For many years, we’ve been interviewing guides, traveling anglers, and others who spend most of their days on the water. And time after time, when we ask about most important gear items, sunglasses come in as the most named piece of gear.
Sunglasses are critical for anglers. For safety, sunglasses are a shield between anglers’ eyes and hooks, and they are also vital for being able to best read water and see fish.
We recently had the chance to check out new sunglasses from a new company — Bajío. Within a short amount of time, Bajío has created a buzz in the angling community. A sharp-looking, well-branded company rollout with an attractive line of sunglasses immediately turned heads. And with long-time innovator and creator Al Perkinson as founder, people knew something big was in the works.
Perkinson has a history of identifying needs and voids and creating something new that leads to new ways of doing things. And you can already tell Bajío is a game changer. But before we get into that, let’s break down the reason for this piece in the first place — a review of the Bales Beach sunglasses.
We’ve had these sunglasses for a couple of weeks, and they are everything you’d want and expect in a high-end pair of sunglasses. Exceptionally light and with phenomenal clarity, they check every box on the water. Additionally, these sunglasses look great, and with a range of color options, they have added style appeal.
But the real story here is not each individual pair. Frankly, Al Perkinson has a long history in this industry, and I never expected anything less than an outstanding product, and expectations were met. But more than that is the story of the company.
Put of the gate, Bajío is committing to new approaches to manufacturing sunglasses. Using plant-based materials, Bajío is cutting out petroleum-based plastics in their frames. Let’s be honest, there is a horrifying amount of plastic use in fly fishing, and Bajío is already stepping up to cut plastic from a traditionally plastic-based product. Additionally, Bajío is using bamboo and recycled materials where possible, and they are committed to putting dollars toward social and environmental causes.
There’s a lot going on with this company, including the new Bajío Odyssey project — details to come soon in a new episode of The Venturing Angler Podcast. We encourage you to check this company out. Oh, and yeah, the sunglasses are great too. Check those out as well.
The Bajío Bales Beach sunglasses cost $199 for the plastic lens version. To learn more about Bajío and these sunglasses, please click here.
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Disclosure: Bajío is in a professional relationship with The Venturing Angler. Though potentially benefiting from this relationship, we do not post what we do not believe to be true. To read more, click here.