Top 5: Reasons We All Love Costa Del Mar

April 26th, 2014| No Comments

When it comes to fishing sunglasses, one brand is revered above all others. So how did they do it?

1. All glasses are not created equal

It’s hard to think of another brand that dominates its area of the market like Costa does. Need a new fly rod? Take your pick from Sage, Loomis, Orvis, Scott or a multitude of others. New top-of-the-range reel? Nautilus, Tibor, Abel, Hatch and Orvis (to name just a few) all have drool-worthy models vying for your hard-earned cash. But if you need a pair of top-spec sunnies, one name stands out from the crowd: Cost del Mar. Sure, other brands are available, but there’s no doubt which one sits at the top of the stack. Costa is to sunglasses what Heinz is to ketchup.

Slick marketing is responsible for some of the success, but make no mistake, there’s more to it than that. Just ask the people whose livelihood depends on their ability to see what’s out there: flats fishing guides. More of them choose Costas than any other brand. Why? Because they’re better. Simple really.

Top 5: Reasons We All Love Costa; Jose Wejebe

The late Jose Wejebe: if they were good enough for him…

2. The gold-standard 580 lens

We won’t pretend to understand the intricacies of the science behind polarising technology, but in layman’s terms it comes down to this: yellow light is the enemy, distorting and disrupting your power of vision. And Costas (580s in particular) are like kryptonite to yellow light, boosting reds, greens and blues, adding intensity and vibrancy to your visual palette. In practical terms, that means when you put on a pair of Costas you will see more.

Top 5: Reasons We All Love Costa; 580 LensIf you’ve previously struggled to lock in on the fish your guide has called out, you stand a better chance of seeing them; fish and sub-surface structure that previously remained at the fringes of your optical field will magically materialise. Remember that “OK, now I get it” moment when you first put on a pair of polarising sunglasses? Putting these on is a little like that all over again.

3. The only glasses you’ll ever need

We’ll assume you got the memo about polarised sunglasses being one of the most important items in a fisherman’s arsenal. The thing is, if you’re going to invest in a decent pair, it’s not cheap. Buy a pair of Costas and, more than likely, you’ll never buy another – every pair is hand-made and all come with a lifetime warranty. With any luck you won’t need it – the polycarbonate lens (a bit cheaper but still thoroughly awesome) is impact-proof and the glass lens you could rub along a brick wall without fear of scratching it.

4. Life beyond the lens

It’s pretty hard to think of another high-profile manufacturer in fishing that does as much to highlight conservation issues as Costa. Plenty of people get involved, but the folks at Costa seem to have made it an integral part of their business – that’s why you get Costa-funded films like “Bluefin on the Line”, “Currents of Belize”, and initiatives like Project Permit (a collaboration with the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust), Ocearch and the like. People find it easy to be cynical about stuff like this, but remember this: no one was tagging permit before Project Permit.

Got a spare hour or two? Have a browse through Costa’s films here.

Top 5: Reasons We All Love Costa

5. Art & advertising

There can’t be many of us who profess to be fans of advertising – most of us like to think we’re immune to it anyway. However, there’s no denying that there’s some mighty fine work being done in the field of advertising fishing tackle. See Yeti (“The cooler you’ve always wanted. The last you’ll ever need”) and Nautilus (“Tested on animals”) for just a couple of examples. However, you’d have to go a long to find a better series of ads than Costa’s fish-art series:

Top 5: Reasons We All Love Costa

Find out more: costadelmar.com 
Follow Costa: facebook.com/costasunglasses and twitter.com/CostaSunglasses
Watch Costa films: youtube.com/costasunglasses 

For more info on UK & Ireland Distributors, contact Seapower UK Ltd

All pictures courtesy of Costa Del Mar

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