Good polarized sunglasses in the $50 range?

Peyton00 said:
If ya plan on wearing them for more than a few hours..... don't get glass, they are heavy.
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I respectfully disagree with this statement. First, you aren't going to get quality glass for fifty bucks. Optics of any kind that are quality cost more than you think they should. Personally, I only use glass as an optic for fishing. Glass is the only material providing optical clarity and durability you need when sweating, wiping, discerning a log from a fish etc.

For cheap non glass I suggest Native. They scratch easily but are light and decent. I generally wear Costa glass lenses when I fish. There are others that are good but my go to are Costa for fit and clarity. I never notice the weight and if I did would be willing to compromise weight for the other benefits only glass can provide. I would never wear Oakley. They are junk.. Again just my opinion.
 
You haven't said whether you need prescription glasses. I don't and have used Solar Shield wraparound polarized sunglasses, I believe made by Foster Grant.
They're inexpensive, at under $30...Which isn't why I use them...Fishing buddies put me onto them and they do everything I need.
 
I agree with the majority; fit, coverage and glass. Glass is better clarity wise and scratches way less. Fit is WAY more important than “weight” comfort wise IMO. Honestly I do not notice any difference weight wise between my glass and plastic lenses but feel it behind the ears and other places when the fit is off. Coverage is also important. I have a mondo head and bought some spearo xl’s (Costa) that fit me perfectly and have great lenses but coverage is not great. If you seem me fishing with my hat off to the side, it’s not a fashion statement.

Keep and eye out and you’ll see sales on Smith, Costa, etc. online. That said, know what pair fits before you buy. Or be prepared to ship some pairs back until you find what you need. On sale your probably be looking at 100-150.
 
I had the same pair of Smith’s for 15 years…until I went and ran my mouth about having not lost them. Haven’t been able to locate them for 5 days🤬.
 
Am I the only guy using Cocoons fitovers? I have used them for many years now since I wear prescription glasses and like the wraparound shape which prevents light coming in from the sides. That side light would leave my eyes bloodshot and burning before I started buying glasses that shielded me from it. I have used prescription polaroid wrap around bifocals before but the price was shocking. I can buy at least 5 pair of Cocoons for the same price and have done that using gray, amber, yellow, copper and extra dark for the brightest days. I agree that plastic scratches more readily but take good care of them and occasionally touch them up with plastic polish.

ps. Always buy Croakies to keep them tethered to your head
 
Perhaps I'm not as picky as the rest of the folks around here. I have a few pairs of Suncloud sunglasses and they are worth the money. No, they aren't on the same level as Costa or Smith. But those are also 2-4x more expensive than Suncloud.

I view glasses as something of a consumable (at least for my life), and thus, find it difficult to spend $150+ on a pair.
 
iveofione said:
Am I the only guy using Cocoons fitovers? I have used them for many years now since I wear prescription glasses and like the wraparound shape which prevents light coming in from the sides. That side light would leave my eyes bloodshot and burning before I started buying glasses that shielded me from it. I have used prescription polaroid wrap around bifocals before but the price was shocking. I can buy at least 5 pair of Cocoons for the same price and have done that using gray, amber, yellow, copper and extra dark for the brightest days. I agree that plastic scratches more readily but take good care of them and occasionally touch them up with plastic polish.

ps. Always buy Croakies to keep them tethered to your head
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I got my wife a pair of those years ago from the LL Bean. She now has two pair (one stays in her car) and she really likes them. She's got a strap, she's much smarter than I.
 
I got a pair of these last year and so far no complaints. Probably not as durable or clear as precise as Costas, but they fit well, and work for me.

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I use the LL Bean glasses. Slightly more than $50 but I've had a couple pair for at least five years and they get used a lot. Plus, they have magnifiers.

DEPARTMENTS

Find the best polarized bifocal sunglasses at L.L.Bean. Our high quality products are thoughtfully designed and made to last.
www.llbean.com www.llbean.com
 
Bugmeister said:
@clarkman for your Rx, are you doing the bifocal style sunglasses or the progressive style? About a year ago I suddenly found myself needing reading glasses (thanks pandemic for leaving me in my basement work office staring at monitors all day every day for a few years). I currently don’t have rx sunglasses and am just pulling out my readers, taking off sunglasses, tying on the tiny midge I would otherwise not be able to manage anymore, then swapping glasses again. Pain-in-butt.
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When I had my eyes checked 3 years ago by a different optometrist that was "in network" I told him a I was a fly angler and needed the closeup vision part of my prescription adjusted to see clearly at 7"; much closer than a book is held for reading, so I could tie flies and thread tiny hook eyes with gossamer tippet. His brother fly fishes so he understood. Since then I generally can read, tie flies and tie on flies with a single progressive prescription now. The optical shop could not fill the prescription in the cool Ray-Ban RB 2030 Predator frames that "Agent J" wore in MIB because there was too much curvature in the wrap around frame that cause spatial distortion. I have actually experienced it and and it is totally maddening. I had to get flat slightly oversized horn rimmed frames. I do like them because they're real comfortable and give good frontal coverage.

*I buy Drivewear progressive polarized photochromic amber to brown lenses from Costco that my employer provided insurance help(ed) pay for. I can't compare them to Costa's, MJ's, or modern Smith's but I transitioned to them quite a few years back from single vision prescription Smith (without mirror tint) Optics photochromic (rose?)-brown fishing sunglasses lenses and they were very comparable.
 
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I actually take a second pair of sunglasses and wrap the frames with lead tape so I can build the muscles needed to perform at a high level when it counts the most. I started with one hour when I was weak and feeble and now I can go 12 hours or more. A lot of people don’t put in the work to be able to comfortably fish with glass lenses and it shows. I also recommend resistance band training. This can be done while commuting, you can wrap the band around your steering wheel and loop it behind your ears. You’ll undoubtedly feel the burn checking your blind spots at first, but in time you will find that you have no blind spots while roping hogs after completing my glass lense training regimen.
 
Might not be a consideration for most of you, but I have very fair skin that tans easily. To avoid getting the sharp inversed-raccoon look of a ski goggle tan three weeks into summer, I have two pair of Rx shades in very different shapes, and swap off days with each.

Love bifocals for fishing, but they can make wading tricky!

I don't get the croakies thing, unless you remove your glasses a lot? I've worn Rx glasses for 40+ years and can't remember ever having them fall off my face :unsure:

And @iveofione - I do have Cocoons as backups - always in the glovebox!
 
Cocoons work very well.

Made in USA, " Hat Eyes" are another great product. The original...not any knock offs. Once slipped onto you hat brim they never come off until you take them off. Game changer for tying on tippet/flies.
 
Costco on-line has 4 models of Maui Jim for $114 or less. I got a pair of Costa Fisch for under $100 a couple of years ago.
 
Zak said:
I wear prescription sunglasses. But during a brief period wearing contacts, I liked my pair from Native, around $70:
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I guess my eyes are not that sensitive ,but I have Smith's , Costa , ,and Oakley . For everyday I wear Oakley ,plastic lens , polarized driving ,walking the dog etc . But for the money ,and being 77 , I do need bifocals for tying on the flies , and said in a previous post for the money can't beat the Coyotes with bifocals . Have worn them for years , and at $25 replacement hard to beat . I believe they are around $75 with bifocals .

I don't care much for either Smith's or Costa , I gave a pair of Costa to one of my son's , he likes them .
 
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iveofione said:
Am I the only guy using Cocoons fitovers? I have used them for many years now since I wear prescription glasses and like the wraparound shape which prevents light coming in from the sides. That side light would leave my eyes bloodshot and burning before I started buying glasses that shielded me from it. I have used prescription polaroid wrap around bifocals before but the price was shocking. I can buy at least 5 pair of Cocoons for the same price and have done that using gray, amber, yellow, copper and extra dark for the brightest days. I agree that pla scratches more readily but take good care of them and occasionally touch them up with plastic polish.

ps. Always buy Croakies to keep them tethered to your head
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I've been using Cocoons for a long time. They scratch easier than they should IMO. I like the amber for cloudy and rain. I use them at night when those a..holes with blinding bright white light headlights are coming at me.
I use the brown lenses for sunny weather.
This thread has me considering other options.
 
I love my Costa's, got a second pair a few months ago and they fit perfectly, but are well above your budget! Orvis has some great one, I got my first pair when I worked for a big discount as an employee!

www.orvis.com

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The Orvis Company
www.orvis.com www.orvis.com

Lots of the shops have stuff in the $50 range, I can't recall the brands though!
 
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