Best Sunglasses for driving the boat....

Hey All,
I am looking for opinions on sunglasses. What is everyone using? What is best? I have a pair Smith Shelter sunglasses that I like but they don't give me any depth perception on the water. As many of you undoubtedly know, I have a big head, so I need a large frame. I'm thinking about Oakley Gas Cans. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

I loved these when I had them
The gradient of tint helps to give depth, doesn't make it hard to see gauges/radio/etc etc by being too dark at the bottom, but the top is and protects you from the sun

http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Spy-Optic-CLINT-Sunglasses-Black-Clear-Fade-CTBF35_W0QQitemZ180334276795QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_ DefaultDomain_0?hash=item29fcc2b0bb&_trksid=p3286. c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39 %3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50

Anything polarized.. I only wear polarized Spy's when I drive a boat(it's my job so I put in at least 20 hours a week behind the wheel) you should check them out a lot of different styles and relatively good prices too.

I have several pair of polarized glasses, including Spy & Native. Their great for bright sunlight. But they suck for looking thru windshields or seeing the LEDs on the stereo HU. LEDs hardly show up at all, and I can see the plastic in the windshield causing all kinds of refractions because of the polarization in the glasses.

Oakleys, even with the darkest lenses unless you're wearing them at night you can see everything.

Maybe Grant can do a test for us... You know, he could take pictures looking through various lenses while out driving the boat...

Grant! Where are you this?

I think its hard to beat the Hoven polarized standard frames for 65.
If you want to go handmade frame then they go up to 95 for polarized, but the handmade frames are really nice.

(Message edited by innov8 on May 12, 2009)

I have never owned a better pair of sunglasses
than my Maui Jim's ... the polarization is
far superior -- these are prescription and fantastic and $$$ - we hope not to drop them in
the drink.

I used ot have Ray Ban ... these blow those out of the water.

Has anyone tried Costa Del Mar's with Wave 580 lenses?

I have actually heard good things about the Maui Jim's myself, but can't actually find a pair to try.

I got mine at a local optical place ... they also sell without prescription.

I am also a fly-fisherman, and these are spoken
of VERY highly in that camp, where excellent
polarization is a must ...

Check here:

http://www.mauijim.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/DealerLocator_-1_10001_11601_7

lots of places like "Sunglass Hut" and other
chain places are listed (here) on the dealer
locator.

BUT - as Bill pointed out ... polarization makes
it VERY hard to read the LCD anything, like
the speedo, your iPod screen, etc......

I'm not worried about seeing the LCD guages... just being able to see the water, waves, underwater rocks, and still being able to see at the end of the day.

Oakley Sunglasses for me. I'm not a fan of polarized lenses but that is a personal preference. Other styles to look at would be Antix and Oil Rig. I like bronze lenses on the water

Any sunglasses that are polarized are best. If you get orange or brown tinting that will help also. Many LCD screens can be read with polarized lenses, but not all.
It is vastly more important to get the best vision of what is on or under the water than to get the best vision of a gauge screen. The brown or orange gives better contrast on the blue water and sky.
Some people are bothered by the feeling of looking through a polarized lens.
I never drive anything without polarized lenses if it's bright out.

i like bronze lenses over gray and i dont really care for polarized because of stuff mentioned above. cant see ipod, cel phones., tempered glass has grill marks in it. and on my old nautique there were alot of them. kind of annoying. but if i were to go buy polarized i would look at the costas.

I love these. The lenses are perfect for blasting sun, water reflections, and kills the glare off of the wind shield (Polarized). The tent on the lense is great too. You can easily transition from strong sun to shade, or even inside a building.

I have had these non polarized too, both were great, but the polarized is great on the water (and even kills most of the reflection from your dash on your winds shield in the car or truck).

Polarized: As far as not being to read gauges, I can read all digital gauges, stereo and IPod with with no problem with my Spy's.

There are many styles to choose from with the TORTOISE BRONZE POLARIZED lense. Good luck

I am a ship captain, so I am on the water all the time, I usually have Costa Del Mars but right now I have a new pair of polarized raybans and they are great.

Costa Del Mar makes great sunglasses for mariners - they are designed to cut down on glare from the water. Highly recommended.

Polarized Ray Bans are great thats what I use most frequently.

Check out DSO, the Kaos, Absolut, and Famous fit me best. I would just stick to anything polar like mentioned above. I have listed there website below.

www.dsoeyewear.com

I bought a pair of Costa Del Mar's last year and I will never buy another brand... I am permanently sold on costas... I got the brine model because they fit my narrow head the best but they have a very wide selection I'm sure you can find something you like

I like Eagle Eyes sunglasses, but I don't have a lot to compare them too.

I currently wear oakley spike polarized and like them, they are a little heavy (would recommend going with the titanium frames). Only drawback that I do not like about polarized is that when you are looking through tinted windows, you get the rainbow color effect, other than that, like the polarized on the water.

A few other's in my crew have worn a lot of different polarized and swear by Maui Jim's

wonder if anyone has tried the Oakley Polarized HD line. They sound and look interesting...

Sam- one more thing, I have a huge nugget too (size 8 in pro-fit lids) and that is why I went with the oakley spikes, big frames, adequate lens coverage and built for wide heads. Again, if I was to do it over though, I would go with the titanium frames.

http://oakley.com/spike

I have had the Oakley Half Jacket for 4 year now and love them. Last year I upgraded the interchangeable lenses to the ICE BLUE POLARIZED lens and i haven't looked back. They are awesome. I can read almost all LCD screen without a problem. I get a little "rainbow effect" on my ipod screen but still completely usable. The polarized lenses cut through glare on water and glass and allow you so see things the naked eye wouldn't be able to. If I lost these i would buy another pair in a heart beat. The half jackets are so comfortable sometimes i forgot i'm wearing them and like mentioned above, they are easy to see through at night or if you enter say a dark building.

If you are looking for the best sunglasses for the water, nothing tops Costa Del Mar with the 580 lens'. All you have to do is watch a sunday morning fishing show on ESPN. 85% of those guys are wearing Costas and they depend on their glasses to make a living.

+1 Costa Del Mar with 580 Lens'. You wont wear anything else once you convert... If I'm outside... I'm wearin them!

Sean Ellis
H2O Pro Accessories

Costa del mar all the way. And they fit "bigger frames people" great!

I have never own a pair of Smith's because I have always used Oakley's. I like the Smith's a lot better and the glare is no even there on the water. I can see my gauges, LED's, radio, etc. without any problems. Great for picking up a fallen rider without any glare. Plus they have a LIFETIME warranty!

Thanks for all the advice. Does anyone have a good place to buy either the Costa Del Mars or the Maui Jims at a discount?? The Costa Del Mars that I want list for $249... that's kind of expensive for sunglasses!

maybe ebay
http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=p3907.m38.l1313&_nkw=Costa+Del+ Mar&_sacat=See-All-Categories

They are worth it Sam....

h2oproaccessories

Which color lenses would be the best for cutting down glare on the water.

I owned a pair of Serengeti Vedi Henna color with Polarised Driver lense and its the top sunglasses i had over years and i am a big fans of glasses, i have over 30 pairs.

(Message edited by radikal on May 13, 2009)

oh yeah and here they are ....

polarized oakleys for me every time. I have several pairs for the boat and many more for every day use.

Polarized with ice blue lenses are also great for snow sports.

I've had these for 3 years running and love them.
Like all raybans they are glass, super clear, and polarized. I have a wide head too and they fit really well.
I bought them at sunglass hut for $168 3 years ago. then last week I ran over them with my truck, needless to say I was pissed. I got the the net and found them here http://www.bestbuyeyeglasses.com/product_details.asp?product=238916&mid=999&cse=8&c i_src=14110944&ci_sku=238916
It cost me $90 shipped. I had them in 4 days.
I know it says polarized green lens but its not really green. Go check them out at sunglass hut then order some. You'll love them.

I use the Costa Del Mar sunglasses with the 580 lenses. The lenses are blue.... the blue lens are designed for salt water fishing. and you normally have a lot of sun out there in the ocean.....
I wont have any other brand.

H2o Pro Accessories

I have a brother who is a die hard saltwater fisherman and the only thing he wears are those Costa Del Mars. He swears by them.

Electric EC/DC Polarized, they are the lightest, most comfortable glasses ever created by man. Used to rock Spy Coopers and they were heavy and gave you a headache after a little while.

If you have a bass pro shop in your area, they will have costas.

Costcos has some Maui Jims in stock. They actually have a couple of pairs with decent looking frames.

spy

Just picked up a new pair of polarized ARNETTE ASYLUM's hands down most comfortable shades I've ever had. There is no glair from the sun they are amazing.

So Sam.... now that we have all given our opinions... what are you going to get? I would suggest trying them on in a store before you buy. Dont just order off of the internet.

H2O Pro

I am going to look at and try on several...

The Costa Del Mar Permits with the 580 green mirrored glass:


The Maui Jim Peahi:


Or Oakley Gas Cans:

Revos are the best shades I've worn. NASA used their technology. True story. Go to revo.com. I have a pair of Maui Jims I bought when I thought I lost my Revo's. Found the Revos in my and the Mauis(which are awesome), went in storage.

I have had a pair of Maui Jims for over two years. The rubber nose pads were starting mess up on them. I emailed MJ about buying some more since they were out of warranty. Within 30 minutes I had a reply saying they were being shipped that day and there would be no charge. I was impressed with the customer service that they provided. Customer service on a good product will get my business every time.

Jman

PS: I've had Revos and loved them, but I broke them.
I also have a pair of older Arnette Steel Ravens that are great.
I also have several pairs of Ray-Bans that I like.

I had a pair of those oakley gascans and now have the maui jim hoku. IMO the gascans were very uncomfortable and hurt my head above my ears after about 30 minutes. The lens technology of the maui jims is miles ahead of the oakleys.

maui jims... way to go. light weight / comfortable / incredible lens

I'm actually buying a pair of Oakley Spikes today. For those who have worn them, what do you guys think about them?

Costa Del Mar with 580 Lens' for me. About $200.00

chris- take a look @ my thread above, if you can spend the xtra cash, get the titanium ones, they are lighter weight than the regular ones, i have the regular spikes and after 4+ hours on the lake they get a 'little' heavy. have you tried them on yet? I like the big coverage of the lenses and the little adjustable nose peices (I have a flat nose with no nose bridge) so being able to adjust those nose peices was key. enjoy!

chris- one more thing, if you do need to adjust the nose peices, i suggest having a eyeglass store (eyemart, sunglass hut, etc) adjust them for you, they can use their little 'warmer' to soften the nose peices before you adjust/bend them. lessens the chance of them breaking when you go to adjust them. If you need to adjust them, make sure you get it perfect the first time, dont settle, it took me a couple of times of adjusting to find what felt best. Feel free to pm me if you have any other ?'s about the spikes

Yeah I've got a broken a** nose, so the adjustable nose pieces will be a big help, and keep them from looking crooked, like other glasses. Had a nice pair of square wires, and loved them, but lost them. I don't think they are titanium, but they are polarized. Getting them for $80 off craigslist

yeah, as long as they are in good condition, you can't go wrong with $80 for polarized spikes even if not titanium, enjoy!

+1 Maui Jim's lenses are awesome. I'm only on my second pair since about 2003. My only complaint is that the lenses are structural in the designs I've had, and are kinda too brittle for that. I stick my sunglasses up on my head a lot which causes cracking. I'm a long-time amber polarized lens user, and the optics on MJ's are noticeably better than anything else I've tried.

I will probably go the Costa Del mar route if I can find a pair of frames that fit my face. The 580 lenses are suppose to be the bomb!

Any government employees out there check out www.usstandardissue.com. Oakley's for 1/2 price with proof of employment.

Thanks ICE, the guy claims they are in great shape

Sam.... 580's are the shizzz man...

Check out the blue lenses. They look gooood in person. The internet pics are a little off of what they really look like.

H2O Pro Accessories

Blue Mirror (Gray Base):
Made for the open water. Encapsulated mirrors deliver maximum contrast and color in full sun while eliminating glare.
Available in 400 and 580.

Green Mirror (Amber Base in 400 and Copper base in 580):
Encapsulated mirrors offer enhanced visual acuity for fishing inshore, flats, rivers and streams.
Available in 400 and 580.

I'm a big fan of copper based lenses. The colors seem to pop a lot better and the dawn/dusk visibility seems to be a lot better.

Got the spikes last night, perfect condition, the guy had only wore them 3 times. They aren't titanium, but they do have polarized lenses. $80 for brand new shades isn't bad.

I havent tried the copper lenses. Every time someone puts on my sun glasses with blue 580's they say it's like looking in Hi definition...lol

h2o pro accessories

i wear hovens. $65 for polarized. for the boat and with the chance of thrashing them etc, i can't beat the price. if you have a access to a surf shop or try online. since, i've had two pairs.