Fly Fishing - Smith Sunglasses

petap · Location: Key Largo

How are the new Smiths glass lens. I have always been a costa guy but Im fed up with their warrenty and how much they have gone up in cost.

kory_k · Location: New York, NY

I have been using action optics sunglasses (always owned by smith but now called smith optics) for a long time and have always been very happy with them. I have always chosen glass lenses as they offer the option of a photochromic lens (lightening and darkening with changing light conditions). For me that is essential as I don't want to deal with changing lenses or sunglasses in the early morning or late evening. I have always used the "clearwater copper" lens which has great clarity and excellent contrast in a range of fishing environments (freshwater streams, freshwater lakes, saltwater flats, saltwater beaches etc.) That lens color is now called "polarchromic copper". They used to only offer photochromic lenses in glass so you didn't have the option of a polycarbonate (plastic) lens. Now they do offer the photochromic in the polycarbonate (called carbonic now), but the lens color isn't quite the same great contrast and visual appeal as the glass so when i recently got a new pair i still went with the glass. The big difference between glass and carbonic is:

-Glass has better visual acuity and is more scratch resistant but is heavier and more expensive(the newer techlite glass which i have is lighter than older versions but still heavier than poly lenses)

-Carbonic is much lighter weight and less expensive but doesn't have as good of visuals and scratches easier

As far as the warranty goes, they pretty much will give you a new frame regardless if it breaks in my experience and are very easy to deal with. If you scratch or break the lens though, you will have to pay for replacement unless you have a defective frame for some reason and it causes it.

For pricing, you are going to pay about $150-$180 or so for glass lenses a little less for carbonic.

Hope this information helps

Fish1 · Location: Ljubljana, Slovenia

Kory, can you suggest more specificly? Like which model or frame works best...I've been looking for the good glasses for a looooong time. Friend has Smiths and visibility and brightness is great but the frame is ........
The problem is that I can't try them on here!

Thanks
Tom

jeremy · Location: Portland, Maine

Hi - I had a pair of Smith Glasses (before they flew off my head while chasing albies in my boat. now they are at the bottom of the atlantic ocean. prior to that they were great, but I can't remember what model they were.) Below are some comments from what several Facebook Friends had to say:

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- I've got two pairs of the Smith Interlock Trace models and they are NICE! I've been very happy with them.

- The Smith glass lenses "photochromic" are good lenses, just kind of heavy. I don't think the warranty will be any better than Costa...

- I have a pair of Smith's somewhere, found out after wearing them for a day that they don't fit and rub my ears raw. Probably shoulda taken them back but I didn't. Otherwise they are fine glasses I just didn't take the time to get a good fit. My fave's now are Maui Jim's

- Smith Mavicks or shelters with the polarized "fishing lense" .....sick "

- are heavier? What? I, too have always used their glasses both perscription and not...

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Hope this helps

petap · Location: Key Largo

thanks guys

lunchbox · Location: Utah

I wear their prescription lenses so if you need a prescription they have very good choices of frames for a much more reasonable price than compares to some of the others such as Maui, CDM, or Oakley.

kory_k · Location: New York, NY

alfredo01 · Posted: Wed 02/03/10 9:16 pm Post subject:

well i haven´t use them, and i don´t even
know the brand but i can recommend you
the Costa del Mar, they are cool, a great variation of colors,
they are designed principally for saltwater, i like them
mine right now are the ''PONCE''
the only problem i have with them is that the borders
start losing its color when gets saltwater on it and then
the hot sun but onlyt the borders. and it does not affect the sight
of the polarized

flymaw · Location: SC

I just replaced my Costas with the Smith Hideouts and so far I like them better.