Sport Sunglasses

Reviewed by KiwiKlimber

A little bit of fashion meets a little bit of adventure. The Slack Tides have some limited flexibility but they make up for it in generous padding and lightweight design. The Green Mirror lens offers unprecedented contrast.

Testing:  During the spring, summer and early autumn, I tested three different styles of Costa sunglasses (Rincondo, Slack Tide, and Rincon). Each featured a different lens and frame, allowing me to test multiple variables when considering Costa sunglasses. This test is for the Costa Slack Tide with Green Mirror polycarbonate lenses. You’ll see a comparison to the other two at the end of the review.   Conditions:  For three warm-weather seasons, I wore the Costa Slack Tide sunglasses while fly fishing, hiking, and scouting for whitetail deer and elk, as well as everyday uses like casual bike rides.      Construction and Features: The Costa Slack Tides are a little more casual looking than most adventure sunglasses, but don’t let that...

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Reviewed by Alicia MacLeay

The Waterwoman 2 sunglasses are Costa's widest, largest coverage sport option specifically for women. I've used my pair for more than a year and find them well-made, durable, and comfortable in a range of outdoor settings. As the name states, the Waterwoman 2's are designed for being on the water—fishing, paddling, boating—but don't get hung up on the name. With multiple lens and frame options, plus prescription, I consider them an excellent, versatile outdoor option both on and off the water.

  Costa Waterwoman 2 Fit The Waterwoman 2 sunglasses are a larger, wider version of Costa's original Waterwoman (still offered). There isn't a directly comparable men's model, but Costa offers many men's sports performance sunglasses. Size: Costa lists these frames as a woman's XL size. (For comparison, the Waterwoman is medium size.) Fit: Costa calls these a wide frame fit. Check out my pictures and note that I don't have a small head.  (The Waterwoman is a narrow frame.) morning hike/birding/photography (Connecticut) Their size is a standout feature, and at first I noticed how big these sunglasses are.

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Featured review by KiwiKlimber

The Costa Rincon is a sunglass frame for those with a larger-than-average head size, but it doesn't look excessively large and bulky. The West Coast style has a lot of lens coverage and ample rubber padding that ensure the large frames don't slip. A close cousin of the Rincondo and Rinconcito models, but it offers the largest frame of the bunch.

Testing:  During the spring, summer, and autumn, I tested three different styles of Costa sunglasses (Rincondo, Slack Tide, and Rincon). Each featured a different lens and frame, allowing me to test multiple variables when considering Costa sunglasses. This test is for the Costa Rincon Blue Lightwave Glass lenses. You’ll see a comparison to the other two at the end of the review. Conditions:  For three seasons, I wore the Costa Rincon sunglasses while at the beach, on a fishing trip, and during several day hikes, as well as everyday uses like driving and walking around town, and sitting on the back porch watching the sun go down.

Read more: Costa Rincon reviews (2)

Reviewed by D Mizelle

Great sunglasses. My second pair by Suncloud, same lens type. Good all around even though amber tint.

I have two pair of Suncloud glasses. I liked the older, discontinued Whip model so much that I bought a second pair, the Voucher, when I saw REI had them on sale. Not much to say except they are decent all around glasses. They are especially good for driving or hiking. Just enough amber tint to make for better clarity. I'm not sure how many know this but Suncloud is a Smith Optics brand so if you don't care to spend top dollar it's a bargain version from an awesome company. Suncloud Voucher on left, Suncloud Whip on the right

Read more: Suncloud Voucher review (1)

Reviewed by Heresthedeal

Extremely comfortable. light weight and exceptional clarity. I bought these at a German PX, paid for them in euros so they cost me a bit more than they would have online, but they are worth it.

I'm gonna keep this short. They fit great, not too tight but they stay put. If you are gonna try to adjust them be careful, i did do some minor adjustment to the nose pieces, but that was it. The main thing i liked about these glasses was the fact that they stayed put, even with driving and riding on some of the roughest roads in the world at speeds that would and have bounced other glasses off my head, these stayed put. I wore them to the range more times than i could count and never once worried about the lenses. I've had sand and small stones bounce off of them with no noticeable damage. Plus, they look cool. not too big, not too small. Nice glasses.

Read more: Oakley Whisker review (1)

Reviewed by Andy Gotto

The Ryders Nelsons are a very light and comfortable pair of sunglasses that are well suited to high energy activity. Designed for cyclists, the Nelson's strengths carry over well into trail running and hiking.

Types of Lenses Ryders offers several varieties of lens technology for different conditions and activities. Offered are Photochromics that adjust tint for different brightness levels, antiFog tech that fights fogged lenses, Polarized lenses for maximum clarity, veloPOLAR’s that are polarized without optical anomalies, and various combinations of the technology. There is a breakdown of the advantages to each on their site, and the information is presented in a clear and concise manner. Ryder’s has a great website at www.ryderseyewear.com with tons of info, which is often sorely lacking in outdoor products.  The lenses tested were the veloPolar antiFOG Grey [14% VLT.]  This is one of the darkest lenses offered by Ryders.  veloPolar The...

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Reviewed by Herdingcats

I don't think sunglasses can be made any better than this. They are so lightweight, you forget that you're wearing them. Not only do they protect your eyes from all forms of UV, but they're a hardened acrylic that has protected my eyes from bushwhacking twigs, shell casings, and high speed flying pebbles. Fantastic!

Choices choices... it seems that getting good performance is always a tradeoff; there's always some downside, right? That said, I really don't think sunglasses can be made any better than these. The only downside I see to these glasses stems from the fact that the titanium frame is thin, has no hinges and is designed to hold on to your head and face using a light spring-like pressure. As such, you can't fold these glasses into your pocket without risk of damage. So, storage requires the Maui Jim special case which is annoyingly big.

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Reviewed by David Link

The best value in sport shades going these days.

I have actually owned three pairs of these glasses. I still have two of them... one pair for hiking and one for cycling.  I had been looking for a good quality pair of shades for hiking, but didn't want to spend a fortune. Some of the glasses reviewed in major outdoor magazines can cost in excess of two-hundred dollars! But I saw a couple of reviews of these, so decided to give them a try. They fit great right out of the box, and came with three lenses. Brown, AC (all conditions) Red, and Clear.

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Featured review by Jeff B

Superb optics and great fit. Super lightweight. Great for running and biking.

The Parallel frame wraps my face snugly leaving no gaps for air to sneak in. I have a smaller face (apparently) as Smith "medium" glasses usually fit me well.  The frame measures 135mm from temple to temple hinge. My first outing with these was in full sun on snow. The brown polarized lenses are excellent. Cuts glare and enhances contrast. The Ignitor lenses are fantastic for overcast days or transitioning in and out of shaded tree cover to open areas. A hard zippered case was included with mine. This was not mentioned in the product description so it was a nice unexpected bonus.

Read more: Smith Parallel reviews (3)

Reviewed by Janice Cipriano

The Ombraz armless sunglasses are—without competition—the best pair of shades I’ve worn. And I have owned a lot of shades, because an active lifestyle tends to destroy sunglasses.

Sunglasses can be frustrating, because my active lifestyle tends to destroy sunglasses. They’ve fallen off my face on runs and hikes; I’ve lost countless pairs in lakes and rivers (even while wearing Croakies). I’ve never dared to take a pair of sunglasses climbing for fear of watching them plummet to their doom while checking out my footwork. But Ombraz has taken a new approach to the athlete’s shades, creating a pair that has no arms, just an adjustable strap attached to the frames that tightens down on the back of your head.

Read more: Ombraz Classics review (1)