Outdoor-Ready Eyewear: Four Sunglasses for Fishing

Sunglasses that will protect your eyes, keep your vision clear, and, crucially, stay on your face. (Katherine Hanlon via Unsplash/)

If you’re ever forgotten your sunglasses while fishing on a sunny spring or summer afternoon, you know that you might as well pack up your gear and call it a today. Because if you’re sight fishing without glasses, you’re effectively casting blind. And even if you’re not sight fishing, it’s zero fun to spend an entire day squinting as you tie knots and change lures. We’ve found four pairs of outdoor-ready eyewear from across the price spectrum—several of which are so cheap, you can buy a pair to leave in your glovebox, tackle box, and fly vest, so you’re never caught without shades again.

High-quality budget sport shades. (Amazon/)

You’d be hard-pressed to beat the Ryders Seventh when it comes to reasonably priced sport sunglasses. The impact-resistant, semi-rim shades boast UV 400 protection and weigh about 2.4 ounces. They also have scratch-resistant finish and adjustable, hydrophilic nose pad and temple tips. The glasses come in several lens options, including polarized, anti-fog, and photochromic variants, the latter of which adjust to sunlight levels.

An affordable Wayfarer alternative. (Amazon /)

Eyewear upstart Goodr makes super-affordable running glasses that fit snugly, are well-built and comfortable, and resemble the classic, perma-cool Ray-Ban Wayfarers. Since the goofily named polarized glasses are designed to neither slip nor bounce while jogging, they’ll no doubt stick to your face while you cast at a rising fish. And if you do happen to scratch and bang up the UV 400 shades while on the river, Goodr offers a one-year warranty, so you can swap them out for a new pair.

Sturdy, affordable shades, backed by a lifetime warranty. (Amazon/)

Made from recycled plastic, the Sunski Navarro, like the Goodr A Ginger’s Soul, recalls the classic Wayfarer but without the high price tag. Designed for sports and active use, the polarized Navarros are comfortable and well-fitting and offer 100-percent UV protection. The glasses tend to cost just a bit more money than similar Goodr models, but the tradeoff is the Sunski’s lifetime warranty, so you can go forth knowing you’re covered in the event of incidental damage.

Top-shelf performance shades that block a crazy amount of sunlight. (Amazon/)

Designed for hardcore mountaineers, the Julbo Shield are high-performance, wide-view sunglasses that are ergonomically designed to grip the face and head. They’re also the most expensive pair of glasses on our list, but not without reason. What really distinguishes the glasses are the high- quality polycarbonate Spectron lenses. The Spectron 4 lenses block 95 percent of visible light, for maximum sun protection while climbing mountains, while the Spectron 3 series is more versatile and suited to most sports.