# Cheap polarized sunglasses. What're yall wearing?



## XJfire75 (Apr 8, 2012)

Lost my last pair by getting thrown out of my buddies boat...yeah that haha. 


Anyways, ain't wanting to drop $150 on some Costa's but need some that look decent and cut the glare. 

What're y'all likin?

Thanks


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## Eroc33 (Apr 8, 2012)

Calcutta


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## Mechanicaldawg (Apr 8, 2012)

Strike Kings are not bad for the money.


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## gulpjuice (Apr 8, 2012)

Sea Strikers! I have 2 backup pairs i keep on the boat! U can find them from $12-$20. Calcutta will do too


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## NCHillbilly (Apr 8, 2012)

Got a Cabela's pair that works good for me, about $30.


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## Bucky T (Apr 8, 2012)

Calcutta's


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## XJfire75 (Apr 8, 2012)

Preciate it fellas. 

Actually just found some Calcutta's on clearance at sportsmans guide


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## btt202 (Apr 8, 2012)

walmart $4.95


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## bamaboy (Apr 8, 2012)

*me too!*



btt202 said:


> walmart $4.95



Wal-Mart Berkleys!


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## skiff23 (Apr 8, 2012)

Lost my Costa's last week also. Had them almost 10 years.I just could not bring myself to drop $ 250 for a new pair at Academy  so  i am tring the $ 25 one they had. So far so good.


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## XJfire75 (Apr 8, 2012)

I hear ya skiff. Had a $130 pair of custom Oakley's and lost em on the water. Can't see doin that again. Not right now anyways. 

I ordered some Calcutta Prowlers on eBay earlier. Black with blue lenses. They look good and had great reviews. Hoping their gonna be good ones.


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## XTREME HUNTER (Apr 9, 2012)

skiff23 said:


> Lost my Costa's last week also. Had them almost 10 years.I just could not bring myself to drop $ 250 for a new pair at Academy  so  i am tring the $ 25 one they had. So far so good.



Your Costa's were only $25 a year at $250 pretty good run for a pair of Sunglasses.


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## coltday (Apr 9, 2012)

I had a pair of Costas for 6 years, paid $160 for them for just $26 a year they were well worth it especially when the rubber wore out on the ears and I sent them back and they put my lenses in brand new frames for $14. However, I used the Berkley $5 from wal-mart while they were being repaired and I could honestly see better with them than my Costas but would give me a headache after a while due to me having a gourd head I guess and being too tight. Good call on the Calcuttas though. For the price, they are really good I just can't break away from the comfort of my Costas


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## Dustin Pate (Apr 10, 2012)

I have had just about every brand out there. I like my Costas but my favorites are Tifosi Optics.

http://www.tifosioptics.com/

They are light weight and the clarity is second to none. Price are very reasonable especially if you shop around. They also went above and beyond on their warranty (really my fault).


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## AJared (Apr 10, 2012)

Walmart Berkleys!!  $6.95


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## ridgerunner404 (Apr 15, 2012)

well I use $170 maui's, work very well almost like X-ray,,,lol


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## erock (Apr 15, 2012)

coltday said:


> I had a pair of Costas for 6 years, paid $160 for them for just $26 a year they were well worth it especially when the rubber wore out on the ears and I sent them back and they put my lenses in brand new frames for $14. However, I used the Berkley $5 from wal-mart while they were being repaired and I could honestly see better with them than my Costas but would give me a headache after a while due to me having a gourd head I guess and being too tight. Good call on the Calcuttas though. For the price, they are really good I just can't break away from the comfort of my Costas



I can almost guarantee you that it wasnt your huge melon that was the cause of the headaches. Cheap "polarized" sunglasses do not block all UVA and UVB rays. Since your pupil dilates when wearing these glasses alot of harmful light is putting strain on your eyes.


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## Capt. TJ Cheek (Apr 15, 2012)

erock said:


> I can almost guarantee you that it wasnt your huge melon that was the cause of the headaches. Cheap "polarized" sunglasses do not block all UVA and UVB rays. Since your pupil dilates when wearing these glasses alot of harmful light is putting strain on your eyes.



Amen. And being able to see better with the cheaper shades might have been due to the lens type / color you had in your Costas. There are different lenses for different light conditions / water clarity. I typically use the green lenses which are designed for inshore because even our offshore water clarity isn't that great which makes the greens a good all around lens for this area.

I'm still wearing the same pair that I got over 3 years ago and believe me, I use and abuse them. I gave my old pair to my cousin when he filled in as my first mate and they had quite a few miles on them too. 

I do completely understand the cost issue though. Sometimes you just can't let go of that kind of money no matter how long they last or how comfortable they are. But when you can, they are worth every penny.


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## Tacklebox (Apr 15, 2012)

+ on costas, had mine for almost 12 years. Bout time for a new pair.


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## Rodsmith (Apr 15, 2012)

I have to agree with Capt. TJ. For  years I wore the "less expensive" glasses and thought they were fine. I tried on my buds Costas on the water one day and couldn't believe the difference. I finally broke down and bought a pair of green mirror Costas and haven't looked back...yep, worth every penny. If I lost them tomorrow, I would replace them immediately with another pair...they are that good!(especially when you are getting old like me, and your eyes have seen many days of sun glare)


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## erock (Apr 15, 2012)

Dont listen to TJ. I saw him the other day at the Mall buying a pair of $2 Pakistani  "Avaitors" and dang if he didnt anchor up next to me the next morning with "Highway to the Danger Zone" blaring out of his Key West. 

And yes...he called me on the radio and requested an fly by.


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## Capt. TJ Cheek (Apr 16, 2012)

erock said:


> Dont listen to TJ. I saw him the other day at the Mall buying a pair of $2 Pakistani  "Avaitors" and dang if he didnt anchor up next to me the next morning with "Highway to the Danger Zone" blaring out of his Key West.
> 
> And yes...he called me on the radio and requested an fly by.



All true except for the price... I talked him down to $1.63


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## erock (Apr 16, 2012)




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## mrpdl (Apr 16, 2012)

ridgerunner404 said:


> well I use $170 maui's, work very well almost like X-ray,,,lol



What he said


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## Dupree (Apr 16, 2012)

I have always been one of the walmart special guys. Last summer I bought some costas and dont think I will ever buy another cheap pair (unless its to get me by if I lose my costas).


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## smittyg (Apr 17, 2012)

I wear magellan "sportswear" they run about $60 at academy sports. not to expensive, so if you lose them it wont hurt too bad buying 2-3 pair a season. since I have a 15 year old, I've "lost"  a few pair.


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## aragorn1 (Apr 17, 2012)

I have had good luck with Oakleys, How do you guys and gals think they compare to Costas?


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## Capt. TJ Cheek (Apr 17, 2012)

aragorn1 said:


> I have had good luck with Oakleys, How do you guys and gals think they compare to Costas?



For me, Oakley doesn't have as many good frames that are designed for fishing. Costa's have over 50 different frames, which is what brought me to them in the first place. I have a weird shaped melon so I needed glasses with options... so when I found Costa's Tripletails I was happy with the lens quality, durability, weight, and most importantly, fit. Costa was started by fishermen, so I have a lot of faith in them.


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## mattech (Apr 17, 2012)

skiff23 said:


> Lost my Costa's last week also. Had them almost 10 years.I just could not bring myself to drop $ 250 for a new pair at Academy  so  i am tring the $ 25 one they had. So far so good.



It's going to be hard to from quality glass to cheapos. I had a pair of oakley's for ten years. Then got some $30 pair from bass pro. A month later I was wearing Costa's. There is a quality you can feel and once adapted to it its hard to go without.


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## FishermanSailor (Apr 17, 2012)

I've dropped two pairs of Ray-Ban's in the drink over the years. Walmart; Strike King or Berkley, $4.95-$14.95, wayyyyyy cheaper to replace.


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## DaveGPhd (Apr 17, 2012)

bamaboy said:


> Wal-Mart Berkleys!


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## Capt. Scott Griffin (Apr 17, 2012)

I tend to agree with TJ and the other Costa fans.  I started weraing Costa's before they were cool.  I tried Oakly's..but I always go back to Costa...light weight..durable..great customer service..I wear the Man-o-Wars..Blue Mirror for Offshore..Green for inshore/nearshore..I do have a pair of Maui Jims I wear when I TripleTail..it has the the Polarized 2 Lens ..it picks up the TT's a little better than the 580 Costa Lens..but dang..they weigh a ton..my ears are killing me after a few hours..and I always go back to the Costa's.


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## coltday (Apr 17, 2012)

Capt. TJ Cheek said:


> For me, Oakley doesn't have as many good frames that are designed for fishing. Costa's have over 50 different frames, which is what brought me to them in the first place. I have a weird shaped melon so I needed glasses with options... so when I found Costa's Tripletails I was happy with the lens quality, durability, weight, and most importantly, fit. Costa was started by fishermen, so I have a lot of faith in them.



Agreed there, I had the Fathom's for 6 years. Loved the fit just wanted the lenses a little larger. Replaced them with Zane's. Also my first lenses were blue, new ones are green and as you stated earlier the green really makes visibility in our water much better. Found a little store where I could get them for $129, cheapest I've ever found for the regular 400's. I can't really justify paying the extra for the 580's though.


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## slightly grayling (Apr 18, 2012)

I have lost more sunglasses than I care to admit, but have found CAMPMOR http://www.campmor.com/ to be a good source for reasonable prices of quality glasses.  Granted I am not on the water as much as most of you, but I will say I have a friend who spends 250+ days a year on the snow and he uses Bolle only.
SG


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## XJfire75 (Apr 23, 2012)

Thanks guys! Ima look real hard for a deal on some Costa's while the Calcutta's fill in. 

The Calcutta's I just bought are doing really good tho for what they are. Got the blue mirrored ones.


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## redneck_billcollector (May 13, 2012)

I agree with what has been said about UV.  Sunglasses are like everything else in life, you generally get what you pay for.  I used to use the cheaper ones years and years ago, I would get headaches and my eyes would get very sore.  I won a pair of costas back when they first came out in a king tournament and have used nothing else since.  I love the 580s.  I generally am hard on glasses and the costas have held up and when they broke, into the box they went and back to the company where they were either fixed or replaced.  I keep about 4 or 5 pair at all times, and carry extras with me in my tackle bags.  Whenever I go to mexico I take my older ones and give them to the crews if they are good along with the tip.  They really appreciate them.  With what everything else costs to fish, I never understood why people would spend all the money on tackle, fuel, etc....and then be stingy on their glasses. I fished for a week in Cabo once and somehow left all my costas in GA, ended up with some cheap glasses and by the end of the week I though my head was going to explode.  Think about what you spend on rods, reels, line, lures, etc......I am sure you try to have the best, so why would you be that way with your shades?


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## EClass (May 14, 2012)

I had Oakley Flak Jackets for 7 years. They are all banged up. I didn't want to drop $110 for new lenses and a ear piece kit on my wore out frames so...

Started to wear the $20 Berkley's from Walmart temporarily. After the first week, It seemed like they lens coating started to fade or wear off. Not sure how to explain it but I started to notice depending on where I looked there were voids or spots in the polarization. I exchanged them for a new pair and sure enough there was something wrong with them. 

New pair again after a week started to do the same thing. I don't know if it was from wiping sweat off with my shirt or what but they are garbage.

3 weeks without glasses I broke down and bought Costa Harpoons. 580G, blue mirror. They kill Oakley and arn't even in the same ocean compared to Berkley. I was going back and forth between the 3 and noticed that the glass lenses on the Costa's didn't blur out the distance. It doesn't even seem like I have glasses on they are so clear.

My Oaks. cost me $26 a year so if I can get 8-9 out of my Costa's I'll be happy. And with the lifetime warranty I bet I have them 12-15 years! Even if Costa does charge a small fee here or there they are still worth it IMO.

Maui Jim's were my runner up when deciding on my purchase.


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## brriner (May 14, 2012)

I, too, started wearing Costas before they were cool.  Why?  I told an optometrist fishing buddy that I was perfectly happy with my $5 WalMart sunglasses.  His response to me....

"Five dollar glasses are for five dollar eyes."

Been wearing good sunglasses for 9 years now.   7 years on this pair of Costas. Started out with H2Optix and then went to Costa.


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## flatheadfisherman (May 18, 2012)

I got a pair of Ocean Waves about 9 years ago. I won a gift certificate for $125.00 towards a new pair. The glasses were $160.00 plus tax. I still remember thinking the $40.00 I paid out of my pocket was outragous for a pair of sunglasses since all I have worn were the $10.00 ones from Walgreens, Walmart, etc. Tuesday, the frame broke and I took them back to Ocean Waves store. I picked out a new pair for $60.00.


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