First, I need to say, I never would have bought these glasses. I am cheap. I break things. I usually buy sunglasses that are polarized and less than $30 so when I break them or lose them I don’t stroke out.
You know that feeling you get when you realize that you just broke or lost something that was valuable? I buy cheap sunglasses so I can confine that head-hanging feeling to my skill at destroying or losing waterproof digital cameras (I’m on number 4 for the past 6 years).
However, currently, I have a pair of Costa Del Mar Zane’s (Matte Black finish, Silver Mirror Glass).
These shades were given to me to sport and review and my cost was $0. These shades retail for a pretty penny, something around $239, making them two Benjamins more pricey than I’ve put down for sunglasses in a while.
That said, these glasses = sweetness. I wear them just about every day and certainly every time I go fishing. I have not had a chance to get them out on the flats just yet, but I have had them in still water, urban streams, mountain streams, Disneyland, swim lessons, various parks, one princess birthday party for a three year old and a couple thousand miles of highways and freeways.
The construction of these glasses is superb. The lenses are glass, although they don’t feel heavy. My lenses are unscratched and the frames look as if they just came out of the package. They look great, they work well and they are my constant companions.
I understand why someone would buy these glasses. I might even recommend that YOU buy these glasses. If you do, you’ll be supporting a company that has gotten behind conservation in Belize and the upcoming film project project Itu’s Bones, just to name a couple of their very cool projects (another would be the Permit tagging program with the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust). I’d be a fan of Costa Del Mar even if I didn’t have my Zane’s and I was sporting a pair of whatever was cheapest and polarized up at the Ted Fay Fly Shop.
Costa Del Mar… I’m a fan.