SPY+ Polarized Fishing Sunglasses Review: Stylish, Comfortable, ANSI-Certified Safety Gear for Anglers

Enhance Your Fishing Game with High-Performance Sunglasses That Deliver Safety, Clarity, and Head-Turning Style.

Durable and lightweight, SPY+ sunglasses protect your eyes while keeping your style game strong. / Kurt Mazurek

As fishermen, we all seem to recognize pretty early in our fishing journey, that polarized sunglasses are “must have” gear if we’re serious about efficient, successful angling. Sure, we all probably start with a pair that are “good enough”, but the first time we get the opportunity to try a real, high-quality pair, we realize how much of a positive impact they can have on our fishing.

Table of Contents

1. Why Polarized Fishing Sunglasses Are Essential for Anglers
2. SPY+ REBAR ANSI: Features and Benefits for Serious Fishermen
3. Understanding ANSI Certification and Why It Matters for Sunglasses
4. Durable, Comfortable, and Stylish: SPY+ Sunglasses in Action
5. Choosing the Right Size: REBAR ANSI vs. REBAR ANSI SE

Transparency Note: Although I have not been paid by any of the manufacturers, some of the gear reviewed in this article was provided to me at no cost for evaluation. The views and assessments presented are entirely my own.

Why Polarized Fishing Sunglasses Are Essential for Anglers

First, we immediately recognize how a good pair of polarized fishing sunglasses allow us to spot cruising fish, or fish on beds, or fish following our lures. Amazing! But eventually, something will happen—you, or your fishing partner, swings hard on what feels like a bite, resulting in a bullet sinker headed back toward the boat like a…well, like a bullet. Or, one last frantic head shake at boat side and the jerk bait pulls free, slingshotting all three treble hooks at your face. These things happen so fast. And it’s never going to be pretty, but a good pair of sunglasses can be the difference between an inconvenience and a lifelong disability. Sorry, I didn’t mean to get overly dramatic, but it can be serious.

But I also understand, that if these glasses aren’t comfortable and, at the risk of sounding vain, aren’t cool looking, we’re probably way less likely to wear them. Well, good news! There are quite a few manufacturers of high-quality fishing sunglasses, but I’ve recently been introduced to one I’m particularly impressed with—SPY+.

High-performance sunglasses built for anglers who demand both function and fashion. / Kurt Mazurek

SPY+ polarized sunglasses are built to turn the toughest glare-filled rays into crystal clear, eye-soothing vision. These polarized sunglasses reduce glare and provide crisp, clear vision which allows you to see right through the harshest surface glare, revealing exactly what those sneaky bass are doing down there. Plus, in the case of their REBAR ANSI model, which I would say is their most obvious choice for fishing, they provide ANSI Z87-2+ certification for safety eyewear.

SPY+ REBAR ANSI: Features and Benefits for Serious Fishermen

• ANSI Z87-2+ certified for lens retention and high-mass impact resistance
• SPY+’s revolutionary therapeutic HAPPY™ Lens Tech is scientifically tuned to boost mood and alertness while enhancing color and contrast, providing a truly life-changing visual experience
• ARC® (Accurate Radius Curvature) polycarbonate lenses are tapered to follow the natural curvature of the eye, providing crystal-clear distortion-free vision while reducing eyestrain
• Available with polarization, which blocks over 99% of surface glare and is layered and sealed within SPY’s lenses to prevent scratching, delaminating, and hazing of your polarized filter
• Constructed from Grilamid® NZ, a lightweight and durable frame material that can handle a load of beatings
• Comfortable rubber nose pads and temple tips provide a secure fit no matter how hard you sweat
• Snap pin hinges provide a secure, comfortable fit
• 100% UV protection reduces eye fatigue and long-term sun damage
• Scoop® ventilation system increases air flow and decreases fog-causing sweat and moisture
• Frame measures 62-18-130

Protect your eyes from sun and stray hooks with SPY+ REBAR ANSI safety-rated polarized sunglasses. / SPY+

Understanding ANSI Certification and Why It Matters for Sunglasses

If you’re like me, you just thought to yourself, what is ANSI? Is Z87-2+ good? So, I looked it up. The American National Standards Institute ("ANSI") is a nonprofit, private company, responsible for establishing safety standards for products like protective eyewear. From what I can tell, it looks like Z87-2+ means high-impact rating certified prescription safety glasses. They are tested for impact resistance—making sure the frame and lenses can sustain impact from small flying objects without breaking or moving. They are tested for high mass impact by dropping a 500-gram steel ball against the glasses from an altitude of 50 inches. The sunglasses must not break or crack and the lenses must stay in place to pass this test. There is also a lens penetration test where a 500-gram pointed projectile is dropped from 50-inches onto the lens which must not fracture or be pierced to be certified. So, seriously, these glasses have proven they’ll protect your eyes from an errant hook or pointy overhanging limb.

Observant readers of this column might recognize this photo as my bio profile pic. That dragonfly hung on the edge of my hat for at least 30 minutes, obviously trying to get a good look at my cool SPY+ sunglasses. / Kurt Mazurek

Durable, Comfortable, and Stylish: SPY+ Sunglasses in Action

But in addition to being tough, they are incredibly effective as polarized sunglasses, blocking over 99% of surface glare on the water. Utilizing ARC® (Accurate Radius Curvature) polycarbonate lenses which are tapered to follow the natural curvature of the eye to provide crystal-clear, distortion free vision, SPY+ has created a revolutionary, therapeutic lens technology they call HAPPY BOOST™. They’ve found it to actually boost mood and alertness while enhancing color contrast. According to their description, the sun creates both good and bad light waves. While most glasses block the bad rays, they also block the good rays. But HAPPY BOOST™ actually blocks the bad while enhancing the good rays, which boosts your mood and alertness while enhancing color perception. I didn’t really conduct any tests where I could definitively say I noticed I was happier, but they are certainly nice to look through.

HAPPY BOOST™ actually blocks the bad while enhancing the good rays, which boosts your mood and alertness while enhancing color perception. / SPY+

Choosing the Right Size: REBAR ANSI vs. REBAR ANSI SE

And, if you’ve read my column for any length of time, you know I’m always concerned whether a product is going to be big enough for my way-bigger-than-average stature. The SPY+ REBAR ANSI is built for the big guys! Incidentally, they also offer the REBAR ANSI SE (Smaller Edition) for all you average-sized humans.

And one thing I noticed about all of the SPY+ models, including the REBAR ANSI, is that they’re cool looking. Like, genuinely, fashionably cool. I’m not usually someone who is super concerned with fashion, but if they can perform and make me feel a little cooler, count me in.

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