Zach Matthews
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This is an update as of 03/07/13:
The spambot registrations have recently gotten stronger and I’ve had to increase the registration security procedure almost to its maximum level.
I know the CAPTCHA is a pain in the ass and hard to read. If you are having trouble registering, please email me at ZachMatthews@gmail.com and I will set up your account at my earliest opportunity.
Thanks,
ZachGerard –
I’m in the process of writing an article on sunglasses, actually. (I was supposed to write this like five years ago but for whatever reasons our contacts were not being forthcoming. Thanks to Ed Moody’s podcast, we were able to restart the article. This will be in American Angler magazine this spring).
Anyway one thing I’ve learned in researching this is just how much overlap there is in the sunglass market. There are two huge corporations – Luxottica and Safilo Group. Both are big Italian optics companies and they both have a bajillion brands under them. For example, Smith Optics is in the Safilo portfolio, whereas Oakley is a Luxottica brand.
Bottom line is chances are very good that whatever top end sunglass you buy, you’re getting one or the other of these companies’ products. (The exception seems to be Costa in the fishing market, which is owned by, of all things, a company that makes high-end ink pens).
The takeaway though is that you most definitely want to buy a “technical” sunglass versus a “fashion” one. One of my contacts told me about the wars his company had with his parent company because the profit margin on technical shades is not nearly as fat as it is on, say, Ralph Lauren brand glass (which incidentally has been made by both of those big conglomerates at one point or another).
A technical sunglass selling at $250 represents a pretty typical markup in the outdoor industry over the base cost (usually that’s around 60% from wholesale to retail). A *fashion* sunglass selling at $250? Man, I would be scared to know the markup on that. It’s probably over 90% based on the grumbling I heard.
So in terms of bang for your buck, your technical companies like Oakley, Smith, Costa, Kaenon, etc., have your back. Perry Ellis? Not so much.
Zach
It all worked. I did lose 1 mph off the top end (from 18 to 17mph) but the tabs make the boat handle like a sports car, and I was running level with no cooler in the boat at all.
The sidewalls on all Gheenoe-style craft are downright scary low in any kind of serious water, especially lakes with other boats present.
Chad I thought about a hydrofoil but my area has some really hard bottoms and I feel like I’d eventually break it off.
