Expensive Suglasses vs. Cheapos

[catchandrelease]

Alright, I've been asking everyone a bunch of questions about sunglasses. What's the difference between expensive glasses (Coastas, Ocean Waves, Oakleys) and the glasses you would get at Bass Pro, Cabela's, etc. Besides the price. Do the expensive glasses help you see any better? Are the cheaper ones good enough?

[ThreeRiversEsox]

alot of times it's the difference between inexpensive, scratchable plastic lenses and more expensive, more scratch resistant glass lenses.

In addition to actual customer service...

[catchandrelease]

Does the ability to see down change? I just bought a pair of Oakleys, but I haven't had the chance to try them in clear water. They are ok, but i don't know if they were worth the $200. Maybe I'll be more impressed when I'm in clearer, shallower water, but I think that the ones that are $20-30 would work just as well. Maybe I'm expecting too much. Can you see weeds, rocks, timber, fish, etc. far away from the boat? I can only see 10 yards out and 3-4 feet down at best.

[JIM T]

I HAD lasek eye surgery done and, according to that doctor, the main difference between cheaper vs expensive sunglasses was the protection from uva and uvb rays. Cheap lens seem to scratch easier. Expensive glasses make you feel really great when they fall overboard.

[Pescatore]

Cheap ones don't hurt as bad when the're left on the boat and blow off on the way home.

[Muskiekid]

I looked into this a while back. Jim T got it right - it comes down to PROTECTION.

Cheap glasses may help you see the fish better, but they do not protect you from the things that hurt your eyes. In the case of poloroid glasses, glass gives you more polarization than plastic. Of course, anything is better than not wearing glasses at all.

Yep - it hurts to lose a good pair of glasses, but it will hurt you more in the long run to go with cheap junk in terms of eye protection. As far as losing them (I have lost a $200 pair) it hurts. However, we can always get those things (Crogies I think they are called) that attach to them to keep them from falling overboard.

This also brings up protecting your skin: although most of us don't do it, we should be wearing some sort of sunscreen to protect us all year long. I read a recent article indicating that many of the popular sunscreens may protect us from the sun, but are not so great for our skin. The article indicated that lotions to protect babies from diaper rash were actually better for us.

Does this mean that diaper rash lotions/creams will stop the sun's rays? Never tried it, so I can't comment from personal experience. However, we certainly smell good!! :o

[JIM T]

HEY,out here in colorado everyone uses sunscreen. It has been said many times by many people that" you don't need sunscreen in PA.,there are times the sun doesn't shine for weeks at a time".

[lowbidder]

MK,
You bring up a very good point. I myself have serious skin problems and I'm not supposed to be outside without sunscreen. That's really not practical, so I began wearing UV resistent clothing. They make all different thicknesses and weights for breathability. I've been fishing in the direct sun on days in the upper 80's and not been overheated from the long sleeves/pants. I favor "the north face" and "under armour" brands, but there are several other brands that Cabela's / Gander carries.

JT...Dont' be fooled by cloudy skies... put your hand over your forearm on a cloudy day and you will still see a shadow.
Here are some pics of the stuff I wear. the pick with the amberjack is an extremely lightweight underarmour shirt UPF 30+ and the picture in the surf is a North Face medium weight button down shirt which I think is a UPF50+. Good stuff!

[ttabaleulb]

lowbidder,

I am right there with you. Over the last couple of years I've been wearing the high 30-50 SPF clothing too. I started with the shirt and have since included the pants too, all from Cabela's. Other than in the dead heat of August with no wind, I've been pretty darn comfortable with this stuff on. AND, the pants zip to shorts just in case. With everything else that I wear while I'm fishing, at this point my face and neck are the only spots that I have to be sure to get the sunscreen on.

Jay

[FrenchCrickJunkie]

I hate to say it but I'm an optometrist and I know Jim T (actually Jim T is one hell of a nice guy and we had a few great talks while I was in Colorado and on the phone when I wasn't in Colorado, Jim is on the same line as Red...I never met Red in my life but both Red and Jim T helped me out tremedously when I didn't have a pot to piss in so to speak). Anyways onto the sunglasses...Number one in my opinion you get what you pay for. You buy a rod and reel at walmart and well you have a cheap rod and reel thats prolly gonna break. Its not gonna be smooth, you're gonna have birdsnests ect ect. Red introduced me to nice rods and I'll forever be greatful for that. So the more you pay for sunglasses the better product your gonna get ie less abberations, less glare, less scratches ect. Number two if you're gonna buy sunglasses and you wanna use them to fish you need polarized lenses that have uv protection. polarization cuts out glare off the water, off snow ect. put a pair of sunglasses on that don't have polarization and you are not gonna see into the water...not an inch. uv light is a big deal because it speeds up cataracts, macular degeneration ect. so you want a lens that is gonna let you see into the water and at the same time protect your eyes against cataracts amd ect. this is all based on the areds study and the beaver dam study which are just big eye studies i had to read over and over again in school. Number three...if i wasn't paying back my student loans I'd buy maui jim polarized sunglasses..thats my two cents...other eye docs might say something different...and in colorado ive never seen the sun not shine...take care Red and Jim T...and thanks for all that you did for me.

[Red Childress]

FCJ,

I am glad I was able to help you out. The guy who got me into musky fishing helped me out as well. Just paying it forward so to speak.

Good luck and good fishing!