costa's. I get the "Permit" style because I have a big head and prefer the wrap around style. I have the green mirror glass lenses. They have more of an amber/tan lens, the green is just the mirror coating on the front. Great for sight fishing in rocky/sandy streams.

IMHO on the water polarized lenses are a “must”. Brown/Amber for contrast best for seeing fish, gray for “true” color. Mind the gap between the bottom of the frame and your cheeks lots of headache inducing glare from the water leaks in there. Bug dope EATS reflective anti glare coatings so be mindful of that.

THEGrandRapids: "Costa Del mar has good info on different lens colors.


Costa "

I'm going to just assume you will pick glasses that are comfy to you, so getting past that will get you to the polarizing, color, etc.

Huge fan of these. If you talk to a good rep and tell them what kind of water you will be on then they will combine layers to fix you up. I have two pair but take only one on trips. The first pair I got for general use and the rep walked outside with me and observed on how I reacted with different layers. He noticed that a pair I thought I liked best I was actually squinting when they were on. When he got me to relax then a different pair became my choice. Had he not been excellent, I would have not gotten the best pair for me.

WonderMonkey: "

THEGrandRapids: "Costa Del mar has good info on different lens colors.



Costa "

I'm going to just assume you will pick glasses that are comfy to you, so getting past that will get you to the polarizing, color, etc.


Huge fan of these. If you talk to a good rep and tell them what kind of water you will be on then they will combine layers to fix you up. I have two pair but take only one on trips. The first pair I got for general use and the rep walked outside with me and observed on how I reacted with different layers. He noticed that a pair I thought I liked best I was actually squinting when they were on. When he got me to relax then a different pair became my choice. Had he not been excellent, I would have not gotten the best pair for me.


"

What he said.
If you have the coin, you can't go wrong with a pair of Costas.

Which ever color you look best in photos in. The lens color should obviously match your pfd, your shirt and your hat.

You will get a million recommendations on sunglasses so I will make it easy for you. Go to a store where they sell Maui Jim sunglasses and buy a pair of wrap around dark lenses. They filter out more of the stray light than any others I’ve tried. Be sure to have them show you the test picture while you are wearing Maui Jim’s and compare to other sunglasses. They are Phenomenal.

Northwoodsman: "Which ever color you look best in photos in. The lens color should obviously match your pfd, your shirt and your hat."

Also very important.

Northwoodsman: "Which ever color you look best in photos in. The lens color should obviously match your pfd, your shirt and your hat."

Well that's the most important thing. Because I am a Fashion Icon! I like the amber tint looking through instead the brown . And I never thought about the mirror color only being for what you look like from the outside.

THEGrandRapids: "Costa Del mar has good info on different lens colors.


Costa "

Second that...I have their green lens and love them.

Given my relatively low skill level, I usually do not offer any advice regarding fishing but will toss one or two ideas out there.

I like green polarized, but mainly to avoid glare when paddling on sunny days. But I have found one problem with polarized - I can not easily see my fish locator which is the main way I spot fish. It can be fun to look down in the water, but how much "sight fishing" are people really doing up there? Walleye and lakers are deep water fish, so you really aren't likely to spot them until you are pulling them up. Perhaps pike and bass are a different issue, but I don't really chase them.

I use to love my fancy crystal clear polarized lenses, but after dropping two $200+ pairs in the drink, I've switched to a more modest pair that are not as nice but cause me much less concern in damaged or lost.

So as a Fly fisherman, lense colors and reflective layer coloring matters A LOT. Particularly Costa sunglasses have nailed this concept moreso than any other sunglasses manufacturer. Go on a guided trip in Montana and 9/10 guides will have Costas on their heads, and I bet you they'll be bronze/copper lenses with a green reflective layer. Go on a guided trip in the Ocean with on a tuna boat and 9/10 of those guides will have grey lenses with blue reflective layers.

the bronze/copper lenses help accentuate COLORS to the human eye. For example in the spring when the grass and shrubs are just starting to turn green, you'll detect that very easily, you'll take the glasses off and go "Hmm, looks green in the glasses, but I can't tell if they're greening up without them". The green reflective lenses actually helps filter out colors of the same spectrum. That's why fly fishing guides use them, they're guiding in an environment surrounded by trees, thus there's an overload of green coming into your eye compared to the fish you're looking for. The lenses filter out the green better, letting your eye be more sensitive to other colors. Same can be said for the blue lenses that folks would use who will predominately be looking at a big blue body of water all day, filters out the blue light to a minor degree to reduce fatigue viewing that spectrum. However, the grey lenses that an open water guide would use does more to accentuate SHADING. So you can better see shadows, and lets your eye be more sensitive to changes in the grey spectrum. Reason for this is that there isn't much concern for detecting different colors as you're looking at blue sky and blue water all day, but if you catch a fish and you're fighting it, you can see through the water and see it's shadow a little easier.

Honestly if you're going to be in the BWCA, either pair would be good in my opinion. I bring both and switch out once in a while. If you're the type that likes to fish from a boat all day and the sun will be reflecting into your eyes all day, go with the blue costas, if you're more of an around-camp or small water person, go with the green lenses.

There's actually a lot of science that goes into the way Costa colors their lenses, seems like no other sunglasses manufacturer really cares because lets face it, the majority of folks don't care as long as they look good. Can't tell you how many times I have been on a body of water in Saint Paul, walking around Phalen and the person I'm with can't see any of the fish I'm pointing out, and then they put on my glasses and they go "Woah!!!"

Buy the GLASS Costas if you go with Costas, I only buy glass vs the plastic, I've got several pairs of glass costas and only my oldest most "beater" pair has a single scratch on it that's only noticeable if you look for it. The clarity of glass is much better but really the durability is what you're paying for. I've only broken 1 pair in 10 years and they fell off my head from a 2nd story balcony. $60 to repair the glasses sending them to Costa, they give you 2 new lenses cut from the same glass sheet as they don't want one lense to have a very slightly different color than the other. You can actually get legit Costa's off of Amazon for dirt cheap compared to their website, website always says like $250 or something for the nice pairs, go on amazon and spend half that. Don't know why that is but I've bought half my glasses from Amazon and they're all legit Costa produts.

Amber/brown are good for seeing fish and structure, good in stained water too. Gray is a good neutral option as well. I have amber/copper glass lenses from Costa and they are fantastic. Sometimes I forget I am wearing sunglasses at all because they're so clear. I recommend getting some that aren't ultra sporty wrap-arounds (unless that's your thing) BUT ones that do cover your periphery fairly well, so you are less affected by glare and reflections.

Polarized lenses are a MUST.

Check out Smith eyewear as well.

Polarized for sure, personally I don’t like lenses that make life yellow, green, etc.

Check out the link below. They are for bicycle riding, but come in polarized and some with interchangable lens. Best of all, they have readers on the bottom. They work great for threading a hook. I take two pair with me to BWCA. One is the polarized dark gray. The other is the photogray glasses that lighten and darken. They work bet on overcast days. Polarized sunglasses with readers

fadersup: "Check out Smith eyewear as well.

Polarized for sure, personally I don’t like lenses that make life yellow, green, etc."

I'm a big fan of Smith as well. Don't love their chromopop poly lenses but thier glass is top notch. The poly lens seems to smudge and streak too much for me. The guides choice model is my favorite.

Why is everyone so obsessed with expensive sunglasses? $200 for a pair of sunglasses is ridiculous. ShadyRays is the brand that I have gone with in the past and they run around $60 for a good pair of sunglasses. I don't get what could possibly be so good about a pair of $200+ sunglasses. They don't protect your eyes any better than some plastic UVA and UVB rated lenses that you could get from a dollar store. $50-70 is all you need to spend to get a good pair of comfortable, polarized sport/performance sunglasses.

Polarized is important though. I screwed up on one trip and brought non-polarized sunglasses and we hit more rocks than all my other trips combined.

Traveler316: "So as a Fly fisherman, lense colors and reflective layer coloring matters A LOT. Particularly Costa sunglasses have nailed this concept moreso than any other sunglasses manufacturer. Go on a guided trip in Montana and 9/10 guides will have Costas on their heads, and I bet you they'll be bronze/copper lenses with a green reflective layer. Go on a guided trip in the Ocean with on a tuna boat and 9/10 of those guides will have grey lenses with blue reflective layers.


the bronze/copper lenses help accentuate COLORS to the human eye. For example in the spring when the grass and shrubs are just starting to turn green, you'll detect that very easily, you'll take the glasses off and go "Hmm, looks green in the glasses, but I can't tell if they're greening up without them". The green reflective lenses actually helps filter out colors of the same spectrum. That's why fly fishing guides use them, they're guiding in an environment surrounded by trees, thus there's an overload of green coming into your eye compared to the fish you're looking for. The lenses filter out the green better, letting your eye be more sensitive to other colors. Same can be said for the blue lenses that folks would use who will predominately be looking at a big blue body of water all day, filters out the blue light to a minor degree to reduce fatigue viewing that spectrum. However, the grey lenses that an open water guide would use does more to accentuate SHADING. So you can better see shadows, and lets your eye be more sensitive to changes in the grey spectrum. Reason for this is that there isn't much concern for detecting different colors as you're looking at blue sky and blue water all day, but if you catch a fish and you're fighting it, you can see through the water and see it's shadow a little easier.

Honestly if you're going to be in the BWCA, either pair would be good in my opinion. I bring both and switch out once in a while. If you're the type that likes to fish from a boat all day and the sun will be reflecting into your eyes all day, go with the blue costas, if you're more of an around-camp or small water person, go with the green lenses.

There's actually a lot of science that goes into the way Costa colors their lenses, seems like no other sunglasses manufacturer really cares because lets face it, the majority of folks don't care as long as they look good. Can't tell you how many times I have been on a body of water in Saint Paul, walking around Phalen and the person I'm with can't see any of the fish I'm pointing out, and then they put on my glasses and they go "Woah!!!"

Buy the GLASS Costas if you go with Costas, I only buy glass vs the plastic, I've got several pairs of glass costas and only my oldest most "beater" pair has a single scratch on it that's only noticeable if you look for it. The clarity of glass is much better but really the durability is what you're paying for. I've only broken 1 pair in 10 years and they fell off my head from a 2nd story balcony. $60 to repair the glasses sending them to Costa, they give you 2 new lenses cut from the same glass sheet as they don't want one lense to have a very slightly different color than the other. You can actually get legit Costa's off of Amazon for dirt cheap compared to their website, website always says like $250 or something for the nice pairs, go on amazon and spend half that. Don't know why that is but I've bought half my glasses from Amazon and they're all legit Costa produts. "

Damn you! I was researching polarized sunglasses for fishing. I'm a HUGE REVO fan. Love the look and feel of their glasses, and how well they filter light. But... their website is absolutely pointless when it comes to figuring out what lens would be best for any particular fishing situation (open water, sunny vs. overcast, sight fishing in the shallows, early morning/early evening low-light, etc). So frustrating - and a HUGE missing opportunity for them. So the search continued...

I started searching for "Fishing Sunglasses", and ran across Costas, Maui Jim, Wiley X, Smith, and several other brands. But damn, trying to sort through all of that... marketing jingoism...

Then I did a search here, rather than start (yet again) another thread, and ran across your post. You did a better sell job than any website or YouTuber. Do you work for Costas? LOL

While I didn't find any Costas with 580G lenses for half price on Amazon, I did find a good deal on Costas Broadbill matte black with green 580G lenses for 35% off at "Steep and Cheap". ...and apparently I got the last pair in that configuration.

Costas Fishing Sunglasses sale @ Steep and Cheap

They should be here next week. Just in time as the Steelhead and big brownie season peaks here in SE Wisconsin...

A1t2o: "Why is everyone so obsessed with expensive sunglasses? $200 for a pair of sunglasses is ridiculous. ShadyRays is the brand that I have gone with in the past and they run around $60 for a good pair of sunglasses. I don't get what could possibly be so good about a pair of $200+ sunglasses. They don't protect your eyes any better than some plastic UVA and UVB rated lenses that you could get from a dollar store. $50-70 is all you need to spend to get a good pair of comfortable, polarized sport/performance sunglasses.


Polarized is important though. I screwed up on one trip and brought non-polarized sunglasses and we hit more rocks than all my other trips combined."

It's pretty much the same principle as rifle scopes or binoculars. Yes you can see through all of them, and they will all work. However there is a huge difference in the quality of glass and the resulting ability to see things sharply. Same with sunglasses. If all you want is shade and polarization any pair will do. If you want the sharpest vision possible. . .from all sides of the glasses. . .there is a price for that.

I bought a pair of Raybans over ten years ago. They cost me well over $100. However I have kept them for over ten years and they still work great.

Cheap sunglasses are in the camp of the cheap grill and lawnmower. They all work and the cheap ones you can replace every year or two with new ones. But the quality ones will last far longer.

Just found out about these specs. Bajio Sunglasses

Bajio was started by the former Costa VP, and a bunch of former Costa employees after Costa was bought by Luxottica, and closed the Florida headquarters.

Another small independent company is Shady Rays Fishing Glasses

The thing I don't like about a LOT of "fishing" sunglasses companies, they don't explain their technology very well on their websites, much less tell you what the best lens would be for a particular style of fishing (sight fishing flats vs rivers vs big open water, etc). They don't even give you the light transmission for cloudy days vs sunny days vs sunrise/sunset. Revo is pretty awful at this.

Wiley X is pretty awful at this as well. Even SportRX specialists can't give a definitive answer.

It really shouldn't be that difficult to add a "lens color buying guide" page on a website.

Costa does a reasonably good job at this...
Costa Lens tints

Bajio also does a halfway good job - but they could both be better

Should probably move this thread over to the "fishing" forum. :)

Just saw this video, showing the differences in polarization between Costa, Oakley, and a less expensive brand, Vigor National.

Fishing Sunglasses 2020

Wish I'd have seen this sooner. LOL

Pull pics:

Costa


Oakley


Egor....er, Vigor


Now to be fair, I have a pair of Costa with green amber lenses I bought on sale, and compared them to my kid's $20 pair of polarized lenses (green amber). ...and yes. There's a distinct difference in polarization. So there is definitely a point of diminishing quality. But I pretty much got the cheap sunglasses for my kids for their UVA and UVB protection when they're on the water.

But if you're looking at Costa, Oakley, Smith, Maui Jim, Bajio, Ray Ban, Revo, Vaurnet, Leupold, Bollé, Blue Otter (Zeiss lenses - squee), Wiley X, Waterline, Redfin, Shady Ray's...

Optically there really is very little difference. Really comes down to "style and comfort" and "polycarbonate/plastic vs glass" lenses. Also comes down to how much you're willing to spend. ...Might there be some visual nuances? Sure. Anything to the point one is significantly better than another? Not sure. Everyone will have their favorites.

However: some glasses are only Hydrophobic (like Shady Ray) - and repels water. Others are also Oleophobic (like Bajio) - and they repel oils.

For me, I really want to support the independent businesses - local businesses if possible. And I already failed at that point, as Costa is owned by Luxottica. ...as is Oakley and Ray Ban.