Gear Review - Hobie Bayside Polarized Sunglasses

Wait...I've been one of your readers for a while.  You reviewed Hobie Baysides back in 2010, right?

Ummm, yeah, so what...

Not too long after I moved to Florida I was contacted about doing a review for Hobie sunglasses again.  Being more than pleased with the product the first time, I figured why not...but this time I wanted a pair of "Blue Mirror" lens glasses, as the last pair reviewed were "Copper" lenses.  Once you read the description of the mirror lenses, the reasoning is clear...besides the fact that all the saltwater anglers in the magazine hero shots all seem to wear blue mirrored lens glasses.  Coincidence?

The mirror polarized lens coating adds another layer of protection against scratches and smudges to the lightweight, thin and durable Borosilicate Glass polarized lens found on select styles in the Hobie® Polarized Heritage Collection. The scratch-resistant coating along with the HydroClean™ Plus glass polarized lens sheds water, resists dust and grime, is easy to clean and reduces distracting reflections from sources behind you.

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Sounds good right?

Anyway, I was also curious to see if they changed at all...and I'm glad to report they hadn't.
For your information, here's what's in the box...

Glasses, soft-sided hard case, neoprene strap, and cleaning cloth.

The features are still the same in 2010 as well...

Flex hinges to prevent breakage...

and Megol plastic rubberized nose pads...

So yeah, the goodies are still there.
Plus, the frames are still slightly oversized to block out excess light, and fit very nicely, just like they did 3 years ago.

But here's the thing.  Unlike most bloggers who write reviews, (and I'm guilty of this too sometimes), I didn't just use these for a day and decide to write a positive review.  I wore them all summer, and quite honestly tortured the heck out of them over the past 4 months...

From the saltwater flats off Islamorada...

...as well as feeding the tarpon...

...to YogaFest in Jacksonville (don't ask)...

...to tenkara in Pennsylvania...

...to back in Florida kayak fishing in Guana Lake...

...and the beaches of Big Talbot Island...

Not to mention most trips to the grocery store, Target, the gas station, wherever.  These suckers lived in my car this summer, which meant tossing them around and exposing them to hot Florida sun all day, almost everyday.  This is no small accomplishment.  I've had other sunglasses literally melt under the kiln-like conditions of a sun-drenched Pennsylvania car interior...much less the depths of Hell-like heat created in the Sunshine state.

So final verdict?

Let's first look back to what I said in 2010...

"...in a world of Oakleys, Maui Jims, & Costa Del Mars, are Hobie polarized sunglasses worth considering the next time you plan on upgrading your fishing optics? Probably. They are light, do a good job of cutting glare from the water, and at least in my staged tests, proved to be relatively durable. At the root of things, that's all you can really ask for out of a pair of fishing sunglasses. That, and they do look pretty good too."

Fast forward to 2013 and these Hobies are still worth your attention when shopping around for a new pair of fishing sunglasses.  The glare-cutting part is great (as you'd expect) from these glass (not plastic) lens bad boys, and as evidenced above, they are as bombproof as ever...which is very, very important.  Especially when you live in Hades Florida.


DISCLAIMER:
The Hobie Bayside Polarized Sunglasses tested in this product review were provided to me for review at no cost, but carry a suggested retail price of $210.00. I currently hold very little association with Hobie Polarized other the than the free pair of glasses they gave me to give away to a lucky reader back in the day, or for that fact Lisa, who forwarded me the glasses for review...although she did recently start following my neglected Pinterest account, so maybe that makes me guilty by association in you, the cynical reader's eyes...  That said, those same cynical eyes of yours can also follow Hobie Polarized on Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.

As with all independent gear reviews at Troutrageous! I try my best to keep my reviews honest and unbiased. If something is good, it deserves applause; if it sucks, I'll probably not write a post and tell the manufacturer my opinion of their hot mess directly outside of this blog. It ain't in my interest to steer you wrong, so why waste the time writing a post doing so?