Barz Optics Sunglasses
John Black opts for polarised glasses with a bi-focal reader lens.
I hate buying sunglasses, but I keep doing it. I’ve got those fancy ones that came out years ago with the smart reflective lenses. They kept falling off, and reflecting light onto the water, at precisely the wrong time.
Then I got the heavy ones with the leather patches and studs that plug into the arms and the patches keep coming apart from the arms. Then I got some Ray-bans, which are really cool but I don’t fancy replacing them every time I take a tumble in fast water.
Now I’ve finally found a pair I like.
Last day on a trip to the Bundara, it was late afternoon, merging to dusk. Warwick Powell and I were casting some big ugly flies on the water, hoping to tempt some evening risers.
I chucked it in when I couldn’t see the fly in the shadows and started to pack up, but Warwick kept going. Then I took off my dark heavy sunnies and realised why: there was light to spare if you had those light-coloured sunnies like Warwick was wearing. All right for him, but I had to stop, as I didn’t fancy taking off the sunnies and risk copping a big Stimulator in the eye on a back cast or clumsy strike. That’s when I decided to buy my fourth pair of sunglasses.
I noticed the ad in FlyLife for Barz Optics. Looking up the web page (www.barzoptics.com) I found a style that had a small built-in clear magnifying lens (+1.5, +2.0 or +2.5) at the bottom of the main polarised lens, which was light amber in colour and just what I was after. I chased up local dealers on the web site, found one down the road in suburban Brisbane and picked up a pair for about $70.
Since I started to wear reading glasses, I’ve had to take a pair of cheap magnifying glasses with me, whenever I’ve gone fishing. I have to put up with taking off the sunnies and putting on the magnifiers every time I wanted to change a fly. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve dropped them and then had to fish my sunnies or the magnifiers out of a cold and fast running river, waist deep. I don’t recommend it.
Next trip, on the Tongariro, I packed the magnifiers just in case—thereby filling one pocket that could otherwise be used for really necessary gadgets—and got the new Barz Optics sunnies out.
They come in a nice padded foam and zippered case, which is practical for rough and tumble fishing. And they’re light and tight fitting, so they don’t fall off easily. On the water, the big light-coloured polarising lens worked as well as any I’ve worn, and fading light was not a problem.
When it came to changing the first fly, I simply looked down and—like magic—I could see the damn thing, just as if I’d made the changeover and was wearing the usual magnifiers. I didn’t need my magnifiers again that day or for the rest of the trip. It was great.
Buy this product. It works.