I’m a big guy and I have a big head. Odd confession I realize, but it makes finding hats I like or sunglasses that fit straight and not bowed out a bit of a chore at times. I also like oversized sunglasses when I’m fishing because I want as much light blocked out as possible so I can see better into the water. So when I got a pair of the new Island Optics Mako XL Fishing Sunglasses, I was pretty excited to see if I found a new pair of sunglasses that checked all of my boxes.
After wearing them for a couple months, I’m pleased to say that I’m very happy with how these sunglasses fit, how well I see into the water with them, and how comfortable they have been on these long hot summer days on the water. I think if you’re looking for a big pair of vented, double hinged, no slip sunglasses with excellent lens clarity then you will want to check out these new Mako XL frames.
WHAT I LIKE ABOUT THE MAKO XL
The Mako XL offers a lot of features packed into a pair of sunglasses that are less than half the price of what several brands are charging for comparable quality. As impressed as I was with the features of the large fishing sunglasses, what I’ve been most impressed with is the lens quality. I think when you have a bigger lens in a bigger pair of shades, you actually get a better view of how good or not good lens clarity truly is.
Side light, curved shape, narrow lenses can all distort your viewing field and make you think a lens is not as good as another. But when you have a frames like the Mako XL that block out side and top light really well, that vent your face so that the insides don’t fog up and that simultaneously open up your peripheral viewing area, you see into the water so much more proficiently than other smaller shades. 
The Mako XL features vented sides to let air into your face behind the lens. This helps remove moisture that builds up from your face being hot and cool breeze on the outside causing condensation to build up and fog your glasses. The high sides on these double hinged arms block the light well from the side as well. The double hinge gives you a better fit with less pinching that can cause some anglers headaches after long days.
All of those features meant I was able to see through my lenses a lot more accurately and it made the quality of Island Optics OX2 Lens construction so much more apparent. Island Optics is a newer company in fishing, but the Alovis brothers are 5th generation eye care specialists, so they take making optically superior lenses and frames very seriously. That is apparent in their OX2 Lenses.
QUALITY LENS TECHNOLOGY YET AFFORDABLE
Island Optics OX2 lenses provide 100% UVA and UVB protection while controlling light transmission. This results in precise colors that are tuned for contrast and high visibility.
This translates into amazingly sharp clarity.
Then you add in a superior polarization coating for cutting down the glare, an oleophobic coating to protect from fingerprints and oils, a hydrophobic coating to reduces water spots and fogging, an anti-scratch coating to keep the lenses clear of obstructed viewing and finally an anti-reflective coating so you aren’t seeing reflections from inside the lenses.
All of this added to already superior optical polycarbonate nylon acrylic lenses gives the angler an incredible pair of sunglasses at one of the best fishing sunglasses price points we’ve seen on sunglasses of this quality.
ON THE WATER EXPERIENCES WITH MAKO XL SUNGLASSES
I’ve been doing a lot of shallow fishing for bass and panfish since this spring. We had a bit of an odd spring with mild weather that kept fish shallow for a long time. And I’ve enjoyed hunting a lot of quality fish with my sunglasses rather than my electronics. I’ve caught some really nice bass, big red ear sunfish and loads of big bull bluegills by looking for beds and fish cruising around in the shallows, herding bait and bugs and hiding in shady stretches. It’s somewhat fascinating to me how many fish have stayed shallow into August.
I’ve been using my Mako XLs to hunt bluegill beds in May, June and July. Every full moon, I go on the hunt, looking for beds in shallow water. I’ve found some beds in the sneakiest of places and inside of bank and mustard grass patches that I could never find with my electronics. I actually am seeing into the water so well with this big frames that I’m seeing fish before I realize why they are up there.
A big part of peering into the water to find fish or forage is looking peripherally. If you try to stare into one spot for a long time with polarized glasses, your eyes will try to play tricks on you. But if you look peripherally to the sides you will detect contrast so much better. I can quickly notice a clump of dark spots or a field of individual dark spots that signal that there is something different about that area. I’ve found stumps, grass clumps, spawning nests, moving fish, bait balls and more with the Mako XLs that have led me to most of my fish the last couple of months.
Having that larger frame makes peering into the water a lot less tiresome and gives me a much wider field of view peripherally which is everything to me.
The price alone makes these sunglasses a great buy because of all the quality features that went into these frames. I realize Florida based Island Optics is a newer brand of fishing sunglasses, having just launched in 2023, but they are quickly becoming one of my favorites.
