DJ,

I bought a pair of Smith SL2 Slider frames with interchangeable lenses. $100 The polarized lenses were an addtional $50. Ouch! Do they make a difference? Depends on what color polarized lense you use. I had both grey and brown polarized lenses, but the wife lost one of the greys up in the Antarctic. It is nice to be able to swap out lenses as the conditions change. That *will* make a difference.

The Smiths are great sunglasses and I wear them fishing, skiing, driving, shooting, etc. I'd highly recommend, but....they are pricey.

When I snapped my SnapiGlass in half last year while downrigger fishing, the top half of the rod whipped back and hit me in the face/eye. Fortunately, I was wearing my sunglasses, which took the brunt of of the blow. The hit was so hard (and embarassing) that the glasses frame snapped! Smith replaced the frames for free in 3 days, no questions asked.

I'm pretty sure that a cheap pair of shades would have done little to protect me and I'd be known as One Eyed Parker these days.

I've also been with The Kid when he was playing Bassmaster 2001 and decided that steelhead grow in trees. So, after casting his gear in the trees, he decided to pull as hard as he could to get it back. After the leader broke, the piece of pencil lead shot back and hit him in the face, hard. Like bleeding kinda hard. About 2 inches below his eye. He couldn't react fast enough, and no one can.

You get what you pay for. They are your eyes. You can use one, but I'd think you'd want to keep both. Personally, I like my eyes. Don't be cheap on good shades. Not only do they proect your eyes from harmful UV and all that other stuff, a good set of frames and lenses will protect you from high speed objects and impacts.

Always spend the extra $5 and get a set of "Croakies"...or whatever brand they are called - the straps that attach to your frames and keeps the glasses around your neck when not in use. My sunglasses seem to always really want to jump off my face and in to any body of water.

Just my .02 cents worth.