Costa's New Bulletproof Vest for Your Eyes - More from ICAST 2010
Posted by Jason Sealock on Wed, Jul 28, 2010 @ 09:01 AM
There are many great sunglasses companies out there but one in particular had a lot of great new offerings for the upcoming year. Costa (aka Costa Del Mar) unveiled several new frames at ICAST a few weeks ago. Most of the fanfare, other than their wicked cool booth, was centered around their new 580P lens.
Costa's 580 lenses are some of the best clarity pieces of glass we've seen in a pair of sunglasses. A remarkable technology they developed a few years ago. Now they are putting many of those same characteristics into a polycarbonate lens.
The fact of the matter is glass will always be visually superior to polycarbonate. However by applying some of the same technologies they did to their 580 glass lenses, they've been able to make some seriously clear 580P polycarbonate lenses.
The name is derived from the lenses being capable of blocking all of the yellow light at 580 nanometers on the light spectrum. To us laymen that means yellow light is blocked so that you have a much richer color spectrum and visual acuity when on the water.
Now with the 580P you have that plus the light weight and impact resistance that comes with polycarbonate. It's really the best of both worlds. Yes, it's true that the 580 Glass lens will have more clarity because glass as we said will always be clearer than polycarbonate.
But we tested a pair of the Jose frames with the 580P lenses and they were so comfortable and light and the performance on the water is spectacular. We could see clouds of bait 50 feet up the bank in murky water. And the new Jose frames with 580P lenses are so light, you don't have the fatigue you sometimes have with heavier frames on your ears, temples and nose after a long day of fishing.
The new Jose frames were designed by Jose Wejebe. Wejebe spends thousands of hours on the world's oceans and new the frames had to be extremely durable but comfortable and light with a no-slip surface to not have to worry with them when fighting big fish in brutal seas.
The frames are co-molded, meaning they have a nearly indestructable nylon running through them. They feature anti-rocking hinges and no-slip Hydrolite nose pads. That keeps the frames tight and close to your face throughout the life of the shades. Cool technology for a pair of sunglasses we thought.
The also had several other frames like the large full coverage frame with side panels called the Bomba. Another large frame called the Bonita. Then they had some cool new sleeker frames like the Fisch named after Chris Fischer from the NatGeo Channel Great White Expedition. The Maya and Skimmer were two other new sleek small-profile shades they are offering as well.
They have a great line-up already and with the new 580P lens and several new frames, Costa is giving serious anglers a lot more options to keep their eyes protected and comfortable on sunny lakes and oceans around the world in 2011.
