Mako's are good hard waring sunnies with one of the best lens on the market IMO. Are you looking for a copper lens? I have always found grey much better for on the water. Copper is good in low light conditions and also in the snow. Have a look at Maui Jims from the States but don't go plastic as the scratch to easy. Cant comment on the tonic or spotters but have heard good reports about both

 

With private health insurance you essentially get 1 or 2 pair (I can't remember whether its one or two) of glasses for free. Was thinking of getting my optometrist to make me up a pair of polarised sunglasses for a frame that I'll pick out.

Would the $300 ones everyone recommends for fishing, for instance, be better than prescription glasses?

 

I have had a broken lens replaced for a set of makos by an optometrist and they are almost identical (note not prescription ones)

 

Quality makes a real difference. My current pair of spotters (penetrators) are probably my 6th or 7th pair of Polaroids. I've tried a bunch of different brands including Oakley, fish, flying fisherman and others. Spotters are so far beyond the others it's not funny. I regularly see fish that others don't, including a regular fishing buddy who wears makos. They're one of those things, like the electric motor on the stink boat that so fundamentally affect the way I fish that I wouldn't hesitate to replace them immediately if they were lost or broken. I would expect Tonics to be great as well as the company was started by the founder of spotters. I've also heard great things about Maui Jims.

 

I've also heard great things about Maui Jims.

Had a pair. Liked the optics but after a break I didn't like the service. A friend went to Hawaii and offered to take them back there directly. They were replaced, but after the second break, I never replaced them. I am a Costa del Mar convert now and love them. As long as they are not lost they will replace them for life.

I also got a pair of Switch Optics for Christmas. They have replaceable lenses held in by magnets. So far pretty cool. I can swap out lenses (quality glass optics) between amber and PolariZed depending on conditions. 2 sets come w/ the frames and there are also many other lens options. I'm thinking of some shooter yellow lenses for low light MTB.

I'm a firm believer in quality optics. You only get two eyes for life.

 

I will go for Cooper lenses again as i loved them on my old pair of Mako's. After a bit more research i think i am starting to lean more to the Glass copper photochromatic Tonics as the person that owns Tonic used to own Spotters, 8) and from what i have read has made the Tonics as an improvement to the Spotters. I suppose my decision will come down to what are most comfortable on my face for me. Will go and try on a few pairs this week & let you's know how i go.
Paul.

 

Have a look at the Sportsoptics polarised sunnies, I have a pair and they're great quality. They cost from about $99from Sunglassclearancewharehouse.

 

Have a look at a company called "costa del mar" they are sold at tackleworld best sunnies ive ever bought they realy cut through the water scratch proof great after sales service if u do actually manage to break them I stood on mine and the tackleshop got me a new pair one of the things that sold me was the tackleshop guy grabbed his keys and tried to scratch them and couldn't also if u order online they can put any frame with any lens colour pretty cool

 

With private health insurance you essentially get 1 or 2 pair (I can't remember whether its one or two) of glasses for free. Was thinking of getting my optometrist to make me up a pair of polarised sunglasses for a frame that I'll pick out.

Would the $300 ones everyone recommends for fishing, for instance, be better than prescription glasses?

Depends on your health insurance I guess but how much you have to spend will vary widely between insurers (from what I've seen it is usually not 1 free pair of any glasses you like, it is a set amount to claim back).

I'm discussing if both glasses are in prescription: It is arguable and depends hugely on the glasses you're comparing. Companies like Spotters and Tonic put alot bit into making a quality lens and frame. I'd say they'd be comparable with a few considerations: from my experience decent 'prescription glasses' (sunglasses) are expensive , i.e $650+. Also, you will be stuck to what frames they can supply, and to me a proper wrap around which blocks out the glare from the side is very important. If you supply your own frames they'll still charge fairly heavy for doing the lenses (may still be cost effective if you can get decent frames cheap somewhere though) and bear in mind, depending on your prescription they may simply not be able to make a prescription lens for your chosen frames (talk to your optometrist first, the very common heavily curved frames can be a big problem). Also, available tint colour comes into play depending on what you target.

You can probably get a 2 for 1 OPSM deal type pair of sunglasses for not much more than your health rebate which will be basic black tint, polarised and a basic non wrap around frame. If you don't need your health insurance rebate for regular/driving glasses then I don't see any reason not to give a set a try still and see if you like em. You can always use them for driving if they suck on the water.

What I use and my vote goes to prescription Tonics (Around $400 ish) with polycarbonate type lenses. Great clarity, no distortion and despite being 'hardened plastic' lenses not a sign of any lens damage in over 18 months of daily use. I purchased on price and am happy with what I got, nearly half the cost of some others so If they do get lost then it doesn't hurt quite as much.

You'll pay around $650 for prescription spotters (glass lens though)

Whether you can get prescription fishing glasses covered by your health insurance company is another question...some may only cover optometrist supplied glasses.

 

I deal with all the sunglass companies with my job and yes the brands mentioned above are all great. In my view Costa and Tonic are currently the pick of the bunch closely followed by Spotters & Mako.

Only problem is that I just lost my pair of Tonics on the weekend (went for a swim in the surf with them on my head,,, d'oh). Lucky I have a half dozen backups, (other brands) but I loved the Tonics so will miss them.

Most important thing is to get a pair that FITS YOUR HEAD. Many brands/styles simply don't suit your head shape and in no time will start to hurt. Get a pair that doesnt dig in behind your ears, and doesn't slide down your nose when your face is covered in sunscreen. Treat them well, keep them in a soft case and don't swim with them!!

 

Plenty of great brands there and DaveyG is right if they don't fit nice then they suck.

I got a pair of Barz Floaters recently, they carve through water glare better than my previous sunnies and I may be able to keep them longer because they float.

Cheers

 

Well ok ..I ended up getting a pair of Tonic's with the Lens Glass | High Contrast Copper Bronze Photochromic . The best fit for me was the Bono's. They where a great price to. Can't wait to test them out next week at Swains Reef.
Paul

 

Good choice. I'm sure you'll love the Tonics.

 

I won a pair of Tonics on Facebook and received them Friday.

They are yellow/amber coloured lenses and their performance in low light on Saturday morning was excellent.

The frames are extremely light too, which made them comfortable to wear for nearly 7 hours.

My current pair has been some grey lensed spotters. They're also high quality sunnies and are excellent in very bright light, but I think that has more to do with lens colour. Their frame is good too, but not as comfortable as the tonics, which retails for about $80 more than the pair of spotters I have.

Joel