Momma always told us that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all, so we aren’t reviewing any the cheap poker glasses because none of them are worth having. A number of companies sent us shades to review, and other than Blue Sharks, which we’ve reviewed below, they were no better than $10 shades from a gas station. In a wide open market with so many people looking to find an advantage it makes sense that a number of companies would pop up to sell junk to unsuspecting players, but the fact that only one company made shades that were even wearable was surprising.
Blue Shark Optics Review
Blue Sharks have pretty much everything we wanted in poker shades. For around $100 depending on the model, they are a great investment and we’ll be wearing them in every tournament we play from now on.
Comfort 9/10 – Both models we tested, the Hoyt Corkins signature edition and the Swamp Shark were comfortable enough to wear all day. One of our reviewers does not normally wear glasses and is terribly picky about sunglasses, and he was able to wear the Corkins models comfortably from noon until he chopped the tournament at two a.m.
Clarity 8/10 – The Blue Sharks let in the vast majority of available light with no distortion and very little reflection. There was a tiny amount of reflection from overhead light, but this problem disappeared entirely when we put on a baseball hat to block overhead light. We had no problem spotting tells across the table or seeing a tournamnet clock across the room.
Intimidation 10/10 – Players who don’t know anything about Blue Sharks will be uncomfortable with the fact that they can’t see your eyes, and players who are familiar with them will know that you can see them clearly, but won’t know if you’re watching them. Definitely intimidating. Solid players will definitely give you a little more credit if they know you’re wearing quality shades than they would if you were wearing junk.
Quality 9/10 – The Blue Sharks were just a notch below our $300-$400 sunglasses, but way ahead of every other product we saw, and much better than cheap sunglasses. They are built well and have held up perfectly over months of use (and occasional abuse). These shades will last.
Overall we were very impressed with the Blue Sharks. As with many markets there is a leader and a host of imitators, and Blue Shark is the clear leader. We expected a similar product for less money from some other companies with glasses that looked like Blue Sharks on their website, but the imitators are cheaply built junk with lenses that reflect from the inside and are hard to wear for more than a few minutes. Until a real competitor emerges, Blue Shark is the undisputed champ.
