Costa Sunglasses
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I reread the three from a few months ago about sunglasses and Costa Del Mar 580G seems to be the choice of most. What is the big difference in the various mirror colors – sliver, green and blue? They all have about the same light transmission numbers. I will be river and stream fishing almost exclusively. Unfortunately I live so far from a dear/fly shop I have to order online instead of being able to compare them in a store.
Michael, Can’t you shoot down to Cabelas and check em out?
If you wanted to support a small store you could always pick what ones you want there, then order them from a fly shop.
I spent big bucks on a pair of sunglasses. I can’t say I see a difference between them and my much cheaper pair.
Randy
If I was going with a mirrored look I would go with the amber lens and a green mirror. I use that very one and love it.
Costa mirrors are not “mirrored” in the traditional sense; you can see through them and they are not like cop glasses.
I think the brine models are nice and lightweight, I had a pair with amber lenses that is now on the bottom of lake seneca thanks to my dog who is a poor kayak companion when ducks are around.
All good stuff Zach and I tend to agree with you. One exception is that most bluewater anglers tend to prefer the blue mirrors rather than the green as you stated. Green mirrors are basically amber lenses (at least with Costas) which tend to be better for shallow flats and streams and such. The blue mirrors are gray which is slightly darker and more suited to the heavy glare associated with open water.
That has been my experience at least. I have been wrong before though…
Here’s a link to what appears to be a careful study of polarization performance versus cost for lens filters:
http://www.lenstip.com/115.4-article-Polarizing_filters_test_Results_and_summary.html
Based on their plot of performance points versus price, I suspect there is something like the Pareto principle in play here: a large proportion of the performance comes from a small proportion of the cost. You may, of course, find value in that last bit of performance, though.
And the best performance isn’t associated with the highest cost, but as fly fishers we should be used to that. 😉
Hey Michael P., for your river and stream fishing expedition I definitely recommend sunglasses with green lenses. But I tend to agree more with Randy than with Zach on this matter, in which a high-end pair of sunglasses doesn’t really offer that much more quality in vision over a lower end pair of quality sunglasses… although I may be biased 😉
Eric…I’ve got a pair of Costa Zane’s with glass lenses and though they are comfortable for all day wear I’d seriously look at the 580P lenses.
Actually, I’m looking to replace a pair of Maui Jim plastic (Rose) glasses. The peripheral distortion is significant. I mentioned this to my optometrist the other day as I was picking up my new (outrageously expensive) progressive (plastic lens) glasses, and he said he thought plastic lenses, especially wrap around, we prone to distortion no matter how expensive.
So where did ‘Silver” mirror Costas go? You guys only mention green ad blue.
Michael,
I cannot speak to the technical specs, but I have a pair of silver mirrors and a pair of amber 580g’s and I find them to be pretty similar in terms or light transmission. The silver mirrors do have a slightly pinkish tint, but I actually like the silvers better because they provide incredible contrast. The cost may not be worth it to some, but I really see them as necessary since the majority of my fishing is sight fishing. If most of your fishing is in shallow or fresh water, you cannot go wrong with them.I believe Andrew is right, I have the green mirrors and they are an amber lens. But they could have changed it up.
By the same token though I have to agree with Zach, a good quality pair of glasses makes a world of difference. Or at least it has for me. I was skeptical about shelling out the coin, for my glasses but I am very glad that I did.
As to the weight of the glass lenses, I haven’t noticed any difference. I have noticed however that they are almost impossible to scratch. I have to say, I am not going back to a plastic lens.
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