Costa Del Mar Tuna Alley Review
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Long known for performance and excellence in optical clarity, Costa Del Mar sunglasses have multiple new offerings for the upcoming season. Inspired by their namesake waters (Tuna Alley is in the Bahamas, just west of Gun Cay. Apparently, the white sand on the bottom makes it an excellent viewing point for the Tuna migration which occurs there yearly) the Costa Del Mar Tuna Alley is crafted to be a go anywhere do anything pair of sunglasses.
The Costa Del Mar Tuna Alley, looking sharp in a blue mirror lens/tortoise frame.
Features of the Costa Del Mar Tuna Alley
The Costa Del Mar Tuna Alley is packed with features, and provides the maximum amount of color choices/lens options in the Costa Del Mar lineup. I personally wanted to test out the difference between lens choices; we’ve tested offerings from Costa before (check out the Blackfin review here), and was intrigued to see just how great the optical clarity was in a glass lens. Costa offers both glass and plastic lens in a multitude of colors that fit just about every light condition you could imagine. They also offer several different color choices, so you can dial in the exact color/lens combination you wish. I picked the tortoise frame with Blue Mirror in 580g; Costa advertises the clearest lens on the planet, and I wanted to “see” for myself (pun totally intended) whether or not the glasses lived up to their reputation.
The Costa Del Mar Tuna Alley certainly hits the mark in terms of optical clarity – the lack of distortion in these lens is remarkable.
Testing the Costa Del Mar Tuna Alley
I was able to test out the Costa Del Mar Tuna Alley in a variety of light levels and conditions. During the testing phase, I was able to take them out for some winter fly fishing, hikes over sunny, snowy conditions, and of course driving all day, every day for just ender a month. And I drive… a lot. To begin with, I can tell you that Costa Del Mar’s claim of optical clarity is well founded. What I liked most about the 580G lens is that even in a curved lens, I found little to no distortion in sight, even when viewing objects from extreme angles. This makes them perform very well during fishing, as frequently fish are sighted on indirect sight lines. The drawback to this lens, however, is the weight. I did find the glasses to fairly heavy due to this glass lens. This seems to be the tradeoff – the 580g lens on the Costa Del Mar Tuna Alley is far and away an improvement over traditional plastic lenses in terms of optical clarity; however, the weight tends to make them press down on the bridge of my nose and ears. It took me a bit of getting used to to wear the glasses full time.
The rubber inserts on the arms add the comfortable fit of the Costa Del Mar Tuna Alley.
In terms of fit, the frames on the Costa Del Mar Tuna Alley are large. Not excessively large, but noticeably. I have a fairly large head, and not having tried them on, was expecting that a “comfortable large fit” would be just a tad small on my head. I was pleasantly surprised to find that they were just a bit large for my head. I would definitely recommend going to a brick and mortar to try a few pairs on so that you get the frame style which works best for your chosen activity. These frames were excellent for every day wear, and definitely very comfortable during fishing excursions. As for more “active” endeavors, I felt the comfortable fit was just a bit too comfortable. They tended to slide down the bridge of my nose, and needed to be adjusted frequently. The rubber arms on the temples held firm, just not when I had to make frequent dynamic movements.
The frames on the Costa Del Mar Tuna Alley have vents on either side – this helps to keep the lens from fogging by providing additional air flow.
Final thoughts on the Costa Del Mar Tuna Alley
The Costa Del Mar Tuna Alley is an excellent choice for a multitude of activities; the optical clarity in the 580g lens is second to none, and the fit is comfortable enough to wear all day. The frames are definitely made for a larger face, so make sure to try them on before deciding if the fit is right for you – at $249 a pair, you will probably want to make sure the fit is for you. If that doesn’t break the bank for you, the Costa Del Mar is even further able to be customized by adding prescription lenses. The blue mirror lens is excellent for high light conditions, and provides great definition when looking through glare on water. For more info on the Tuna Alley and other Costa eyewear, visit www.costa.com.
