As everyone stumbles with sun stroke to the
halfway point of the summer season, I would like to provide a brief mid season
review on my positive experiences thus far with Solar Bat sunglasses.
For my 2012 fishing season, I placed an order
for three models. All three are related to fishing in some way. Each serves a
specific purpose in performance, and fares best in certain settings and
scenarios.
The fishing up to this point has been
satisfactory, though I wish I could have been on the water twice as much in May
and June during the prime months. As of late, including much of June, the
weather has not been kind, especially the painful sunlight and excessive heat.
Without having these sunglasses protecting my vision, yet enhancing it at the
same time, I’m confident to say the first half to my season would have fared
much worse.
I am glad to be wearing the three models with
their respective lenses below.
As you will learn, lens type and its
effectiveness for my fishing has more importance to me over frame style and
design. Everyone’s eye sight is different, and each person’s eyes respond
differently to lens types and frame designs. Also, what you make out of the lens
and frame, which are chosen individually as you order, play a substantial role
in the performance of the Solar Bat eye wear.
The following has been independently written by
my visual perception and eye sight only.
Kokomo
PNVX – Mossback Lens
All PNVX models including the Kokomo features
special base curve alignment and thickness variations to eliminate all eyestrain
and enhance your visual acuity. Their lenses are injection molded with a
thickness of 2.0mm.
I originally ordered the Kokomo glasses for
fashion purposes but once I saw how dangerously effective the mossback lens was
for sight fishing, picking apart weedlines, and seeing fish from long distances,
they were hard to wear anywhere else but in the boat.
The mossback lens is specifically designed and
advertised for sight fishing. When you glance through them, the mossback lens
has a bright green effect which enhances the brightness of all green and darker
colors whether it’s in the water or on land. On the lakes, reservoirs, and
rivers I predominantly fish, majority of them feature stained to dark water
environments. When fishing these places, in which anglers need everything they
can get in order to see underwater cover and fish, the mossback lens is a
phenomenal asset.
The ability to differentiate the outline of a
fish with a green back over green weeds, can be critical when sight fishing.
This lens will help you see those fish. For sight fishing on any water, and
especially on darker, murkier bodies of water, and every day musky fishing, I
highly recommend the mossback lens. On a scale of 10, I give this particular
lens a perfect score in overall effectiveness and performance.
As far as frame is concerned, I don’t rate it
that high. I’ll give it a seven for comfort. Its frame is designed to follow the
contour of moderate to high cheekbones, and is made from a durable TR90 frame
with TCG (Total Comfort Grip) temple boots and adjustable nose pads (TCG grips
more as the temperature gets hotter). Because the Kokomo’s feature a slightly
narrower frame in comparison to my two other models, it took my face about a
week to acclimate to them. The shape of the frame features one benefit, however.
It allows lenses to breathe, which reduces lens fogging as you sweat in the warm
outside temperatures. The temple styling with co-injection molded TCG always
keeps the Kokomo’s hugging my face without excessive pressure.
Despite my critical views on the frame, it’s a
little ironic I wear the Kokomos most often for my fishing. They are always worn
for muskies in every condition, and are HUGE when seeing fish follow from long
distance. In addition, they are worn 50% of the time for bass.
MSRP $119
Captain
PNVXD – Mossback Gradient Lens
All PNVXD Series sunglasses including the
Captain feature a refined base curve alignment and thickness variations to
further enhance visual acuity with extra definition. The Captain lenses are
injection molded with a thickness of 2.0mm
Per the recommendation of Solar Bat, I ordered
the Captain due to its high level of comfort. The Captain is a universal fit.
It’s advertised that 90% of the people who wear it say it’s the most comfortable
Solar Bat fit they’ve ever experienced. In my opinion, it does fit the best of
my three pairs, and they are the most comfortable sunglasses I’ve ever worn.
Thanks to the wrap of the frame and TR90 material, the Captain encases my eyes
in comfort, and gives them total protection from sunlight. My only complaint
about the Captain is it does not feature the total comfort grip as it could
further improve comfort. If these glasses ever slipped off my face and into the
drink, this omission would be an issue but luckily it isn’t.
The lens I chose for my Captain is the highly
acclaimed mossback gradient. Per the recommendation of friend, Travis
Crosman, owner of
Stankx Bait Company, I elected
to give this lens a try. He swears by the mossback gradient’s efficiency in
sight fishing and picking apart underwater cover, as do several other anglers
whom I know.
On the lens itself, the top 55% of the lens is
mossback tint while the lower 45% is a high contrast yellow. As light conditions
change, removing these glasses in favor of something else is never needed. As
your head is tilted to look up or down, color brightness and the definition of
objects changes at the expense of the gradient colors; the yellow brightens
while green darkens.
I wear my mossback gradient Captain’s
exclusively when fishing clear bodies of water. They perform best when fishing
water less than ten feet deep, and work best for shallow water sight fishing.
I’ve learned that seeing through the mossback
gradient lens is an acquired vision. At first I didn’t like them, as I had never
seen through a gradient lens before. Its effectiveness on me has improved since,
but I feel they still aren’t good enough for all around sight fishing,
especially on all water types, and they definitely aren’t as effective as the
original mossbacks for open water fishing and seeing fish and underwater objects
from long distances.
If you will be a first time user like I was, it
takes some time getting acclimated to the mossback gradients. In effectiveness
and performance, I give them a score of 7.5 out of 10.
The Captain frame is awesome. Its mossback
gradient lens I paired with it, not so much. I’ll give it some more time until I
settle on any score.
MSRP $159
Batitude
PNVXD – Gray Polarized w/ Blue Flash
Mirror Lens
All PNVXD Series sunglasses including the
Batitude feature a refined base curve alignment and thickness variations to
further enhance visual acuity with extra definition. The Batitude lenses are
injection molded with a thickness of 2.0mm.
The Batitude is a new release for 2012. I had
ordered these glasses for fishing but they quickly became a pair I wore daily in
every setting whether it’s driving, going out, hitting the beach, and more… A
lot of this decision has to do with stylish frame and unique lens type.
The Batitude features an extreme facial wrap
design, and oversized lenses that create a frame fit that blocks the sun and
elements from all angles. Due to these features, they are a good unisex model,
meaning it’s not only a good pair for men, but also women. Like my pair of
Kokomo’s, the TR90 frame material gently hugs the face and is lightweight and
rugged. The co-injection molded TCG and nose pads keep this pair of shades on my
face at all times under the most extreme heat and humidity. If you want to look
good, this is a frame that must be considered.
I paired these frames with a blue flash mirror
lens. All this does is enhance the cosmetics of the sunglasses. The lens
features a base of grey, and the blue flash mirror coating applied to the
polarized lens surface. Ultimately this decreases light transmission of the
grey lens by 5%. Although the flash mirror doesn’t benefit my fishing much,
it is a great lens for those who are light sensitive, and suffer from
exposure to sunlight. I haven’t worn these while fishing yet, but I could
see them working exceptionally well for offshore fishing (on oceans, off
beaches), and out on the crystal clear waters of the Great Lakes and places
I fish up north.
MSRP $149
That’s my quick review. If interested in a pair,
let me help you.
My endorsement will help you:
As professional field staff representative of
Solar Bat Sunglasses, I am able to pass benefits to you, my customers.
Looking for assistance in choosing the
proper eye wear? Contact me directly and I will work with you
one-on-one for finding the pair you need, and placing the order so that your eye
wear needs are taken cared of personally and accordingly.
Interested in purchasing a new pair of
shades at a great price? Who doesn’t want savings?!? Click on any Solar
Bat image banner located on any RagasMedia owned website property (Fishing-Headquarters.com
and Ragasfishing.com) and you will be eligible to
SAVE 10% ON ALL ORDERS
when using the ARAGAS promotional code. In addition, all orders
$40 or more are eligible for free shipping.
Still looking for more? Okay,
contact me at any time and perhaps I can make more arrangements.
The glasses and lenses of all Solar Bat products
serve a purpose in every outdoor activity from the extreme athlete and
professional angler, to beach bums, as well as the average person who is
interested in looking attractive. Although high quality pairs of sunglasses
typically cost more than traditional pair of sunglasses, take a further look at
the benefits of owning eye wear that has been researched and developed with
technological advances, and constructed with protective measures for your
vision.
I invite you to keep working with me in 2012,
and let me help you find the pair of Solar Bat sunglasses that your beautiful
faces crave for.
Use Promotional Code :: ARAGAS
Solar Bat ® Enterprises, Inc.
3628 East County Road 600 North
Brazil, IN 47834
Phone – 800-761-8228
