Sunglasses…Natives or…??

Looking into a new pair of polarized glasses. Curious in anyone has Natives, how are they, happy with the clarity, warranty, etc…?

They seem to have a great lifetime warranty, come with a few sets of lens’s. Seem like a good deal, especially if the warranty is all it’s cracked up to be? In talking with the sales guy at scheels, he claimed it’s a warranty than Oakley as it has much faster turnaround. Looking at the Dash XP or Hardtop XP, they fit well and let little light in around the edges. Anyone with natives…happy?

I also looked at Peppers, they seemed to be good quality and cheaper than the natives, have the same lifetime warranty but only one set of lens’s. Anyone have feedback on peppers??

Beyond the ones mentioned above…what do you like, waranty, quality, etc…

BIRDDOG

sunglasses

I asked the same question a few weeks ago and here are the answers I recieved. Hope this helps out.

Quote:

---

Looking into a new pair of polarized glasses. Curious in anyone has Natives, how are they, happy with the clarity, warranty, etc…?

They seem to have a great lifetime warranty, come with a few sets of lens’s. Seem like a good deal, especially if the warranty is all it’s cracked up to be? In talking with the sales guy at scheels, he claimed it’s a warranty than Oakley as it has much faster turnaround. Looking at the Dash XP or Hardtop XP, they fit well and let little light in around the edges. Anyone with natives…happy?

I also looked at Peppers, they seemed to be good quality and cheaper than the natives, have the same lifetime warranty but only one set of lens’s. Anyone have feedback on peppers??

Beyond the ones mentioned above…what do you like, waranty, quality, etc…

BIRDDOG

---

I admit it, I’m living under a rock. I’ve never heard of either of those brands.

I have natives and have been very satisfied with the polarized lenses. They also come with yellow and clear. They are a little less then Oakleys which I owned and lost in the lake. Good Luck!

i can verify that waldo likes his natives and have heard the same from others,have considered getting them next time i get sunglasses…i can also verify location of alage covered oakleys

I’ve had natives for 5 years now and have had two warranty claims. The first one was due to my dog chewing the glasses to pieces. I called up Native and they said to send them in and they would warranty them. I collected the pieces, mailed them in and in about a week or so a new pair arrived. I highly recommend them can’t go wrong for the money and the warranty is second to none. They also hold up I am hard on my glasses and the lenses are still relatively scratch free after 5 years of hard use.

Whiskerkev likes his natives. I refuse to ever own another pair of sunglasses with plastic lenses, regardless of the warranty. Glass only for this guy after replacing lenses all the time, and I’m pretty careful with my glasses. Costa’s with the 580 lenses are my shade of choice now.

I have had a pair of natives for about 3 years and absolutly love them. The pair I have does not have the inter-changable lens though. They are very lite and very comfortable to wear. I won’t be on the water without them!

Does anybody wear Oakleys??? The girlfriend wants to go up to eau clair this weekend so I might stop in at scheels and check them out. Want some imput before I spend $200 on a pair of glasses. Thanks guys

Quote:

---

I’ve had natives for 5 years now and have had two warranty claims. The first one was due to my dog chewing the glasses to pieces. I called up Native and they said to send them in and they would warranty them. I collected the pieces, mailed them in and in about a week or so a new pair arrived. I highly recommend them can’t go wrong for the money and the warranty is second to none. They also hold up I am hard on my glasses and the lenses are still relatively scratch free after 5 years of hard use.

---

Your not the first person to praise their warranty!!
I’ve had a few people tell me stories of the excellent warranty, scratched lenses, sat on them and broke, etc…claims that were not defect in any way, they disclosed that to Native…no problem!! One bud even ran his over with his sportsmans, 2 weeks later there was a new pair at his door.
This is what is making me lean towards them, that and how light, comfy and crisp my vision is through them.

I’m going this weekend to find good selections of Costa’s to check out. Warranty sounds good as well…but I have to admit, it’ll take a great fitting, crisp pair of Costa’s to sway me from choosing Natives.

Thanks for the input.

BIRDDOG

My son has 3-4 pair of Oakleys, I have 1 pair of polarized Maui Jims w/ glass lenses. You couldn’t GIVE me a pair of Oakleys after wearing MJs. Warranty – outstanding – out of Peoria, Il. The only other glasses I think even remotely come close to MJs are the Del Mars. Dunno bout their warranty though. MJs – You’ll never regret owning them.

I’ve been reading up on warranties on all the glasses mentioned here and the other threads. To be honest, Maui’s warranty didn’t look that good, product warranty is important to me. Not to discount how happy you are with yours, I have heard other folks talk about them being high quality. Since I’m sunglass shopping this weekend I’ll have to look them up as well.

I can’t disagree with your “oakley” comment though, I tried several pair on last weekend, not good for me. Not near as crisp as the natives. They were about equal with the peppers, and the peppers were 1/3 the price. Not to mention they don’t warranty scratched lens and it’s only a one year manufacturer defect warranty. At least Peppers were lifetime lens and all.

BIRDDOG

I urge all fisherman to consider Smith Optics.
Their “Guides Choice” model is my current favorite.

http://www.smithoptics.com/Guides-Choice_86_60.html

My natives are on year 3 and I haven’t needed to use the warranty. I usually wreck at least a pair a year of glasses. I really like the color of the lenses better than anything I’ve tried, and I’ve tried them all.

I have Smith glasses and had a bad warrenty experience. They were less than a week old and I was sitting at a table with the glasses on the top of my head. I looked down and they slid off and landed on the table. About a 18″ drop and the frame cracked so the lens wouldn’t stay in.
I called Smith and nope, we won’t warrenty them, but for $50 they would replace the frame. Ya think for $170 they would be able to handle a 18″ drop or replace $10 worth of plastic! So I sent them in, and they popped in the lenses into the new frame and sent back my now $225 glasses.
I’ve liked the glasses but won’t buy Smith again based on poor custy service!
Ingy

Quote:

---

I have Smith glasses and had a bad warrenty experience. They were less than a week old and I was sitting at a table with the glasses on the top of my head. I looked down and they slid off and landed on the table. About a 18″ drop and the frame cracked so the lens wouldn’t stay in.

I called Smith and nope, we won’t warrenty them, but for $50 they would replace the frame. Ya think for $170 they would be able to handle a 18″ drop or replace $10 worth of plastic! So I sent them in, and they popped in the lenses into the new frame and sent back my now $225 glasses.

I’ve liked the glasses but won’t buy Smith again based on poor custy service!

Ingy

---

You broke your glasses and expect mfg to pay for them? That’s crazy. The fact they replaced them for a nominal fee is impressive in itself and why I keep going back. I have had nothing but excellent customer service experiences with them.

I guess no company is perfect though. I just had my first bad experience in 20 years at the Lake Elmo Inn last night.

I have a couple pairs of natives and love them! Great polarization, good fit and light weight you can wear these all day. The Hardtop XP is my favorite pair it comes with a second set of temples that has a lanyard on them which I find handy. ( I lose alot of sun glasses). I think you would be happy with them!

Is there really any point to buying 100$ plus sunglasses? yikes… I need a new pair for this years fishing season, anybody know of some cheaper brands that are still pretty good? I usually just buy a pair at fleet farm or something, but I would like to have some decent ones to donate to the lake eventually.

Quote:

---

Is there really any point to buying 100$ plus sunglasses? yikes… I need a new pair for this years fishing season, anybody know of some cheaper brands that are still pretty good? I usually just buy a pair at fleet farm or something, but I would like to have some decent ones to donate to the lake eventually.

---

The difference in clarity between walmart specials and the upper end glasses are night and day. I spent all day yesterday sunglass shopping, looked at everything from maui’s, bolle, del mar, peppers, oakley, native and the walmart $15 specials…solar bat and other cheaper ones off the rack. Along with other makes, pretty much everything from $229 a pair to $10 a pair.

The difference in clarity is quite noticable between the brands when talking $10 Vs. $150+. I should add…I’ve been wearing the $20 solar bats(walmart) for the last couple years, they aren’t bad but not real comfy, that’s the one thing I don’t like about them…they’re “tight” on the head. The clarity isn’t as good as the upper end glasses.

After all the research, looking at warranty, clarity, reviews, etc…I’m still pretty much where I started. Looking at either the Natives or Peppers. The one thing I like about both brands is the outstanding warranty. Everything is covered, scratched lens’s included. No one else offers the warranty they do. The natives at $129 are a bit clearer than the peppers, but the peppers are only $30+/-. For that price with the warranty they offer it makes them really a really attractive option. I’m just trying to decide if I like the Natives that much more than the Peppers. At this point I do, they’re lighter, more comfy a bit cripser…but is it $100 crisper?? I’m thinking yes, with all the time I spend on the water a year, I want the best combo of clarity and warranty…Natives are looking like a good choice for me.

If you don’t want to spend the extra coin on a “upper end” pair of glasses take a serious look at the Peppers. Very nice set of glasses for $30!!

BIRDDOG

Quote:

---

Is there really any point to buying 100$ plus sunglasses? yikes… I need a new pair for this years fishing season, anybody know of some cheaper brands that are still pretty good? I usually just buy a pair at fleet farm or something, but I would like to have some decent ones to donate to the lake eventually.

---

I used to think the very same thing and I can appreciate why you would ask the question.If you ever have the opportunity to sight fish IE steel head or trout in a river or stream as I used to,you would recognize in short order the value of premium eye wear for fishing.

I have been handling some Rapala sunglasses for under $30 that may be worth your time considering.On water demos are available to evaluate for yourself if interested.

Quote:

---

I should add…I’ve been wearing the $20 solar bats(walmart) for the last couple years, they aren’t bad but not real comfy, that’s the one thing I don’t like about them…they’re “tight” on the head. The clarity isn’t as good as the upper end glasses.

---

Birddog,
I normally recommend Solar Bats, NOT the ones in Walmart. Cabela’s is one of the few that carry them.
You can not compare the cheap Walmart ones with the real deal.

http://www.solarbat.com/

Ron

Quote:

---

Is there really any point to buying 100$ plus sunglasses? yikes… but I would like to have some decent ones to donate to the lake eventually.

---

You only have one pair of eyes, take care of them.
Try a nice pair for a day, you will thank yourself with no headaches and less eye strain.
As for losing them, spends a hundred+ on a pair of glasses and you will take care of them

I was out looking for some new shades yesterday…has anyone had any experince with the gander mtn ones that are around 100 bucks? The sales person didn’t know anything other than they were made by Igoogs, wich kind of turned me off. I didn’t find any costas that fit me…I got a big mellon

Ron,

I checked Cab. the other day…didn’t see any solar bats. Infact I was looking for a selection of the higher quality solar bats. I have been pretty happy with my wally mart cheapies, beyond the fact that they are tight and fog up easily, surely they fog up because they are to tight. I need to find a clear, comfortable pair, I won’t order online. I see on the website their is only one place in MN that carries a selection of them…at least it’s near by.

In searching their site…I checked their warranty…WOW!! I didn’t think any sunglass warranty topped Native. I was wrong!

“WORLDS BEST SUNGLASS WARRANTY, PERIOD!

Broken frame parts are replaced for $8.50 shipping and handling and damaged lensesare replaced at $15.00 per lens for as long as you own the sunglasses. NO QUESTIONSASKED!”

That is a great warranty, best I’ve seen!!

I’m headed to Mpls this week to visit my sis. I’ll be stopping in at Great Lakes Marine. Thanks for bringing this to my attention!!

P.S. Which model do you wear and have you used their warranty?

Unfortunatly I can’t find anywhere in MN that has a selection to check out, the place I mentioned is only online! Pretty tough to make choice when you can’t try them on.

BIRDDOG

I wear Sonars, third one down. If you go with Solar Bats make sure that you get the Mossback tint, you will love it

I have used the warranty once. I broke one of the temples while taking them off, called them and they told me to mail the parts in. I did and received them back in less than a week. They replaced the entire frame and both lenses, I could tell as the left one had a small scratch and the right one had a small indent where it got hit by a ricochet of a BB, neither bothered my line of sight. All for the low low price of 15 dollars

Ron

Birddog… what kind of glasses you end up getting, or still havent decided yet?? I have a question for you. I see some of the natives come with yellow, clear, and orange extra lenses which i thought would be good for low-light conditions as they advertise, but they are NOT polarized lenses, so is there really any use for them for fishing. I’m assuming you only get one polarized lens set with the glasses?

My natives only came with one set of lens polarized or not.

My H3O’s came with three lenses and they are all polarized. Lifetime warranty and very comfortable. I’m sure some of the more expensive shades are better but for the money I think the H3O’s are awesome glasses. Defiantly the best bang for your buck.

Quote:

---

Birddog… what kind of glasses you end up getting, or still havent decided yet?? I have a question for you. I see some of the natives come with yellow, clear, and orange extra lenses which i thought would be good for low-light conditions as they advertise, but they are NOT polarized lenses, so is there really any use for them for fishing. I’m assuming you only get one polarized lens set with the glasses?

---

I havn’t decided on a pair yet, still shopping my options. The Native Hardtop XP are looking like the best option for me. They come with two sets of lens’s, one polorized, the other set isn’t polorized, they’re yellow…will make a great set of shooting glasses! If I go with the Hardtops I’ll order a third set of the rose lens’s which are good for hazy/low light conditions while the ones that come with the glasses are the grey for bright conditions.

I think I’ve looked at every major make of glasses in the past weeks, everything mentioned here and more. Natives are still looking good. I’d like to try on some solar bats, not going to happen…they don’t sell them anywhere in the state of MN so they’re out of the question!!

If cost wasn’t holding me back I’d seriously be considering a set of the Maui jim “Whalers”…tried a set on yesterday…they were the nicest glasses I’ve ever had on my head but at $350 they’re looking to be out of my price range. Unfortunatly the wife was with me so I can’t pull a fast one!

BIRDDOG

Thanks for the info on all the glasses.

I decided on Hardtop XP’s with the brown lens. Comfortable, light, don’t let any light in around the edges…good coverage. Now they need a on the water test. I tried the yellow lens’s while driving this evening, nice. They should work well for me.

My wife decided on the Peppers Strike with brown lens’s…nice glasses for $30!

We’re ready for soft water.

Thanks again.

BIRDDOG