50 Words or Less
Costa sunglasses are high quality shades that come in a wide range of styles. Several different lenses in both glass and polycarbonate allow you to get what you need for your environment.
Introduction
A trip to the Costa sunglasses website reveals that this company has spent the last forty years making sunglasses for those that spend their time on the water. They’ve made their way into the golf space thanks to the support of golf’s #1 needle mover, Tiger Woods. After our resident sunglass expert Matt Meeker gave them a thumbs up in his review [find it HERE], I wanted to test them for myself.
Style & Fit
For this review, I tested three pairs of Costa sunglasses: Spearo, Pescador, and Taxman (the frame Tiger Woods has been wearing lately).
The Spearo that I’m wearing in the photo above has the Blackout frames and Blue Mirror Polarized Polycarbonate lens. It’s also available in a Tortoiseshell frame and there are three other lens options. The Spearo XL has five frame colors and as many as six lens choices.
Per Costa’s sizing, the standard Spearo is in the XXL category and Regular Fitting. Costa is at the leading edge for offering loads of sizing data for each model as well as an online tool that lets you try them on virtually.
The Pescador shown above is Net Grey with Blue Rubber and has Blue Mirror Polarized Glass lenses. The name “Net Grey” refers to the fact that these frames are made from recycled fishing nets. The blue rubber around the nose and ears is a cool detail, but it’s barely visible when they’re on your face. Still, Costa offers these with Grey Rubber as well as as Grey and Light Grey frames. There are a total of three different lens options.
Costa calls the Pescador a size Large and Wide Fitting. I will admit to not fully understanding the sizing system, as they feel very similar to the Spearo, and Costa’s measurements show that the Spearo is actually 6mm wider than the Pescador. Thankfully, in addition to their Frame Advisor [check it out HERE], Costa sunglasses offers a 30-day return window if your shades don’t fit.
Finally, the Taxman sunglasses are shown above in the Matte Black frame with the Green Mirror Polarized Glass lenses. The frames are available in Matte Grey and Matte Olive, and there are six lens options with the Matte Black frame.
The Taxman is size Large and Wide Fitting. It has the largest lenses of the three models that I tested and the sportiest look. While they’re not as go-anywhere as the Spearo, the Taxman is still fairly traditional looking. Unlike some of the trendiest shades out there, you’ll be able to wear these for years without looking so 2024.
Performance
In addition to testing three different frames, I tested three different Costa sunglasses lenses: Green Mirror Glass, Blue Mirror Glass, and Blue Mirror Polycarbonate. All of Costa’s lenses are polarized, which is key for reducing glare.
Both the Blue and Green Mirror lenses are billed by Costa as being for full sun with a “cool neutral viewing experience, with natural color enhancing and glare reduction.” I found the Blue Mirror to be a bit more versatile than the Green Mirror. Both were excellent in full sun, but the Blue Mirror was also wearable in overcast conditions. The Green Mirror was a bit too dark when it was cloudy. Both lenses improved the contrast in blues and greens and did a great job allowing my eyes to relax.
I was also very interested to see if I could find a difference between the Blue Mirror lenses in glass versus polycarbonate. Per Costa, glass offers superior optical quality, but polycarbonate is lighter and possibly more durable. While none of the sunglasses I tested were notably heavy, the Spearo with polycarbonate lenses was over 1/3 lighter than the Pescador with glass – 28 grams versus 48 grams. I did not notice a difference in the quality of the two lenses, but the polycarbonate was a bit brighter than the glass.
Value
Costa sunglasses range in price from $166 to $400 with most around $200 to $250. The Pescador costs $214, and the Taxman and Spearo are $292.
Both the Costa Spearo and Costa Taxman came with the zippered hard case, shown above. The Pescador comes with an “Untangle Our Oceans” drawstring bag. Given that all three models are north of $200, I’d like to see the hard case as a standard inclusion.
Conclusion
While wearing the same Costa sunglasses as Tiger Woods certainly didn’t help me to play like him, I will tip my hat his way for turning the golf world on to some great shades. Costa offers a huge array of style choices from classic to sporty. Just as important, they have a great selection of lenses so you can pick the best option for the conditions you find yourself in most.
Visit Costa Sunglasses HERE
He founded Plugged In Golf in 2013 with the goal of helping all golfers play better and enjoy the game more.
Matt lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with his wife and two daughters.
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