Polarized Sunglasses

[vanven]

This is more of a vent than anything....

I am shopping for some new polarized sunglasses. Last weekend I was loading my 11 month old son into his car seat in my truck and he pulled my Smith Optics sunglasses off while I was messing with the buckle. Next thing I hear is *snap* and he is holding the frame in one hand and the arm piece in the other. I wanted to cry. I am tempted to take the new pair's cost out of his $400 college fund (it just started).

Brands:

• OAKLEY - I always wore Oakley's in the past but finding a decent pair that is polarized and doesnt make this mid 30s dad look like a wanna be snowboarder is difficult. Their polarized lenses tend to get pricey as well and difficult to find at a vendor who generally doesn't cater to fly fishing fans. I lost my last pair of Oakley's in January of 2008 at Taneycomo. I fished from the afternoon into the evening and moved my sunglasses up onto the top of my hat when it got dark. I took my hat off while walking back to my truck and never heard the sunglasses hit the ground by the pavilion. I hope they poke out the eye of whoever found them and never responded to my frantic search.
  
• Costa Del Mar - These sunglasses are supposed to be great, but I cant tell the difference between my $12 truck stop emergency backup glasses and a pair of these. I actually picked out a $159 pair of CDM's at Cabelas this weekend and paid for them. When I got to my car and put them on I realized that a 1 pound pair of glass lenses was never going to cut it when I have to wear them for hours on end while bouncing around a flowing river. I walked right back in and returned them.
  
• Smith Optics - I loved my old pair that were actually labeled Action Optics. Same company and confuses the hell out of sales people. I bought mine for $39 at the outlet mall in Branson. Great deal for me! Now I am looking at $179 to replace them or I could drive 3.5 hours to Branson and try to find the exact same pair I bought a year ago only to find out it was a one off special shipment that will never happen again.
  
• Gas Station Brand - I have a pair of these and they are about a size too small for my lollipop head. It feel like they are going to bruise the side of my head after a couple hours and i cant see anything while fishing. They work for driving and seeing cars, but no way can I count on seeing a red indicator at 30 feet in glare. Worthless but they keep me from going blind.
  

I live in Kansas City and Cabela's is a PITA. I love the place but actually finding something never works. 100,000 square feet building, yet I can darn near stand in their fly shop and touch the walls on both sides of me. Add to the fact that I can ALWAYS find something in the catalog I want, yet after driving 30 minutes to get to Cabela's, and dealing with 200,000 whiskey tango race fans, the item is NEVER in stock. At least I can leave with a 2 pound bag of cinnamon jujus.

I have scoured the web. I can find sunglasses where I like the picture. I get to the point where I am ready to buy them and realize they are some obscure small size or that I dont know what 57cm is going to feel like for a fit and can't ever pull the trigger. I can also find the brand I want but the frame that is available would look better on Paris Hilton than me. I dont want to fly fish with a bunch of bling on my face.

This is so frustrating..........

-Jerod

[Gavin]

I've been pleased with Smith's warranty/repair service before..Send em in and ask for a repair estimate.

[Micheal Kyle]

Send them in to Smith, if they do not make the style any longer they will issue you a credit for the how much they sold for. Then you pick a pair of equal or greater value.

If you need any help let me know.

Michael

[vanven]

The margins on sunglasses are crazy. That is the biggest reason I am so reluctant to fork over $150 for something that may have cost $8 to manufacture.

At least I figured out how to launder $125 worth of Cabela's gift cards into cash. I am never going back to that place.

-Jerod

[swellcat]

This is more of a vent than anything....

I am shopping for some new polarized sunglasses. Last weekend I was loading my 11 month old son into his car seat in my truck and he pulled my Smith Optics sunglasses off while I was messing with the buckle. Next thing I hear is *snap* and he is holding the frame in one hand and the arm piece in the other. I wanted to cry. I am tempted to take the new pair's cost out of his $400 college fund (it just started).

Brands:

• OAKLEY - I always wore Oakley's in the past but finding a decent pair that is polarized and doesnt make this mid 30s dad look like a wanna be snowboarder is difficult. Their polarized lenses tend to get pricey as well and difficult to find at a vendor who generally doesn't cater to fly fishing fans. I lost my last pair of Oakley's in January of 2008 at Taneycomo. I fished from the afternoon into the evening and moved my sunglasses up onto the top of my hat when it got dark. I took my hat off while walking back to my truck and never heard the sunglasses hit the ground by the pavilion. I hope they poke out the eye of whoever found them and never responded to my frantic search.
  
• Costa Del Mar - These sunglasses are supposed to be great, but I cant tell the difference between my $12 truck stop emergency backup glasses and a pair of these. I actually picked out a $159 pair of CDM's at Cabelas this weekend and paid for them. When I got to my car and put them on I realized that a 1 pound pair of glass lenses was never going to cut it when I have to wear them for hours on end while bouncing around a flowing river. I walked right back in and returned them.
  
• Smith Optics - I loved my old pair that were actually labeled Action Optics. Same company and confuses the hell out of sales people. I bought mine for $39 at the outlet mall in Branson. Great deal for me! Now I am looking at $179 to replace them or I could drive 3.5 hours to Branson and try to find the exact same pair I bought a year ago only to find out it was a one off special shipment that will never happen again.
  
• Gas Station Brand - I have a pair of these and they are about a size too small for my lollipop head. It feel like they are going to bruise the side of my head after a couple hours and i cant see anything while fishing. They work for driving and seeing cars, but no way can I count on seeing a red indicator at 30 feet in glare. Worthless but they keep me from going blind.
  

I live in Kansas City and Cabela's is a PITA. I love the place but actually finding something never works. 100,000 square feet building, yet I can darn near stand in their fly shop and touch the walls on both sides of me. Add to the fact that I can ALWAYS find something in the catalog I want, yet after driving 30 minutes to get to Cabela's, and dealing with 200,000 whiskey tango race fans, the item is NEVER in stock. At least I can leave with a 2 pound bag of cinnamon jujus.

I have scoured the web. I can find sunglasses where I like the picture. I get to the point where I am ready to buy them and realize they are some obscure small size or that I dont know what 57cm is going to feel like for a fit and can't ever pull the trigger. I can also find the brand I want but the frame that is available would look better on Paris Hilton than me. I dont want to fly fish with a bunch of bling on my face.

This is so frustrating..........

-Jerod

Feel your pain, but, more striking, what a smart, funny post! Hilarious. Hope to see more of your work.

You might work the pop guns into your next CaRbela's* riff.

*There is a crusty old Karl Childers like rod repairman in the Fort Worth area who says "CaRbela's."

[Micheal Kyle]

Let me know where I can by Polarized sun glasses for 8 and sale for 150. I am pretty sure there are quite of few of us that would love to know that secret place

Really send them to Smith I assure you that will take care of you. If they don't I will and I mean that.

Michael

[Randall]

Never owned an expensive pair of sunglasses... I just buy the renegades at Wal-Mart for $10. I don't know if I could justify spending more than 100 on sunglasses. Is there really that much of a difference in how well they cut glare?

[ohmz138]

I have a pair of guidelines that I have good luck with. They are durable, reasonably prices and fit good with good coverage from style to style. If I was to upgrade, Smith Action Optics would be #1. They are a little expensive for my taste but they are really good.

[Zack Hoyt]

I used the WalMart brand for years....then splurged on a pair of Costa's........worlds of difference. You wont be able to tell the difference in the store, but I wont go back to a cheap pair. Plus the guarantee is hard to beat. I like the Costa's for the different "sizes" they produce(I have a melon head).

[ness]

Never owned an expensive pair of sunglasses... I just buy the renegades at Wal-Mart for $10. I don't know if I could justify spending more than 100 on sunglasses. Is there really that much of a difference in how well they cut glare?

I don't know what your threshold for pain is, but I'll tell you what I see are the advantages.

First, I wear glasses and cannot wear contacts. So, I NEED prescription sunglasses.

I've got a pair of Smiths copper photochromatic (lighten/darken with sunlight). They are glass, and extremely clear -- I always notice how much brighter they are than my day-to-day plastic glasses with all their micro scratches. I really like the fact that they change density. When the sun starts to fade, they lighten up and that's a real plus to me. They're not particularly dark at the other end, which I like since I'm in the shade a lot of the time. I mostly fish for trout in streams, and can't imagine being without polarized glasses.

To the original poster -- it's already been said, but give Smith a call. They just replaced my frames for free, and they're about 8 years old. Free. I asked them for a case (the original case finally blew up) and they threw in a new one of those too.

So, Randall -- that's what comes with the extra $$$ you spend.