The masculine, textured frames, and quality lenses of Costa’s Baffin sunglasses make long days on the water more enjoyable. Photo Chris Schneider
April 26, 2019
By Chris Schneider
A couple of months after ICAST 2018, I was fortunate to receive a pair of sunglasses that won the “Best Eyewear Award”: The Costa Del Mar Baffin’s. The Baffin’s are just one of four models in Costa’s Untangled Collection.
These sunglasses have been an absolute pleasure to wear. Not only are the sharp-looking frames and unmatched clarity of the patent 580 lenses easily persuading; but the real story is the material used to make these fantastic frames.
Making an Impact
Costa’s Untangled Collection is a result of a unique partnership with a company called Buero . Buerro works with industry-leading companies, such as Patagonia, Costa, and Jenga to name a few. By incorporating their NetPlus materials into these companies’ supply chains, they work with fisherman along on the coasts of South America; collecting and converting discarded fishing nets into consumer products; such as sunglasses, furniture, surfboard fins, and more.
Advertisement
After collecting discarded fishing nets from commercial fishing ports, Buero recycles the nets down into a raw material in the form of pellets that are used to create the finished product—sunglasses.
Stylish Frame
The PLUSfoam recyclable nose and temple pads of the Costa Baffin's are exceptional at keeping the glasses in place. Photo Chris Schneider The frame of the Costa Del Mar Baffin sunglasses is large to extra-large fit; which is perfect for those with large to average-sized heads. Made from 100% recycled fishing nets; the frames are a unique black/gray tumbled-finish, that includes detailed textures and stylish rubber grips for comfort and performance. The nose grips are made from PLUSfoam rubber and are textured, too. They do a great job of keeping these sunglasses on your face.
The washed-out black frame color is one-of-a-kind. The material won't show scratches and scuffs like glossy frames. They are super lightweight; which is essential to any angler that spends long hours on the water. I haven’t experienced any fatigue while wearing these as I have in the past with heavier frames. They’re a pleasure to wear all day long. A small but impactful aluminum plate lies on each side of the frames, featuring the Costa logo.
Incredible Clarity
The clarity from the polarized glass (580) is nothing but incredible. The 580 lenses block out harmful yellow light while enhancing reds, blues, and greens. Even under cloudy conditions; the dark glasses allowed me to see things underwater a great distance. The lenses are available in four colors: Gray, Blue Mirror, Copper, and Green Mirror.
A Sierra Mackerel caughtdown in Baja, Mexico. Hard fighting and tastes amazing served with freshveggies. The Costa Baffin’s proved their worth on a full day of fishing underbright conditions. Photo Chris Schneider
