Top Boating and Fishing Sunglasses
Picking the right pair of sunglasses is crucial for optimizing your boating and fishing experience. Depending on what activity or type of fishing you may be doing on the water, the wrong pair of sunglasses can make or break your experience. Whether you’re looking to purchase your first pair of shades or upgrade your current pair, you’ve come to the right place.
Before we dive into the top brands, it’s important to note and understand some essential sunglass features that can dramatically enhance your perception and protect your eyes.
Polarization
Polarization is arguably the most important feature when being on the water – no matter what activity you are doing. All sunglass lenses are made to protect from UV rays; however, polarized lenses are formulated with an additional chemical filter. When light hits a reflective surface, such as water, the light becomes polarized, meaning the light molecules scatter in different directions. The vertical light waves are absorbed into the reflective surface, while the horizontal light waves bounce off the surface and cause what we know as glare. The chemical filter used in polarized lenses is made with certain molecules that only vibrate in a vertical direction, allowing it to block out these glare-causing horizontal light waves.
UV Blocking
UV blocking is another crucial factor for both eye health and enhanced perception. Ultraviolet rays, known as UV rays, are a form of electromagnetic radiation emitted by the sun that have a wavelength up to 400nm. There are two kinds of UV rays that reach the Earth’s surface: UVA and UVB. When looking at the specification of a pair of sunglasses, you want to ensure that they are marked as UV400. UV400 means that the lenses block out both UVA and UVB, meaning your eyes will be shielded from 100% of the harmful UV rays.
Lens Tint
The different lens colors for fishing sunglasses are designed to help you spot fish in different environments, depending on the type of fishing you are doing and the light conditions. The proper lens color can enhance contrast, depth perception, and color awareness, as well as aid the polarization filter in cutting any glare. Tinted lenses come in a variety of colors and can be gradient or solid. Lenses can also be made out of glass or polycarbonate (plastic) – each have their own separate advantages, with plastic lenses being known to be the significantly cheaper option.
Best lens colors for boating and fishing sunglasses:
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Neutral
Neutral lenses are grey and are the most versatile of all the lens colors. The color grey allows a uniform amount of light through. Additionally, a grey tint doesn’t change color perception and allows you to see true-to-world color instead. If you’re headed to open waters and need to prioritize light-blocking over color enhancement, grey is the best lens for fishing.
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Contrast-enhancing
Copper, rose, and brown tints are your high-contrast lenses. Ideal for inshore fishing where you need to spot and track fish, these lenses boost contrast to better define color in flats, beds, and shallow water. They’re still protective, but not so dark that they can’t transition between sunny and cloudy weather.
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Low-light
Low-light lenses often have a yellow, copper, or amber base to help reduce blue light. They also brighten your environment when you’re out at dawn, dusk, or on a particularly overcast day.
Mirror Coating
Mirror coating color is not to be mistaken with lens tint. Mirror coatings are applied to the front side of the lens to reflect light and provide even more sun protection. By reflecting the light rays, the mirror coating also reduces eyestrain and fatigue, while preventing them from damage.
For avid anglers, the color of both their lenses and mirror coating depends on the type of fishing and the depth and color of the water. Taking note of the various factors of your fishing environment through the color of your lenses will transform your sunglasses into a performance-enhancing tool.
Best mirror coating colors for boating and fishing sunglasses:
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Blue Mirror
Blue mirror lenses match the color of the deep ocean water, which allows for the reflection of more light away from your eyes, helping to cut glare and reduce eye strain. Blue mirror lenses are the best choice for offshore and deep-sea fishing.
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Green Mirror
Green mirror lenses provide minimal color distortion and enhanced contrast. So, they can brighten shadows while minimizing glare. A great lens color for sight fishing. Green mirror lenses are the best choice when you’re fishing inshore or on flats.
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Orange Mirror
The orange mirror lens helps block more of the orange light often seen in the early morning or late evenings, allowing for better contrast and clearer vision at these times. Orange mirror lenses are good for lower-light fishing around dawn and dusk but are still effective in brighter conditions.
Now that we have the key factors of what makes a quality pair of shades down, let’s dive into some of the best sunglasses for boating and fishing on the market today.
Costa Del Mar – Fishing and Boating Sunglasses
Costa Del Mar translates to coast by the sea but is most commonly known as and called just Costa. Costa offers a plethora of high-quality sunglasses that will fit any of your aquatic or outdoor activity needs. Costa only sells polarized sunglasses, so no need to worry about that factor when shopping their brand. Costa also provides 580 lenses, which is a multi-patented glass lens technology that manages light. 580G lenses absorb harmful high-energy blue light (HEV), which cuts haze and blur for greater clarity. It also enhances reds, greens, and blues by blocking harsh yellow light, which not only enhances color but also creates a sharper contrast and higher definition. Costa also offers their 580 lens technology in a polycarbonate option. 580P lenses are lightweight and impact resistant. They are also cheaper than the 580G.
Men’s top seller:
Frame color: Blackout
Lenses: Blue Mirror Polarized Glass 580G (Very bright sun; offshore fishing)
Size: XL
Fit: Regular
Nose Bridge: High bridge fit
Price: $273
Our men’s pick:
Frame color: Matte Steel Gray Metallic
Lenses: Blue Mirror Polarized Glass 580G (Very bright sun; offshore fishing)
Size: XL
Fit: Regular
Nose Bridge: High bridge fit
Price: $273
Women’s top seller:
Frame color: Matte Tortoise
Lenses: Green Mirror Polarized Glass 580G (Variable light; sight-fishing & inshore)
Size: M
Fit: Regular
Nose Bridge: High bridge fit
Price: $262
Our women’s pick:
Frame color: Rose Gold
Lenses: Blue Mirror Polarized Glass 580G (Very bright sun; offshore fishing)
Size: M
Fit: Narrow
Nose Bridge: Adjustable Nosepads
Price: $305
Bajío – Fishing and Boating Outdoor Sunglasses
Bajío, Spanish for the shallows, is the world in which the brand lives and strives to protect – it’s both their passion and namesake. Bajío is an independent brand that is motivated by its profound connection to the water and drive to inspire positive changes. They pride themselves on their radically clear lenses and plant-based frames. Their lenses use proprietary Lapis technology, which blocks 95% of blue light up to 440 nm, as well as the majority of intense yellow light at its peak of 580 nm. Offering 23 unisex products, Bajío has a wide selection of lens colors, while offering both glass and polycarbonate lens materials. The pricing of Bajío sunglasses is quite simple: $199 for polycarbonate lenses and $249 for glass lenses.
Best seller:
Frame color: Dark Tort Gloss
Lenses: Grey Polarized Polycarbonate (Variable light; sight-fishing & inshore)
Size: L
Nose Bridge: High bridge fit
Price: $199
Our pick for men:
Frame color: Black Permit Tail
Lenses: Blue Mirror Polarized Glass (Very bright sun; offshore fishing)
Size: XL
Nose Bridge: High bridge fit
Price: $249
Our pick for women:
Frame color: Tinta Tort Gloss
Lenses: Grey Polarized Polycarbonate
Size: Large
Nose Bridge: Proprietary non-slip rubber nose pads
Price: $199
Smith – Sunglasses for Boating and Fishing
Smith Optics was founded in 1965 by Dr. Bob Smith, orthodontist and original ski bum, who developed the first sealed thermal lens and breathable vent foam. He hand-built goggles in his garage and sold them out of his van on weekend ski trips in Utah and Colorado. Today, Smith offers more than just goggles, including sunglasses, snow helmets, bike helmets, apparel, and accessories. Smith displays unisex products for fishing, snow, road cycling, mountain biking, running, and surfing. Proprietary ChromaPop technology filters blue, green, and red specific crossovers, allowing for greater definition, natural color, and clarity. Additionally, certain sunglass and goggle models offer Smith MAG technology, which grants you the flexibility to swap out your lenses, allowing you to choose the appropriate pair of lenses based on the ever-changing environment and weather.
Best seller:
Guide’s Choice
Frame color: Tortoise
Lenses: ChromaPop Glass Polarized Green Mirror (Variable light; sight-fishing & inshore)
Size: M/L
Nose Bridge: Megol temple and nose pads provide a non-slip grip
Price: $269
Our men’s pick:
Spinner
Frame color: Matte Black
Lenses: ChromaPop Glass Polarized Blue Mirror (Very bright sun; offshore fishing)
Size: L
Nose Bridge: Megol temple and nose pads provide a non-slip grip
Price: $209
Our women’s pick:
Lowdown Slim 2
Frame color: Tortoise
Lenses: ChromaPop Polarized Violet Mirror Lens (Very bright sun; offshore fishing)
Size: M
Nose Bridge: Megol temple and nose pads provide a non-slip grip
Price: $199
WileyX – Outdoor Sunglasses for Fishing and Boating
Veteran-founded and family-owned since 1987, WileyX offers an array of men’s and women’s sunglasses. Priding themselves on their tactical nature, WileyX has shades for outdoor activities, including fishing, shooting, and hunting. Using their CAPTIVATE lens technology, WileyX sunglasses are polarized to fight glare and come in multiple colors for situation-specific benefits. They are exceptionally clear, shatterproof, and ANSI Z87.1+ rated, providing premium protection for boating and fishing.
Men’s top seller:
Lenses: Shatterproof Selenite™ Polycarbonate lenses that meet the MIL-PRF-32432(GL) ballistic standards: ANSI Z87.1 optical clarity and high mass/high-velocity impact standards: as well as US Federal OSHA 1910.133(b)(1)(1) standards; T-Shell™ Lens coating
Nose Bridge: Adjustable take flight nose piece accommodates any face/nose bridge
Price: $72
Our men’s pick:
Frame color: Matte Black
Lenses: CAPTIVATE™ Polarized Blue Mirror (Very bright sun; offshore fishing)
Nose Bridge: Flexible rubber nose pad
Price: $180
Women’s top seller:
Frame color: Gloss Black
Lenses: CAPTIVATE™ Polarized Green Mirror (Variable light; sight-fishing & inshore)
Nose Bridge: Dual-injected nose bridge
Price: $180
Our women’s pick:
Frame color: Gloss Clear Crystal
Lenses: CAPTIVATE™ Polarized Blue Mirror (Very bright sun; offshore fishing)
Price: $180
Maui Jim – Fishing and Boating Sunglasses
The story of Maui Jim began in 1987 on Ka’anapali beach in Lahaina, Maui. In the beginning, Maui Jim only offered 7 styles of sunglasses, fast forward to today and you can find over 125 styles of sunglasses. Maui Jim engineered the revolutionary PolarizedPlus2® lens, which protects the eyes from intense glare and harmful UV while bringing the brilliant colors of the island to life. Whatever your activity or lifestyle may be, Maui Jim most likely has you covered, including golf, fishing, running, driving, hiking, tennis, and water sports. Additionally, Maui Jim became a part of Kering Eyewear in 2022, which belongs to the global Luxury group Kering. Kering Eyewear designs, develops, and distributes eyewear for a complete and well-balanced portfolio of brands including LINDBERG, Gucci, Cartier, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Chloé, Alexander McQueen, Montblanc, Brioni, Dunhill, Boucheron, Pomellato, Alaia, MCQ, and Puma.
Men’s top seller:
Frame color: Black Gloss with Antique Pewter
Lenses: Polarized MauiPure Hawaii Lava lenses with red mirror coating
Size: Average size frame
Price: $316
Our men’s pick:
Frame color: Blue Black Stripe
Lenses: Polarized SuperThin Glass Blue Hawaii lenses with blue mirror coating
Size: Average size frame
Price: $262
Women’s top seller:
Frame color: Rose Gold
Lenses: Polarized MauiPure Maui Sunrise lenses with pink mirror coating
Size: Narrower frame front and shorter temples
Price: $316
Our women’s pick:
Honi
Frame color: Sunset
Lenses: Polarized SuperThin Glass Maui Rose
Size: Narrower frame front and shorter temples
Price: $316
Oakley – Outdoor Boating and Fishing Sunglasses
The overall purpose of Oakley is to enhance sports performance, ranging from football to cycling, baseball, gaming, fishing, golf, snow, and skating. As for products, they sell sunglasses, eyeglasses, goggles, and shields. Additionally, Oakley has Prizm lens technology on select models of sunglasses, which enhances color and contrast so that you can see more detail. Oakley lenses are designed and tested under extreme high mass and high-velocity circumstances to ensure uncompromising protection across a wide range of demanding conditions.
Best seller:
Frame color: Matte Black Lightweight O Matter™ frame
Lenses: Prizm Sapphire Polarized Lenses (Very bright sun; offshore fishing)
Size: XL
Price: $152
Our men’s pick:
Frame color: Polished Black Lightweight O Matter™ frame
Lenses: Prizm Prizm Golf Lenses Lenses
Size: XL
Price: $211
Our women’s pick:
Frame color: Matte Grey Ink frame
Lenses: Prizm Sapphire Lenses
Size: Regular
Price: $162
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