Meet Island Optics

Most fly anglers are familiar with the big names in fishing optics: Smith, Costa, Bajio, Maui Jim, and others tend to dominate the selections in every sunglasses roundup.

Recently, a company with a rich history in the optics world has made its push into fishing, and fly anglers are starting to take notice of Island Optics.

Island Optics is a family company that’s been in operation since 1922. Based in Boca Raton, Florida, they have easy access to test their sunglasses in some of fly fishing’s most demanding environments.

“We didn’t originally go into this with fishing as our demographic,” Allen Alovis, CEO of Island Optics, told me. “But we’re five generations of lens makers.”

During my conversation with Alovis, he consistently brought up the family aspect of the company, and his three sons are currently running other aspects of the business.

What they’re doing is offering top-tier lenses to fly anglers at prices more affordable than some of the industry’s top brands.

“A lot of people equate quality with price point,” Alovis said. “They think if they’re getting a pair of glasses for $84, it can’t possibly be the same quality as the top-tier brands. It is, and probably exceeds the optics of some competitors.”

We’ll have an in-depth review of Island Optics’ products shortly, but I’ve had my hands on some for a few weeks and I’ve been impressed at the sharpness and quality of the lenses. Currently, Island Optics only makes polycarbonate lenses, although glass lenses are coming soon.

What separates Island Optics from other sunglasses manufacturers, according to Alovis, is the amount of coatings their lenses receive. Each lens features OX2 polarization, which helps anglers see “absolutely vivid, real color.” On top of that, each lens has an oleophobic and hydrophobic coating, which makes the lenses fog free and smudge and oil resistant.

Island Optics also utilizes a back surface anti-reflective coating, which “acts as a light pump to the cornea,” Alovis said. “It’s not that you’re seeing brighter, you’re seeing sharper.”

Finally, they do add a marine coating on the lenses, which protects against oxidation and ensures that lenses don’t delaminate, even when consistently exposed to saltwater.

All those features can be found in each pair of sunglasses, and the popular Mako XL lenses (comparable in size and shape to the Guide’s Choice from Smith) are $98. The Angler sunglasses (my personal favorite so far) are $78.

As I mentioned earlier, I’ll have an in-depth review of these lenses in the coming months. So far, however, I’ve been impressed with their quality, and look forward to seeing what else Island Optics puts out on the market.

You can browse their sunglasses collection here.