Re: {Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Re: Costa Sunglasses Lens Color

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

From: Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders <tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com>
Reply-To: Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders <tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com>
Date: Monday, November 13, 2017 at 12:04 PM
To: Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders <tidal-potomac-fly-rodders@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: {Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders} Re: Costa Sunglasses Lens Color

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

On Nov 13, 2017, at 10:11 AM, Rob Snowhite <rob@robsnowhite.com> wrote:

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.

---

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

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.

On Sunday, November 12, 2017 at 11:36:20 AM UTC-5, William Hea 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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