I had to go looking for new yellow polarized sunglasses recently when I lost my all-time favorite Smith Optics Undertows and then found Smith had discontinued them and now only make two models which fit my large head and come in yellow lenses, and both are ugly and block peripheral vision so are not suitable for driving or sports. So decided to try some Flying Fishermans since they also make yellow polarized lenses and in a few models that will fit me.

The Calcuttas work fine. The yellow lenses are well polarized (as good as can be achieved in a light yellow lens) with good optical quality and the frames are light and comfortable. They do not block peripheral vision and stay on fine for sports like biking, boating, and hiking. Best of all, they are cheap so I am not worried I will lose or break them.

I must have yellow polarized lenses in at least one pair of sunglasses. To me, they are the best all-around color since they work fine in bright sunlight due to the polarization, and are not too dark for mountain biking, kayaking, hiking, and stream fishing where you are constantly going from sunlight to shade and back. They brighten up cloudy and rainy days while still providing UV protection and polarization. They can be worn from early in the morning until dusk. I am very glad FF started making models with yellow lenses as well as increased their quality to a level I am satisfied with.

As far as durability, these appear fine so far. I normally get two or three years from a pair of "daily driver" sunglasses before the lenses are too scratched or the frames are too beat up. I owned a couple of pairs of FF sunglasses purchased in the distant past that were of unacceptable optical quality and durability, but they appear to have stepped up and now are of good enough quality.

This is high praise for a <$20 pair of sunglasses from me. I also have expensive polarized sunglasses from Maui Jim, Costa, Bolle, Native, and many others in my collection (yes, I am a polarized sunglass nut) but I wear these cheap Calcuttas more than 80% of the time since the yellow lenses are so versatile.

I guess I need cons in this glowing review and here they are. The current model of sunglasses do not have the classier cursive logo stenciled on the legs as shown in the picture. Instead there is a crummy little plate that falls off and leaves a hole. Yellow sunglasses do affect color perception and wash out blue colors, including the sky. But this also raises contrast and clarity and I am fine with the trade-off but it can take some getting used to. I once lent a pair to a pilot who thought they were the most horrible sunglasses he had ever worn due to the color of the lenses.

Edit: almost 1 year later. I lost these sunglasses over the weekend and am back to buy another pair, so figured this is a good time to give the long term review. I was almost ready for a new pair, anyway, so it was not much of a loss. The old pair was getting a bit scratched, but they can't be blamed for this since I would often clean them with the tail of my shirt as well as carry them in my pocket without a case, plus they had some light scratches from branches during hiking (while protecting my eyes!) And one lens was getting a little loose but you could only tell when cleaning them  - it never fell out.  They were worn almost every day of the year. Even though I obtained yet another nice pair of polarized sunglasses the past year (found a perfect pair of glass, blue mirror polarized Costas in the ocean), I wore the Calcuttas over 95% of the time this year.