Polarization

[ikeslayer]

So i am in walmart the other day(this could be part of my problem) and we are going through the sporting goods as tradition would have it and my wife looks at the sunglasses and she says,"Honey what does 1.1mm polarized mean" Besides remembering why i love her i didn't have an answer for her. So that is my question what does it mean is this a no brainer for all polarized sunglasses or are there different grades? If someone would have a few rules of thumb for buying good polarized sunglasses (besides don't start at walmart) i would love to hear it. ike

[luckycrank]

i am not exactly sure what the 1.1mm would be but if i had to guess it MOST LIKELY HAS SOMETHING TO DUE WITH THE THICKNESS OF THE LENS JUST A GUESS HOWEVER

[Fishin4Life]

Don't know what the 1.1 is, but I have a few pairs of the $10 wal-mart polarized glasses, best sunglasses I have ever owned. They cut the glare, and survive a beating!

[AllSkills]

Walmart sunglasses are TERRIBLE!! I would never buy a pair from there to use for fishing..... Trust me, it is a waste of money... Get a pair of Costa Del Mar, they are worth every penny. You will be able to see fishes in the water that others wouldnt be able to see with the cheap Walmart glasses....

[musky hunter]

Polarized sunglassed can vary tremendously in the ability to cut glare in water. Sure them may seem fine when you look at a car windshield, but when it comes to discerning fish that's another thing. It may actually have to do with the color of the water. I only wish the information was known before the purchase. I've found this out buying glasses for sightfishing steelhead and salmon in river, and discovering the great variability between brands. So the 1.1 mm means nothing to me, I only would care if I could spot fish with it, and to that end I believe there is no rating whatsoever. In-Fisherman glasses have done me well.

[Deitz Dittrich]

1.1mm,.. No clue what that means? Hope somebody smart knows.. I'll bump this back up to the top!

Someone?... 1.1mm? I too assume its lense thickness?

[Fishin4Life]

Quote:

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Walmart sunglasses are TERRIBLE!! I would never buy a pair from there to use for fishing..... Trust me, it is a waste of money... Get a pair of Costa Del Mar, they are worth every penny. You will be able to see fishes in the water that others wouldnt be able to see with the cheap Walmart glasses....

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They work well for me. I am sure you get what you pay for, but when your on a budget you can't always go out and buy the best of everything. And as of yet, I can't justify $90 - $130 for sunglasses.

[Ralph Wiggum]

I'm pretty sure that the 1.1mm is the lens thickness.

[katoguy]

Lens thickness.

I, too, started with polarized glasses from Wal-Mart about 20 years ago. They helped see fish and cover underwater. Then my friend let me use his Costa Del Mars...

The top tier of glasses make a tremendous difference! I am not saying that Costa Del Mars are definitely the best, there are many competitors. I doubt the technology or manufacturing is that different between companies, so getting what you pay for (to some extent) may be very true.

Also, I'd recommend everyone wear fishing glasses. It will help eye fatigue against sun glare/UV and wind. It could also possibly save your sight if a lure or line would be snapped accidently directly into your eyeball. Lens thickness comes into play here.

[RK]

Hiya -

Dunno about the 1.1mm business, but on the subject of sunglasses in general...

Being primarily a muskie fisherman, polarized glasses and spotting fish are HUGELY important for me. Being able to spot fish from a distance makes a big difference in the # of fish I catch per year. So I pay a lot of attention to what I park on my nose.

The other issue though, aside form seeing fish, is optical quality, UV protection, and eye health. A lot of cheap glasses will say they block UV rays. They will block A spectrum UV. So will a piece of colored plastic. But they won't block B and C UV, which is what causes eye fatigue and long term eye damage from prolonged exposure. Generally speaking, to get full UV protection you need to have higher grade glass lenses. Look for glasses that meet ANSI standards. The other argument for higher end shades is eye fatigue. A lot of glasses with carbonate lenses don't have the optical quality they should have. The lenses will be distorted slightly, so your eyes will try to correct for the slightly out of whack image, and you'll get eye fatigue. If you have headaches or 'tired eyes' after a day on the water, that's eye fatigue much of the time.

Really, the best argument for spending the $$ on a high end pair of glasses is eye health. You only get one set of the things. Lots of good glasses on the market, but I've been wearing Ocean Waves the past few years, in the Backwater Green lens color. They've been outstanding. I know the argument will be that it's silly to spend $150 on sunglasses when you just break them or lose them all the time, but when you drop that much $$ on a pair of goggles, you get VERY good at keeping track of them. Plus, if you DO break a pair, most of the companies that sell high end glasses (Ocean Waves, Maui Jim, Costa Del Mar) have very good warranty coverage. When I have to repair my OWs, they get replaced for about 15 bucks more often than not.

Just some thoughts...

Cheers,

Rob Kimm

[SteveWilson]

Well I would say that 1.1mm refers to the lense thickness. As for sun glasses I use a pair of Smith Action Optics with perscription lenses. Even though they're north of $200 I find that quite competative with regular glasses and they are great on the water.

[FlipR70]

Has anyone heard or used Habervision optics? I've heard from a few folks that they're good but I'd like to hear from fishermen (who've used them on the water)

As a 'cheaper' alternative, I have purchased some sunglasses from the Walmart optical department (separate from the main store). These ran about $40 and had very nice optical properties.

If you have questions about spending extra money on good glasses, go to howstuffworks.com (Deitz, feel free to delete this post if this doesn't meet your criteria) and look up sunglasses. They explain why it's better to spend extra $$ to get better lenses.

FlipR70

[ikeslayer]

i would like to say thank you for all of your help with sunglasses. Always nice to shoot a post up and a while later have a dozen responses that are of intelligence as well. thanks ike

[Ralph Wiggum]

This thread got sme started on the hunt for some decent sunglasses. There's a thread I started here looking for some advice.

I ended up with Costa Del Mar Wave Killers in the green mirror lens. They set me back $140. They are amazing, though. I can see better with them on. The definition they give is unreal.