What Sam Says: I have not been
a big fan of yellow lens shades in
the past, mostly because I don’t like
the way they look. The Blue Bird HT
from Zeal has a blue mirror reflection
inhibiting front that not only reduces
additional reflection and glare, but
also shields people from seeing your
eyeballs; protecting your image. I
recently put these shades to the test
on a weeklong pike fishing trip to
Saskatchewan, in Great Falls kayak
fly-fishing for carp, and dry fly fishing
on the Missouri. On the pike trip,
we had very cloudy weather the first
couple days -- in fact it was snowing. If
you are pike fishing you need visibility
into the water and even copper lenses
are too dark. The Blue Bird HT lens
were perfect, making me feel like it
was a “bluebird” day even though it
was 40 degrees, cloudy, and trickling
snowflakes. They were so perfect
that I couldn’t stand to take them off.
Originally I wasn’t going to consider
these lens my “go-to” for the entire
trip because the yellow lens take some
getting used to, but in Saskatchewan
I ended up using these shades the
whole trip, even on the sunny days.
I can fish dries on the Missouri until
about 9:00PM this time of year (June)
with the lens on and still see small dry
flies which I think of as a big visual and
safety advantage. I am wearing the
Tracker frame right now which retails
at $139.99 (as of 6/9/15 and always
subject to change) with this lens, and
less with a different lens option. The
frames are really comfortable, and the
two styles of frames I have worn with
the Blue Bird lens are both lightweight
and comfortable. I have had lots of
frame styles in the past that irritate
my ears when I’m wearing a hat,
getting too tight or being too bulky. If
you want the advantages of a yellow
polarized lens for low light but also
want to maintain some style, the Blue
Bird lens from Zeal Optics fits the bill.
What Calvin Says: One of the first
things I noticed about the Zeal Blue Bird
lens was how clear I could see on the
rainy days where normal lenses are just
too dark. After wearing these glasses on
dark rainy days, it is a kind of a letdown
when you take them off. Suddenly things
are dark and dingy rather than bright and
crisp. The mold injected lenses are also
surprisingly lightweight making them
hardly noticeable when wearing them.
These are my go-to lenses for fishing in
dark conditions, driving in low light, or
shooting sporting clays.