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Optics For The Outdoors
Terry Lacoss
Outdoorsmen now have a variety of choices when choosing sunglasses for fishing, hunting and outdoor sports. The right choice can make a huge difference in your sporting success!
Its no secret, choosing the right pair of sunglasses can make a huge difference in your outdoor sporting success. Advantages include seeing fish under the surface of the water, taking the glare from the surface of your targeted fishing waters, seeing trolling lines better so they don't become tangled and making speedy game birds standout on a dark overcast day.
Unfortunately too many outdoorsmen make hasty choices when selecting a pair of sunglasses for the outdoors. Many are more apt to purchase the $8 to $14 pair of sunglasses over a quality pair, which may cost over $100.00. However if you look at most of the outdoorsmen that have been successful in their particular sport, they often can be seen wearing a quality pair of sunglasses.
"There is a simple solution to losing an expensive pair of sunglasses, and that is purchasing a pair of cords," Dave Workman, Jr. said. "I have several pairs of Costa Del Mar prescription sunglasses that I avoid losing by simply using cords for sunglasses. Sure, when you wear them around your neck, your sunglasses become a catch-all, but you certainly avoid losing them!"
Dave Workman, Jr., a three-time SKA Angler of the Year, operates the Strike Zone sporting goods store located in Jacksonville, Florida.
"Unfortunately I have a stigmatism in my eyes that requires me to wear prescription sunglasses," Workman said. "I keep several pairs of Costa Del Mar prescription sunglasses on board my Mercury powered Donzi tournament boat to aid me in seeing both bait-fish and deep under the surface of the water."
"During the early morning hours when there are normally low-light conditions, I wear the green-mirrored lens to help me see baitfish better when both cast netting close into the beaches and inlets. The green-mirrored lens also helps me see cigar minnows offshore when jigging for live baits. As the sun brightens up the day, I will switch to blue-mirrored lens that help me identify my trolling lines and any feeding activity that may take place on the surface."
Quality sunglasses are not only designed to help outdoorsmen see better, but more importantly they are designed to protect your eyes.
Captain Don Dingman hosts the TV fishing show, "Hook the Future" where Ocean Waves Sunglasses actually gives a pair of Ocean Waves sunglasses to each and every child that participates on the Captain Dingman's TV show!
"The first words that come out of their mouths when given a pair of Ocean Waves sunglasses is 'Wow'," Captain Dingman said. "So many times parents make sure that their children's skin is protected from the sun by applying sun block. However they often leave their children's eyes unprotected."
"Ocean Wave sunglasses are made from B-270, super-white crown glass, which is the purest, hardest and most uniform glass you can get. The results are the sharpest, distortion-free images and optimum durability that you can get from a pair of sunglasses."
New from Ocean Waves Sunglasses in 2005 are the "Convertibles", which include the Avenger, Slayer and Viper frames. Each frame converts from a regular frame to a frame with a detachable foam piece, detachable temples and temple tips, and a detachable strap. This allows sunglasses to be converted from practical sport glasses to fashionable shades in moments.
Jack Healan, an avid outdoorsman, wears special sunglasses while participating in one of his favorite sports, quail hunting.
"I wear a special pair of Bausch and Lomb sport sunglasses that have detachable lenses," Jack Healan said. "I rely on the bright yellow lenses when shooting quail, because they make flying game standout, particularly on an overcast day. They also come with amber lenses that I will normally use for fishing so that I can see fish under the surface of the water better!"
"I have a problem when tying knots and reading," Roland Martin said. "My Ono's sunglasses are bifocals that allow me to tie a knot in a hurry and at the same time see largemouth bass and other species of game fish in shallow water. I prefer the amber lens for sight fishing, but will switch to brighter blue mirrored lens while trolling for saltwater game fish."
"The neat deal about Ono's sunglasses is that the bifocal lens are lower than most bifocal glasses. This way they actually don't get in your way when you are looking through the regular lens. Ono's sunglasses have also installed prescription lenses in my bifocal sunglasses, which help me with distances, especially when looking for game fish moving in shallow water."
Roland Martin is a nine time Angler of the Year on the Bass Masters tournament trail, and hosts one of the best how-to TV fishing shows viewed on the Outdoor Network.
However, the first step in taking proper care by selecting the right pair of sunglasses is simply getting your eyes checked by a local optometrist.
"During a regular eye examination, we first check to see if your eyes are healthy," Dr. Tony Stubits said. "Then we check the strength of both eyes to see if prescription glasses or contact lens are needed."
"Here the patient has two options: wearing prescription sunglasses, or wearing contact lenses."
Fishermen can select a mirrored glass lens with single vision. While both near and distance prescriptions may not be offered in mirrored lens by most optical companies, outdoorsmen do have the option of visiting their local pharmacy or major optical store and purchasing optional press on bifocals.
This is always a concern when wearing regular prescription sunglasses, which include seeing both at distances and close up, especially when trying to tie a knot or thread a fishing line through a tiny fishing rod guide. Reading fishing charts and your boat gauges can also be a major problem.
After several years of wearing prescription sunglasses, I simply became frustrated with having to wear a variety of prescription sunglasses for my outdoor sporting needs.
After an annual check up with Dr. Tony Stubits of Coastal Vision Center recently, he decided that contact lenses would better fit all of my optical needs for the outdoors.
"We can set you up with mono vision, which means one contact lens will be used for reading, while the other contact lens will help you with distances," Dr. Stubits said. "Then you will be able to wear the sunglasses of your choice."
Obviously I had to conquer the handling problems that contact lens come with. However after a few days of installing them first thing in the morning and removing them before going to bed at night, I was totally satisfied with my new contact lens.
Contact lens can also come with UV protection and be polarized too.
"Bausch and Lomb has teamed up with Nike and developed sports contact lenses," Dr. Tony Stubits said. "These special contact lens help the baseball standout for baseball players, and for golfers the golf ball becomes much easier to see. They also come tinted, are UV protected and polarized too."
Finally, make sure that your sunglasses have both polarization and have complete UV protection.
For more information on Ocean Waves sunglasses, visit
http://www.oceanwaves.com.
For information on Ono's sunglasses visit
http://www.onostradingcompany.com.
For Costa Del Mar sunglasses, visit
http://www.costadelmar.com.
For information on contact lenses, visit
http://www.bausch.com or
http://www.nikevision.com.
For more information on both prescription sunglasses and contact lenses call Coastal Vision Center, (904) 261-5741.
