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HiDefSpex
  |  First Published: March 2008



Talk to me about polarised sunglasses and you’re likely to get a good gob full of technical who-har about lenses.

To me, being able to see effectively above and below the water is absolutely paramount when you’re fishing. Without a good pair of specs on your head you might as well not go fishing at all, and we don’t want that now do we?

I’ve been wearing and selling a multitude of the world’s best polarised fishing optics for 20 years so excuse me if I sound like I know what I’m talking about. The fact of the mater is it’s the lens that make the sunnies and the new range of HDS (HiDefSpex) certainly has what it takes to get the job done!

Why so special?

Using the most in advanced lens material science has to offer, the Diamond Vision lens is not only 100% distortion free (optically correct) but is made from a space age, kooky polymer that’s bullet proof. I’m not kidding, it really is bullet proof!

HDS lenses begin their lives as red hot liquid and take approximately 20 hours to cure. That’s 19 hours, 59 minutes and 58 seconds longer than it takes to knock out a set of polycarbonate lenses. The problem with making polycarbonate lenses so quickly is it puts a lot of undue stress on the molecular structure of the material, creating uneven blemishes in the lens, which equals distortion, crazing, fogginess and bad vision. HiDefSpex lenses start life as a cool liquid and undergo no extreme heating, so the distortion created under the extreme heats polycarbonate lenses go through simply does not occur.

The high definition clarity has to be seen to be believed. When I was first introduced to these glasses I was given the usual rig moral about how good they are to look through and as usual I took all the techno talk with a grain of salt. But after putting the specs on myself, I can tell you that you will never look through a clearer set of lenses in your life – that’s a big deal.

Previously, to get this sort of clarity you needed to go to multi-layered glass lenses, which are incredibly heavy and can delaminate if the manufacturers are a little lazy or careless. But now you and your nose can kick back in comfort and style as you shed around 36% of the weight of glass with HDS Diamond Vision glasses.

The ColorTrast technology that’s behind the tinting process allows intensified light and contrasting colours through to the eye producing extremely sharp detail and colour definition. What this means to you, the angler, is these lenses will split the difference in two very simular coloured objects, such as the bottom and a fish. The lenses will also give you a contrast variance that distinguishes the two items apart.

With HD or High Definition lenses you can choose from 3 different tinting gradients. The Rx light management system takes you from 65 Ultra Low Light, 40 Low Light to 15 Bright Sun Light Clouds in these 3 well defined tint variations.

What you get

HiDefSpex are now available in four frame styles and two polar lens options for anglers. The frames available include the Corsa, Daytona, Dino and Monaco. The two lens options are rated as 8% blocking and 16% blocking. This means the 8% blocking lens keeps out 92% of harmful rays and the 16% blocking lens keeps out 84% of the harmful rays.

There is already a vast range of frames available in the hunting series (which are equally good for fishing) and an everyday wear range that has blocking figures of 15%, 25%, 40%, and 65%, so even the most fastidious of anglers can find a lens and frame to suit their needs.

The frame I use is called Corsa and is designed to fit comfortably on your face and not allow any sidelight to intrude and reduce the polarising capabilities of the lens. While on the subject of the frame, each frame is specifically designed for comfort and control. By control I mean the designers have built their own material for the nose bridge and arms.

These materials actually grip to the skin and mean your glasses will stay firmly on your head. The more you sweat, the stickier these products become too. It’s a great material. And the frame also has strategically placed air vents to stop you fogging up the lenses, which I discovered on a recent trip to Queensland. When it’s humid, try moving from a beautifully air conditioned car into the moist atmosphere and see what happens. Almost every pair of glasses will fog up – not the HiDefSpex though. Awesome.

Apart from the technically superior lenses and the well designed frames, each pair of HiDefSpex comes with a protective case that can clip onto your belt or pants, a cleaning cloth and soft bag, a floating lanyard that can slip over the arms and a guarantee that offers lifetime crack or break warranty on the frames and the lenses.

Another plus, for those who need prescription lenses in their HiDefSpex, the entire range of frames and lenses are available in full RX prescription. The prescription lenses are built without any loss of lens quality and setting them apart from many other polarised glasses available. This is an important point because I reckon one day I’ll need prescriptions, especially if I keep looking through the water to find those ever elusive shadows of fish.

It’s a pretty good deal all over and I am pretty well sold on the glasses. Keep in mind though, these glasses are not your every day run of the mill, job them out as quickly as possible glasses. HiDefSpex are serious glasses for serious outdoor purists. They sell for around the $350 mark, which is right around the figure of the best polarised glasses currently on the market. They are a considered purchase at the shop, but please make sure you pop them on your face. You’ll immediately see and feel the difference.

Get ‘em on

If you’re hunting for the next big thing in lens material or just want to be able to see all that you can you really should get a set of these on your head. Check out www.hidefspex.com for more information on the fishing glasses as well as the range of hunting, golfing and outdoor glasses or call Glenn Walker on 0411 402 010 or email him at --e-mail address hidden-- to find where your local stocklist is. I promise you’ll never look back!

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