Fly Fishing Eyewear: The Fashion vs. Function Battle

I’ll admit that I still wear some very unstylish fishing glasses that are loose in the hinges. In fact, given some of the new styles that companies like Smith Optics are incorporating in their sunglasses, my go-to lenses would have to be considered retro. Which doesn’t make them less effective. It just makes me feel, well, retro.
The good news for those running in the back of the fashion pack like myself is that sunglass companies are figuring out that style alone doesn’t sell fishermen on eyewear. Sure it helps to have tons of models — a racy frame for every face type — but if optics suffer, or wind creeps in from the corners, or your eyes start to sweat from too tight a fit, it doesn’t matter how presentable you feel. We mentioned Smith in our Annual Review of FFR Show Products — in fact their Method frames won a Best of Show award from us based on style alone — but we neglected to mention their new Chamber series, which is in fact designed for anglers. The Chamber’s Techlite glass lenses, extra-large eye coverage, Smith’s trademark polarization, and photochromic and multiple lens color selections are a hard combination to beat.