Costa Sunglasses Lens Color

[William Hea]

I broke my grey Costa Hatches on a roller coaster. The repair costs for new lenses cost as much as a new pair of hatches, so I'm going to buy a different model with full frames instead. 

What color lenses do you suggest for fishing around trees and the environment we have in the DC area? I found my grey lenses to be a little too dark in the shade. Also, is there a big difference between glass and plastic lenses? I'd prefer 1 general purpose set of glasses, but I could be convinced to do eventually purchase 2. 

[Jeffrey Silvan]

In general, amber or copper lenses will be the best for freshwater and inshore saltwater - basically anything sight fishing related because it improves contrast. If you just want one all around lense, amber is your color. Grey is best for offshore, and a yellow lense helps in low light to make the most of what light is available. Some claim a mirror covering over the colored base helps better combat glare on brighter days, but I don't really see a difference personally.

On Nov 12, 2017 11:36 AM, "William Hea" <willia...@gmail.com> wrote:

I broke my grey Costa Hatches on a roller coaster. The repair costs for new lenses cost as much as a new pair of hatches, so I'm going to buy a different model with full frames instead. 

What color lenses do you suggest for fishing around trees and the environment we have in the DC area? I found my grey lenses to be a little too dark in the shade. Also, is there a big difference between glass and plastic lenses? I'd prefer 1 general purpose set of glasses, but I could be convinced to do eventually purchase 2. 

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[Rob Snowhite]

Glass over plastic. I wear Costa 580g green mirrored amber lens. 

Don’t let your glass case get coated in potpourri. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 12, 2017, at 11:36 AM, William Hea <willia...@gmail.com> wrote:

I broke my grey Costa Hatches on a roller coaster. The repair costs for new lenses cost as much as a new pair of hatches, so I'm going to buy a different model with full frames instead. 

What color lenses do you suggest for fishing around trees and the environment we have in the DC area? I found my grey lenses to be a little too dark in the shade. Also, is there a big difference between glass and plastic lenses? I'd prefer 1 general purpose set of glasses, but I could be convinced to do eventually purchase 2. 

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[Carl Z.]

I have been happy with Amber.

I just went through this.  My Maui Jim's in brown/amber with glass lenses just finally gave up after daily wear and fishing for 7 years.  (The frame, not the lens). 

I purchased a pair of Smith of Sierra Trading post and I thought I clicked brown but ended up with grey.   They are nice for driving, but too dark for fishing in the eveing.

I tried frameless Maui Jim's and that was a disaster. (But REI was great to work with) They cracked when I was cleaning them.

I now have a pair of Titanium framed, Amber Smith which appear to be glass (in Amber).  These are really nice.  A bit darker than my original Maui Jim's but still much better than the darker grey.

And use the glasses case.  It sounds funny but the Maui Jim glasses had a much slimmer case which made the case much more practical to stick in my pocket and had a built in clip to clip on a pack.  I just wish they weren't $300 for the ones I want.

     

Carl

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Carl Zmola

On Sun, Nov 12, 2017 at 11:55 AM, Rob Snowhite <r...@robsnowhite.com> wrote:

Glass over plastic. I wear Costa 580g green mirrored amber lens. 

Don’t let your glass case get coated in potpourri. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 12, 2017, at 11:36 AM, William Hea <willia...@gmail.com> wrote:

I broke my grey Costa Hatches on a roller coaster. The repair costs for new lenses cost as much as a new pair of hatches, so I'm going to buy a different model with full frames instead. 

What color lenses do you suggest for fishing around trees and the environment we have in the DC area? I found my grey lenses to be a little too dark in the shade. Also, is there a big difference between glass and plastic lenses? I'd prefer 1 general purpose set of glasses, but I could be convinced to do eventually purchase 2. 

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[William Hea]

Thanks, all! Definitely learned to take the cheap glasses to the theme parks. Amber it is. 

On Sunday, November 12, 2017 at 1:13:11 PM UTC-5, Carl wrote:

I have been happy with Amber.

I just went through this.  My Maui Jim's in brown/amber with glass lenses just finally gave up after daily wear and fishing for 7 years.  (The frame, not the lens). 

I purchased a pair of Smith of Sierra Trading post and I thought I clicked brown but ended up with grey.   They are nice for driving, but too dark for fishing in the eveing.

I tried frameless Maui Jim's and that was a disaster. (But REI was great to work with) They cracked when I was cleaning them.

I now have a pair of Titanium framed, Amber Smith which appear to be glass (in Amber).  These are really nice.  A bit darker than my original Maui Jim's but still much better than the darker grey.

And use the glasses case.  It sounds funny but the Maui Jim glasses had a much slimmer case which made the case much more practical to stick in my pocket and had a built in clip to clip on a pack.  I just wish they weren't $300 for the ones I want.

     

Carl

--

Carl Zmola

On Sun, Nov 12, 2017 at 11:55 AM, Rob Snowhite <r...@robsnowhite.com> wrote:

Glass over plastic. I wear Costa 580g green mirrored amber lens. 

Don’t let your glass case get coated in potpourri. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 12, 2017, at 11:36 AM, William Hea <willia...@gmail.com> wrote:

I broke my grey Costa Hatches on a roller coaster. The repair costs for new lenses cost as much as a new pair of hatches, so I'm going to buy a different model with full frames instead. 

What color lenses do you suggest for fishing around trees and the environment we have in the DC area? I found my grey lenses to be a little too dark in the shade. Also, is there a big difference between glass and plastic lenses? I'd prefer 1 general purpose set of glasses, but I could be convinced to do eventually purchase 2. 

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[James Ovelmen]

Agree amber is the way to go, but I would add that I got a pair of yellow lenses and I don’t want to exaggerate but they have changed my life. They are just soooo much better for seeing fish at dawn, dusk, super shady creeks, and in the rain.

[namfos]

So does anyone here have prescription shades? or do you find them unnecessary?

Mark

On Sunday, November 12, 2017 at 1:13:11 PM UTC-5, Carl wrote:

[Yambag Nelson]

These are what I wear but man, those lenses are delicate.  You drop them and they are breaking.  That said, costas customer service is incredible.  Constant updates on the state of your repair.  I just sent a pair back, I think it was $89 to get them fixed but still way less than the $230 or so I paid for them.  

On Sunday, November 12, 2017 at 11:55:40 AM UTC-5, Rob Snowhite wrote:

Glass over plastic. I wear Costa 580g green mirrored amber lens. 

Don’t let your glass case get coated in potpourri. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 12, 2017, at 11:36 AM, William Hea <willia...@gmail.com> wrote:

I broke my grey Costa Hatches on a roller coaster. The repair costs for new lenses cost as much as a new pair of hatches, so I'm going to buy a different model with full frames instead. 

What color lenses do you suggest for fishing around trees and the environment we have in the DC area? I found my grey lenses to be a little too dark in the shade. Also, is there a big difference between glass and plastic lenses? I'd prefer 1 general purpose set of glasses, but I could be convinced to do eventually purchase 2. 

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[Howard Abramowitz]

Glass is more expensive, but better optics/longevity, but if you're worried about safety plastic is a better bet (there is a reason safety glasses are plastic). I also like the fact that the plastic lenses are lighter, my 580Gs would give me a headache by the end of the day.

[Rob Snowhite]

Per plastic vs. glass. My Costa yellow lens has a large, single scratch right in front of my pupil. I can't see out of them. They are great for low light levels mentioned earlier. I keep them in a case when not in use. Not sure how the scratch got there.

My glass lenses have been hit with moving branches, dropped on the floor by my kid, and have taken a few flies to them from client back casts with no damage. They are easier to clean and provide the clearest vision of any glass I have worn. I have had the lenses break twice.  Once when I rested my glasses on my hat and they fell off and cracked - may have been the same day Stankus and I were chasing wild chickens in the Gravelly lot. The other time I was cleaning them a bit to rough and the lens fell out and hit a rock. Both my fault.

I can bring my Costas tonight if anyone wants to try the weights. The yellow framed ones stink of potpourri so heads up.

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From: 'Howard Abramowitz' via Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders <tidal-potoma...@googlegroups.com>
To: Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders <tidal-potoma...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Monday, November 13, 2017 10:00 AM
Subject: {Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Re: Costa Sunglasses Lens Color

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[GSFeder]

Re prescription shades, I wear contacts with my amber plastic Costa lenses and have a pair of +2.5 flip focals on my hat. Those flip focals are the bomb. 

Cheers, 

-- Greg

Sent from my iPhone

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[Brian Mullis]

I also use amber base green mirror Costas. My guide friends from out west prefer Smith chromapops. I have yellow chromapops that work for low light. Glass lenses bc my plastics got destroyed.

[Richard Farino]

I have a quick break between painting and hanging trim to answer this here.

We will be carrying both Smith and Costa.  There are differences between how each company handles repairs, but they generally will replace frames that break.  The lenses are another story.  But here’s info you’ll need to know:

• Frames – Smith is using Italian-made frames and assembled in Idaho, and almost all the hinges are spring-loaded.  Costa is using frames made overseas, but they’re a good quality and assembled in Florida.  The frames are warrantied by both companies.
• Lenses – Plastic (polycarbonate) is definitely lighter, but scratches easier.  Glass is heavier, but the optical clarity is best and scratch resistance is better than polycarbonate.  Also, prescription is done with glass.  There are polarized films that are placed between lens layers that help reduce glare so you can see fish in the water, as well as anti-scratch protection, anti-reflective coatings on the inside, mirror coatings, and hydrophobic coatings so the water beads off and makes your glasses not scratch when you wipe them with your t-shirt.  Neither company will tell us where the lenses are manufactured.
• Lens Tint – The tint color helps build contrast against what you might be looking in different conditions.  The amount of tint increases to help block sunlight intensity.  Your eyes work by converting the light on a subject to an image in your brain, and these tints will change your perceptions.  Sometimes companies name their colors a little different to stand out.  Here’s how some of the colors help with your fishing scenarios:

• Gray – Avoid this.  This is a neutral tint and all it does it darken the amount of light passing thru the glass.  Good for driving or just looking cool.  Unless you’re Cory Feldman.
• Green or Blue – These tints are great for building contrast in open water if you’re fishing offshore.
• Copper or Bronze – These tints help build contrast looking at open sand flats, rivers, streams, and creeks in normal to bright daylight.
• Brown – Same as copper and bronze, but in extremely bright daylight.  It lets less light in thru the lens to reach your eyes.
• Amber or Yellow – These tints build contrast on open flats, rivers, streams, and creeks, but in lower light conditions.  The tint allows more light in thru the lens to reach your eyes.
• Mirrors – You’ll notice that Smith mirrors are not 100% mirror.  They say it’s to keep optical clarity pure and let in the proper amount of light while still retaining the mirrored look.  Costa mirrors will have a specific color to them when worn.  When buying them, don’t just look at the color of the mirror because that’s just an aesthetic – look to see what the base lens tint actually is.  Some of the frames you get green mirror over a copper lens, but the blue mirror will only be available on a grey lens (we won’t be stocking any useless lenses).
• Photochromic ability – Smith lenses will sometimes say photochromic or polarchromic.  These lenses lighten and darken with sunlight intensity to adjust for different conditions.  They will darken up to 15-18% of the original color to make it easier for you to spot fish and not stress your eyes when it gets bright out.  We show folks how it works by taking a pair of glasses and putting a Post-It note across half the lens and put it in front of a window for a minute or so and let the lens adjust.

Generally for most flyfishing applications you want to use a lens with some kind of copper or amber tint.  I like being able to see fish at a distance and I’m slightly nearsighted, so my fishing glasses are prescription glass, with either a polarchromic copper or ignitor (rose) lens for low light conditions.  I also use Smith ignitor Elite glass for wingshooting.  Makes clays extremely visible, and provides ballistic eye protection.

Why is all this important?  Your sunglasses are probably your top 5 important items for flyfishing.  Additionally, as a fishing partner and fishing guide, I can take a hook out of every part of your body except your eyeball.

Hope that helps.

R

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[Brad]

Richard covered most of what I was going to say. 

There are also plenty of safety rated glass lenses out there and Costa's glass is impact resistant. With a full wrap frame, the weight savings is negligible going with plastic. The only damage I've done to them is burn pits in them wearing them while grinding metal (Yup. I'm also the guy that will climb under your car to look at something in his best suit) and this pair I have is over two years old. I'm nearsighted and get Costa's prescription glass in the copper with green mirror. I fish offshore a fair amount in super bright sunlight and they work great. I've never liked gray lenses - generally too dark and not enough contrast for me. 

[Howard Abramowitz]

ugh I was just offering my 2 cents on the issue, and I really do my best to avoid online arguments, but since this is safety related, and several of the replies seem to be directly contradicting my sentiments and providing false information I give in.

I'll preface this by the fact that I fully expect this never to be an issue for anyone reading this. The odds of a fly shattering a glass lens and embedding shards in your eye seem minute, and more likely than not the glass will provide protection for fishing rather than an increased danger. However, I imagine given the number of fly fisherman and the progression of time it will eventually happen. I went from the 580G to 580P glasses because of the weight, it made a difference for me, but hey, I could just be sensitive. I did not do it for safety reasons, and given my personal priors on the low likelihood of the event, I would not personally make the decision of glass vs plastic based on safety alone.

That said: 
Costa plastic lenses are impact resistant, their glass lenses are NOT. You can look for a Z87+ on the frame of the glasses if you see it then they are "impact resistant". That doesn't mean Rob can't drop his 580Gs or have flies/branches/kids hit them without damage. It means they are not ANSI Z-87.1 approved for impact resistance. It means if your job site requires safety glasses to be impact resistant these are not acceptable, but you can fish or do whatever else you like with them, and they will be significantly more impact resistant than a champagne flute.

Costa doesn't advertise this and I can find nothing stating to the contrary but the website specifically calls out the plastic lenses as impact resistant and not the glass. The tech specs I found also list the 580 P as Z87.1 compliant. I found nothing of the sort for the glass. If your 580G glasses have a Z87+ on them then I am wrong, but I doubt it.

https://www.costadelmar.com/us/en/performance-technology/580-lenses.html

http://www.cabelas.com/assets/product_files/pdf/712928_580p_techinfo.pdf

Perhaps plenty of prescription safety glasses exist with glass lenses, I don't have a prescription so I've never looked for prescription safety glasses. I have several coworkers who do wear prescription safety glasses and a quick unscientific survey found their lenses are all plastic. Again feel free to prove me wrong.

As for ballistic glasses. I glanced at a few websites, oakley's are perscription balistic glasses are plastic. I could not find any info on the smith website so I actually called their customer service and talked with them and was told they do not make ballistic shooting glasses with a glass lens, they are only available in polycarbonate.  

Rich, I may have misinterpreted but I took "Smith ignitor Elite glass" to mean they have glass lenses, in which case you may want to double check that they are ballistic rated. Also ballistic glasses have a more stringent military specification for impact resistance (MIL-PRF-31013), the Z87+ rating would not make them ballistic glasses.

Howard

[Richard Farino]

Howard,

You are correct.  It’s not glass, it’s high impact poly, but it IS ANSI AND MIL rated.

http://www.smithoptics.com/elite/Root/Men's/Sunglasses/Elite-Tactical/Chamber-Elite/p/CRTPCIG22BK

They can make certain prescription lenses on poly. 

Thanks for correcting that.

Regards,

R

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[Howard Abramowitz]

Rich,

Glad you're being safe, and FWIW I'm pretty sure you can get costa's with prescription plastic lenses as well.

Howard

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[Charlie Church]

Yup, they do make prescription costas with plastic. I own a pair. Definitely worth it IMO. 

[Yambag Nelson]

Is there an advantage to wearing prescription sunglasses instead of the regular ones with contacts?

[Charlie Church]

Haha, that I don't have to put in / purchase contacts.

It's easy to just grab and go. I fish a decent amount now that I'm 5 minutes away from saltwater (100 days a year or so) so it's been great.

[Yambag Nelson]

thanks i didn't know if there was something more than that.  I always wear contacts when i fish, not sure I would want to bring an extra pair of glasses to switch to in the evening once the sun goes down.