Costa Del Mar Sunglasses - Great Sunglasses with a Lifetime Warranty

Over 10 years ago I decided to buy a decent pair of sunglasses. I'd been using the usual drugstore variety or just opting for something fashionable and cheap rather than protecting my eyes with a good investment. The idea of spending over $100.00 on sunglasses just stopped me in my tracks every time I thought about it. We had taken up scuba diving and were on the water and in the sun for hours. I finally had to admit I needed eye protection not just glamour.

I checked out the top brands and found wonderful styles as well as reasonable prices in the Costa del Mar line. They created the original sun lens series Costa 400 that had superior UV protection and they were polarized against glare as well. They came in glass, mirrior, CR-39 and Polycarbonate which gives sharper contrast and better definition.

When you're on the beach or water the light conditoins change constantly. So inorder to work with these conditions Costa gives you six different lens choices. You can choose from Blue mirror, Green mirror, sunrise, a yellowish tint, Vermillion, Amber or Gray. With my original pair of Costa del Mars I went with the mirrored blue version. One it was attractive and two it really cut glare for me. I wear contact lenses so I am light sensitive. This first pair were Blackfin with the mirrored blue lens and ran me $180.00 at a boat show special. I wore them and wore them hard until a few months ago when the lens cracked. This was no fault of the design or product.I had tossed them in a large pocketbook and my dog stepped on the whole bag while it was on the seat of the car I was driving.

This leads me to the part where this company is absolutely 100% behind their product. I went on line and looked up the Costa del Mar site. They gave me a real human to talk to . I was told to print out a shipping slip and fill in information in the repairs area. I printed out the slip , packaged up my broken lenses and sent them off to the company. After examening my lenses they sent me an email offering a new pair at wholesale price. Mine would have been replaced for free but hubby had drilled a hole in each earpiece to attach croakies and this voided the complete replacement. Their warranty protectsyou agains defects in the materials and workmanship, forever, The company will handle all your repairs directly. You go to www.costadelmar and click on Care & Repair. The company is located in Daytona Beach, Florida. Sometimes a small repair charge will be applied if the problem is due to bnormal wear, scratched lenses, misuse, broken hinges and any other problems that are not covered under warranty. I picked out a replacement pair and for about $80.00 I received a brand new pair in a hard shell , zippered protective case.

There are so many outdoor sports now, skiing, fishing, hiking, bicycling, backpcking, kayaking that involve sun and galre that it's important to consider good quality when choosing eyewear. There are many top brands out there but I think for the price and service Costa del Mar is excellent. both in price, quality and service. As a bonus you get to choose from any number of combinations and styles so you can have a "look" as well as take care of your eyes.

Another point they made when I spoke with the company was to let me know I should go try on different pairs of Costas at the store before choosing a pair so I could be sure of size, fit and appearance. I thought this was very smart on their part and great attention to personal service.

The Costa construction gives you 1 millimeter thin lightwave glass, polycarbonate or CR 39 lenses. They give you 100% polarizing film made with pure PVA iodine dye, you get 100% internal uultraviolet ray shielding, no fade lens colors and a glare absorbing, anti reflective coating. They are also scratch proof with 8 layers of reflecting zircon titanium and magnesium oxides if you pick the glass lenses

The service was impeccable. The sales people were wonderful and I love my new Costa del Mars. If you participate in any outdoor sport where sun and glare are an issue these are the brand to choose and the company to work with.

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