I really am having a difficult time convincing myself to spend $200 bucks on sunglasses. I'm tired of cheap sunglasses, however, and want a quality alternative to the expensive Del Mar models. I welcome your suggestions!

Gig 'em!



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Real. Texas. Football.





Soli Deo Gloria

A guy I work with who is an avid saltwater flyfisherman swears by Smith brand glasses. He does 100% sightcasting as well. I would imagine they are cheaper than Costas.

I can just say this. Have a pair of prescription costas. Have had them 6 years and I fish 240 days a year. They are awesome and still going. Without a good pair of sunglasses, you can't see crap in saltwater. Spend the money. It's cheaper in the long run because they'll last.

Dad has a couple pairs of Bolle that he really likes.

I prefer my Costa's.

Dad has a couple pairs of Bolle that he really likes.

I prefer my Costa's.

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I can just say this. Have a pair of prescription costas. Have had them 6 years and I fish 240 days a year. They are awesome and still going. Without a good pair of sunglasses, you can't see crap in saltwater. Spend the money. It's cheaper in the long run because they'll last.

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They are well made, but also Costa has an excellent warranty and it is fairly cheap to get replacement lenses/frames from them. I bought my Costa 580G's on ebay and saved a bunch of money.

I bought my smiths with a lifetime warranty. Daughter sat on them and sent them in and presto brand new pair. The pair that I have is close to $200, but they have other models that are much less.

For fishing make sure you get polarized that is the most important thing

Costa's warranty is no longer worth a darn. I've got 3 pair of Costas sitting in a drawer that i wanted to send off but the CSR told me they'd each be at least $60 to repair. Only 1 pair of the 3 has a broken lens. I'm back on Maui Jim glasses as a result. They really do have a strong warranty, and I'm obviously hard on glasses.

I have not tried any other glasses other than Costas. So I can't help you on other brands but I do know that it hurts the pocket spending $250 on a pair of glasses. If I had to buy another set of sunglasses, I would spend the extra cash and buy another pair of Costas based on the research that I have done, the comfort and the fit. You get what you pay for!

WileyX... All come polarized and you can pick them up on eBay for less than $100

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I can just say this. Have a pair of prescription costas. Have had them 6 years and I fish 240 days a year. They are awesome and still going. Without a good pair of sunglasses, you can't see crap in saltwater. Spend the money. It's cheaper in the long run because they'll last.

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They are well made, but also Costa has an excellent warranty and it is fairly cheap to get replacement lenses/frames from them. I bought my Costa 580G's on ebay and saved a bunch of money.

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That was true in 2004, but you obviously have not dealt with their customer service lately

Well damn, maybe you are right. I haven't had a warranty issue with Costa's in a while. When I did a few years ago it was pretty easy.

Man, that's stinks about the customer service. Had 580Gs since 2003 and when the earpiece fell off in '07 I'm not even sure I had to pay shipping to get a new one. Smith is owned by the same parent co. btw, so experience there may be no better. Parent (AT Cross) legacy is pens, so they've been pushing the optics businesses hard for growth and profitability.

I wear Oakleys when shooting my AR.

I had 1 pair of Costas replaced for free...3 others sitting in a box in my garage. I'm too afraid to throw them away because I feel If enough people start to complain about how poor their CS has gotten, they will go back to their old (good) ways. That said, I keep buyin them so "eff me".

You can get pairs with even their best lenses for less than $200 pretty easily. Just watch eBay, steep&cheap, etc. I have 580G blue mirrored and they only cost me $160 new.

if the OP is sincere about just wanting to spend less money, i wear strike kings which are about 20-40 depending on which model and I find highly serviceable.




i wear the monstas when fishing. much better than your 5-15 pair of berkley's at Walmart. my FiL was making fun of me one time when fishing and I made him wear them to see what a difference they were and didn't get them back till the end of the trip.

[This message has been edited by c-jags (edited 2/12/2013 8:06a).]

I've had a pair of polarized Smith's that I really like.

Buy once cry once

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That was true in 2004, but you obviously have not dealt with their customer service lately

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I'm not sure what you are talking about. I had a set of Fathom's replaced and it cost me $14. My wife just had her's repaired because the temple hinges were loose and it was the same thing. Simple online form and ship it off.

Suncloud, they are the price point/entry level glasses for Smith and I have been impressed. Same warranty as regular Smith glasses as well.
I got them because my nice polarized glasses walked off/got left while on a fishing trip to Colorado this summer. I needed polarized glasses and wasn't paying fly shop prices at the peak of the season for a set of glasses.

I have Costas, Smiths in RX. CDM warranty service truly sucks. Smith has a great copper colored lens for wading the coast. Smith is CR-39 so you have to be careful from a cost point comparing them to the 580 etc.

I just sent in a pair of Blackfins that are from 2006. Logos are gone, ear pieces coming apart, we'll see what they do. Previously, I've paid my 60 bucks to have the lens replaced when I broke it but it's better than buying a new pair.

And if you want HQ below surface glasses; follow the money.

As the above poster said, buy once cry once.

ebay maui jim's

you ebay guys are ballsy

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you ebay guys are ballsy

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I got Harpoons with 580 Glass, Green Mirror for $150. Brand spanking new. Just watch the seller ratings and you will be alright

WileyX.....nuff said!

Suuuuuure you did

I bought a pair of Costas on ebay for about 100 bucks a few years ago. Wore them for about a week and then they broke. I sent them in to be repaired, but they were discontinued, do i got a whole new pair. I think i paid 6o bucks, but they didn't ask any questions on where they came from.

The replacement pair I wanted was on backorder, so it took a few weeks to get them back, and i believe i had to make a few calls before I was finally able to get it straightened out, but it was worth it. I lost them in Mexico on my honeymoon last year

I also have a pair of Maui Jim's that have broken twice on me. I bought them back in 07 or so. The first time, they replaced them at no charge. The second time, I opted for a titanium upgrade. They sent me a new pair and only charged me the $60 titanium upgrade fee.

Maui Jim's and CDM are both excellent. Not sure about the rest.

My cousin's wife used to work for Smith so I've tried their stuff before, gratis. I'll pay for Costas.

Can't speak to the Wiley-X but I've tried the cheapos, Oakley, Ray Ban, etc and none of them hold a candle to the quality of the optics in Costas or the construction quality.

Maui Jim have good optics but I don't think their frames are as durable as Costas.

I'm on my 3rd pair of Costas and I still have my first. I bought the Europa which has been discontinued somewhere around '98 or so and wore them until probably 2004 when the rib (then fiance) convinced me to update the style so I bought the Wavekillers. I had the Wavekillers until I lost them in the Atlantic off the Outer Banks last July.

I substituted a couple cheapo pairs while looking for new Costas I'd like and quickly discarded them and went back to wearing my 14-year old Europas because they still had far superior optics and construction.

I got new Costas in the Zane style with green mirror 580G and they're fantastic.

Buy once, cry once and take care of your gear and it will last a long time.

I looked around a good while and read a lot of recommendations before jumping on a pair of Smith polarchromic copper mirror glasses, Backdrop model. Ebay vendor, 99 percent positive rated with thousands of transactions. $125 or so, no tax, included shipping. Couldn't be happier with the glasses and the price.

Damn Finn. That means you will never to able to fish with NW80 & I.

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......with the green mirror

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The only two places you can eat wearing them in Port A is the drive thru at Whataburger and a booth in the corner at Fins.

My costas broke...and only about 3 months after I bought them. I was very careful with them too.

Maui Jim

My next pair of sunglasses will NOT be Costas.

I have a pair of 580s that I bought through a friend who gets Costa deals, I think I paid $100-$120 for the pair. I have sent them in twice for repairs and am into them now for about $250.00. First time was for a cracked lens, my fault, second time the hinge for the earpiece came out of the frame, completely. I don't mind paying if its my fault but crappy workmanship shouldn't be repaired on my dime.

The reason Costa charges for lens repair work on the 580s is because they don't replace just the damaged lens but both. It was explained to me that the reason for this is to make sure the lenses are matched pairs. If there is a discrepancy between the original lens and the replaced lens it can lead to headaches and other issues if the coating/film (related to polarization, I think) on the lenses don't match. To prevent this, they put two new lenses in and charge you for the work.