doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com The best hunting sunglasses?

Aging means eye challenges (sadly) and using technology to surmount those challenges is, of course, one answer.

My hunting glasses are also my fly-fishing glasses so those unique needs make me quite particular. They must be fully polarized and they must fit flawlessly. The amount of light they let in is critical as well because low-light conditions are common to both pursuits. I managed to lose a good pair of Costas up here this year (still not sure how, dammit!) that I'd settled on for such duties (Sunrise mirrored w/580 glass). To replace my Costas, I dug-in and did a little online research. Smith doesn't make Low-light Ignitors any longer and my last pair of those gave up the ghost a while back now.

I'm also price-sensitive (i.e., cheap) because I do tend to be a bit hard on them (see above). I just received my 1st pair of Sanofans today (from an on-line purchase) and I must say that I'm impressed with them, at least so-far. They aren't terribly expensive but they don't seem cheaply made (at least their packaging is 1st rate). Sadly, they are not glass lenses and they are "photo-grey" meaning that they darken in direct sunlight but the company owner and designer, Stefan Rohlfing, claims that they are the best "low-light'" option available. His write-up for them and the comparisons he used (to the other options in this particular market) was compelling enough for me to try them out (I normally wouldn't). Time will tell, of course, but hopefully I will get to use them here before I depart for home.

Back in the day I had multiple pairs of Zeiss shooting glasses. IIRC, yellow lenses for low light, red for higher contrast and grey for midday. Over the years, I've only got the yellow left, and this year they performed nicely dove hunting at the end of the day. I have no idea what they would cost now (or if they are even still made) and given all the improvements in optics, coating, glass, and materials science generally, I'm quite confident that today's mid-range products (in terms of price) are superior to the best of the best of years past (and that today's Zeiss, etc. high end stuff better yet).

And, to your price point, my middle age son, also hard on gear, left his high end designer sunglasses his wife had given him as a present safely packed away and used cheapo gas station sunglasses. But he had eyes like a hawk as a kid and, still, pushing 40, picks up stuff faster than I do. Oh well, his day will come . . .

I use polarized glasses for a lot of things including fishing in general activity. But I only use them for hunting for under extremely high-light conditions and wide open spaces. In other words pheasant hunting and duck hunting, and then only maybe. I don't want any tint at all when I am grouse hunting with deep shade or broken sunlight.

I take good care of my glasses, so Maui Jim, Ranger Edge, and similar are my normal choices.

Another, less expensive, pair that I like are sold by Orvis and are extremely light, polarized, and have diopter readers in the bottom, but they are amber. Good for fishing. And only around $100 or so.

I generally use my everyday polarized lenses for shooting and fishing, but I still find color important. For instance, I always use brown lenses for saltwater fishing and everyday wear. However, on the rare days I play golf, I absolutely can't pick up a golf ball against a hazy blue sky with them. For those situations I us dark gray. I generally use Oakley frames with prescription lenses. (They are available through optical shops and cost less with prescription lenses than the plain over the counter Oakley sold at golf shops and sunglass vendors.

Don't shoot it much anymore, but when I was really active in Sporting back in the early days, I bought a pair of Randolph Ranger titanium frames from an optician in Columbus and eventually had 6 or 7 sets of lenses. I suppose they are still made. At the time they had become the standard military issue for pilots and featured instant change lenses. It took all of 10 seconds to change a set out. This guy was the go to supplier for most of the top sporting shooters and he custom coated lenses for different target colors and different settings/backgrounds (trees, backgrounds, rocks, sky colors etc). It sounds like a sales hype, but I never had better target acquisition times in my life. Having the color tuned to the target and background was incredible. It was like the target was lighted.

I actually still have the glasses. They are over 40 years old and in good condition, only needed the eyebrow bar pad and one nose pad replacement. I wouldn't have any idea now where to buy replacement prescription lenses (which I have always worn). The only competitive shooting I do now is benchrest rifle, and they are not needed for that.

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No idea if they are the best but Oakley makes a high contrast lens in a variety of tints for numerous frames.
Flak 2.0 is a good frame model.

Look up Prizm Polarized Technology. Should serve double duty.

For sporting in woodland shade, I use prizm Golf (non polarized)
Orange and Neon Green targets just pop. A pheasant rooster flushed while i had these on and I thought the red was spray paint.
They are surreal when you look at a cell phone screen.

Really bright days, prism field (as in MLB) and fishing polarized deep blue. Yes cuts the surface glare to near zero.

You will get reverse racoon effect on sunny days as it blocks UV 100%. A pair of titanium Maui Jim polarized would be my second choice for water centric.

Sunny days get a set of Ray Ban frames with lenses the optometrist sends out, brown lens with blue tint on top of that. I have my reader prescription on the lower half, at least for the last decade or so. They are expensive, and I take care of them. In daily use in the truck, also. Cloudy days get a set of prescription safety glasses with a shade of yellow tint my eye doc helped me pick. They help dramatically, and, again, the last few years they have gotten the line across the lens for my reader prescription.

I was never able to do the “lineless “ lenses, the sharp line helps me find the readers quickly.

I’ve worn glasses my whole life. There would be no point in going hunting, or, fishing, without them.

Best,
Ted

I very seldom wear sunglasses when hunting. Doves and ducks, never. Reflection off the lenses will flare a dove/duck 1/4 mile away.

I like a lime green lens for bird shooting. While they do next to nothing to enhance color they are terrific for enhancing contrast (at least for me) which is what I am looking for. Maybe they help me because I'm somewhat red green color blind....I don't know?? But, the lime greens are the ticket for me for live bird shooting!

Buying glasses of any type is an overly expensive proposition since they have become a fashion statement. I splurged on a pair of sunglasses that cost me $350. I really liked the soft grey tint and they were gentle on my eyes. Unfortunately my truck was broken into and the glasses disappeared. I searched high and low but the glasses had been discontinued. Finally I found a pair in France no less. All in with shipping cost me $50. Moral of the story. There isn't one. Buy what you want when you want is the modus operandi.