New Mo's are the Tonic

It's about Tonic Eyewear, but not really a gear review.

I recently replaced my sunglasses used for saltwater angling. The purchasing process involved decisions on lens treatment, finish and glass colour – questions that are crucial to my enjoyment and success on the water. This was a lot harder than I expected and it got me thinking.

Overall, it strikes me as odd that this process of selecting new sports sunglasses is so arbitrary. Surely in 2024 we should have an online repository of accurate data on the major optical brands, critical independent analysis of glass versus polycarbonate et al, industry standard measurements giving us quantifiable measurements and a trusted scorecard to choose from, regardless of the brand we choose.

Instead an online search reveals a swath of enthusiastic reviewers –some presumedly incentivised clandestinely with undeclared free or cheap gifted sunglasses and therefore weighted down by conscious bias, strenuously denied of course. And a dearth of easily comparable data on competitive offerings.

Without wanting to add to the stream of exuberant unboxing and biased reporting I waded through, I will simply report on the information I read, then weighed up for objectivity and accuracy, and the subsequent decisions I made and why I made them.

I’ll document my eventual brand shortlist, the process of trying to buy online, lens and frame selection including frame size and shape, prescription glass, research including wading through the jargon and the various proprietary brands, glass weight (it’s real!), anti-reflective coatings, price, warranties and my after-sales service.

Finally after a seemingly successful purchase as you’ll read below, I’m now about to do the same again to replace my aging backcountry river sunnies (they’ve made it through 4 seasons). So I’ll circle back through this process again, perhaps with a head start this time around. I’ll be paying full price again of course. And then after some use, I’ll cover off my thoughts on sunglasses for the freshwater fly fishing I do too.

As always, I hope you enjoy this review. Any feedback is gratefully received in the comments section. Here’s my journey of sunglass discovery.

Image: My final selection, Tonic Mo from Australia in green, lightly-mirrored, polarised with prescription lens.

First up, it’s well accepted that quality polarised lenses are essential for reducing glare from the water’s surface, allowing better sight into the water and improved fish detection, whether fresh or saltwater angling.

Second is a decision on lens colour. Again this is fairly straightforward albeit with some conflicting information, particularly with respect to blue and green for saltwater as you’ll read below.

With respect to brands, quality and perception, there is an eyewear information overload on the web. It’s difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. I’ll pepper my review with some examples. These notes are simply my own reflection on what’s available widely. As such, this review reflects the struggles that many consumers face given the plethora of content available – with enough of it conflicting to cause confusion.

So this is not a typical review. I’m not stating that one brand is better than another, or even that the brand I eventually chose is the best. Rather I’m highlighting the difficulty in collating enough comparable information to make a considered decision. Those who have a strong brand loyalty for a sunglass label will have an easier road than me.

Also a note for my American readers, I’ve used my homeland’s traditional spelling for the word colour.

Lens Colour Recommendations

To find out more about the best lens colours, I visited my opthamologist, some sales people at two leading discount sunglass retailers (OPSM and SpecSavers - both pretty hopeless, tbh), and did a whole lot of surfing the net with mixed results.

Blue or Green for Saltwater

I knew I wanted polaroid lenses in either blue or green mirror for my saltwater use. These block the bulk of the bright reflected light off the water and direct sunlight - perfect for those equatorial full sun days on atolls or wading in reefs.

The blue colour is better for open water (think boats and deep offshore water) non-fish spotting work. The green for shallow water and spotting fish which was my requirement.

I also read a couple of reports advising that: “compared to green film lenses, blue film lenses cannot filter harmful strong light and have relatively low UV protection performance.” Elsewhere I read: “Blue-coated lenses perform poorly in terms of anti-ultraviolet protection and cannot filter harmful glare when compared to green film lenses.” Now, I’m no expert. I have no idea if this is even true. It probably isn’t, or blue lenses would not be sold as an alternative for green, surely? But it’s typical of the information (or mis-information) available online.

In any case, I got a strong steer on going green with a toned back mirror finish and copper base. I can faintly see my eyes through the mirror finish. This apparently best suits the style of saltwater fishing (or more accurately, fish hunting) I outlined to the guy from the brand I eventually settled on.

Yellow

The yellow lenses are apparently better for shotgun shooters and driving. They offer increased light transmission and are excellent for low light (dawn/dusk) conditions.

After reading more, I vowed to get a pair for freshwater work in low light. Yellow is best for early mornings, late afternoons, and overcast days. These will be helpful in spotting fish in dark or deeper freshwater environments where I spend a lot of my fishing in New Zealand’s South Island.

I would likely pair a yellow set of sunglasses with copper as a yellow lens won’t provide optimal glare reduction on very sunny days.

Grey

Grey provides maximum eye protection from UV, great for day driving in bright light but not so good for fish spotting. They’re versatile, minimise eye strain and generally a good all-round glass for sports. Grey offers less distortion more accurate colour recognition.

On the flipside, grey is less effective in low-light or overcast conditions compared to other colors that enhance contrast.

Amber/Brown

Amber enhances contrast and good for low lit conditions in bright light (think viewing in shade under trees on a sunny day). They cut through glare well, and reduce eye strain. Amber is good in flat, cloudy conditions with no glare so they say. But so is yellow. At this point I was getting confused about amber vs yellow vs brown. It seems amber can lean either way. I parked all this confusion for later, when I decide on my freshwater fly fishing glasses. I had decided on green in any case.

Copper

From my reading, copper lenses are good in varying light conditions. They filter blue light for better contrast and detail. They’re ideal for driving (reminded me of my dad’s Serengeti’s) . Copper highlights reds and green colours and provides high contrast so is a good choice for freshwater fly fishing. Copper has good colour definition and improves depth perception - also an important consideration for fishing. But less popular for saltwater action, it seems.

Cooper seems the right option for my main freshwater glasses and is what I use now. Paired with a yellow set for cloudy overcast and change of light conditions, a set with copper lens would be effective in reducing eye strain in our bight summers and improve my spotting ability by reducing glare on the water surface.

Rose Gold

This new lens colour appears to offer more versatility falling between the cloudy day preference for yellow and the darker lenses for bright conditions. I’ll give this colour a closer inspection and perhaps test some when I get onto my new freshwater fishing sunnies.

Copper or Grey Base?

Whereas it seems a grey base is more effective for light reduction as it’s the deepest tone. Good for eye protection on the brightest of days but probably more useful for my golf than my fish spotting.

Brand Shortlist

No, it wasn’t a love of five letter words. That was merely a coincidence.

A few notes on how I arrived at this shortlist.

• Costa was discounted due to their previous sale to a conglomerate and some commentary about service having declined;

• Conversely one of the Costa founders started up Bajio and this brand seems to have a strong following among people I trust. Plus I like all things Mexico (esp. tacos).

• I had read that Oakley were not suitable for outside sports. Wanting to whittle down the long list, this was enough for me to drop them. Perhaps proof of influencer power?

• Maui Jim have some loyal salwarts, particularly in the older guard. Some comments about them being heavy, and just not enough to get me excited about them, dropped them from the list.

• Smith Guide sunglasses are popular in the fly fishing fraternity and have clearly done their marketing and distribution work to get into this position. A bunch of the same people who use the other ‘S’ fly fishing brands (Sage, Scott rods, Simms) seem to also like Scott sunnies. I added Smith to the list.

• I also considered either using my optometrist’s services as I have done previously, or to consult one of the eyewear retail chains such as SpecSavers or OPSM, whom I’ve avoided buying from so far. I decided to work through the shortlist of three brands first and leave my eye Doc or the discount chains as a fall back option, thinking/hoping that I would get better after-sales service dealing directly with a manufacturer or their distributor directly.

• The fly in the ointment was going to be dealing with a relatively new issue – despite my self-denial, I now require prescription lenses to see well.

Prescription Lenses

That’s how I met my first set of prescription reading glasses. I also needed to upgrade all my sunnies; a major cost and a process that I didn’t fully understand at the time.

This – my second time around – I’m wiser, a little blinder (fresh prescription secured) and determined to make better choices given the major investment required in a couple of sets of shiny new sunnies.

For those of you not requiring a prescription, you’ll likely have a wider choice of glass to choose from.

For those with failing eyesight who live in the more populous Western countries (read: USA), requiring a prescription lens is not likely to be a factor in your buying decision as it was in my case, because your country is likely to support many brands who offer a direct-to-home postal service for prescription lenses. Not so in New Zealand as I was about to find out.

Settling on the Final Pair

Anyway, impressively they responded to my email immediately, but with bad news. They advised that they are still deciding whether to offer a prescription service in New Zealand. This was likely to be made later this year and in the meantime I couldn’t order prescription lenses from them. Well, that crossed Smith off my list.

I understand that for you anglers out there with 20/20 vision, this isn’t an impediment to your selection. But it was pretty fundamental for me. I hope to be able to try Scott when or if they introduce a prescription service locally.

Seems the same issue with Bajio. An excellent range and they offer prescription service via their global website, but I wasn’t keen on taking a punt with an unknown website and offshore service, without having more information from them. I was about to follow them up further when I got a response from the third brand I had shortlisted.

So, I had fired an email off to Tonic Eyewear in Australia to check on whether they could do some prescription lenses. From their website, it seems as simple as sending them my request with a copy of my eye prescription.

I got an overnight reply to my email (a big tick to both Smith and Tonic for their prompt responses to my random request). Tonic offered a name and an Aussie phone number to call for a chat on my precise requirements.

I ended up talking directly with one of their founders which gave me confidence. Seems he runs their prescription service himself. We went through all the options and my glasses arrived two weeks later, not bad at all for an international service.

In the meantime, I had received an update from their office on pending delivery and a tracking link to follow the shipment. I was impressed.

Tonic Mo Polarised Sunglasses

The sizes shown on their website indicated quite a few of the glass shapes could be too oversized for my head shape. The Mo’s fit perfectly. To test this, I can shake my head vigorously whilst looking down without fear of them dropping into the ocean. Not recommended but good to know.

I didn’t want a frame with heavy/deep side arms as I felt they limited my peripheral vision too much. As much as I want to focus on the fishlike shapes ghosting in and out of the ripples 50+ feet away, I want to easily be able to see what’s going on around me. The Mo frames are robust but not over-engineered, and afford me some indication of any movement on either side of me.

The green mirror was as prescribed - not over-mirrored but enough to reduce glare and still allow those I’m talking with to see my eyes in most light conditions.

I chose not to have photochromic lenses. I’ll likely get a yellow lens pair for the early morning or twilight fishing.

The Tonic lens is glass, not polycarbonate like most other prescription offerings. According to Tonic, and I haven’t measured, they offer the thinnest, lightest glass of all the major brands I was investigating. Only 1.7mm thick. This is apparently a noticeable weight difference allowing the glasses to be more comfortable when worn all day long. To be honest, I’m not sure I notice the difference between my old and new glasses. There’s too much else going on when I’m out on the flats.

Having worn them for a few months now, I can report back that I’m delighted with the fit, the lens colour and the clarity.

I’m yet to fit a sunglass retainer to them, and have been browsing a few options.

Image: The final selection as taken from the Tonic Eyewear website.

Summary

The deciding factor on my eventual selection was not down to online data, brand preference or even a history of a brand having greater preference and trust by the fly fishing community. It was due to phone contact.

I was fortunate to being able to deal directly with an experienced individual from a major eyewear company who was able to work through my requirements and offer a solution from their range, over the phone. And that’s what sealed the deal for me. So the purchase could have gone either way.

Luckily perhaps, these Tonic Mo sunglasses I purchased (at full retail price) have impressed me. I like the clarity and colour through the lenses. I am pleased with the shape and fit on my head. I’ll take them to Mexico early next year (likely with another pair as backup), then to Aitutaki. If anything changes, I’ll add a comment or post-edit to this article.