Oakley Split Shot Review: Best PRIZM Water Fishing Sunglasses

The Oakley Split Shot was Oakley's first frame designed specifically for water sports, and it introduced something no other fishing sunglasses had at the time: PRIZM Water lens technology. Instead of simply darkening and polarizing your view, PRIZM Water selectively enhances the colors that matter most for spotting fish and reading underwater structure.

For sight fishermen, that distinction is everything.

PRIZM Water: Beyond Standard Polarization

Standard polarized lenses do one thing: eliminate horizontal glare off the water surface. PRIZM Water does that plus a second thing that matters more — it selectively filters specific light wavelengths to enhance contrast between fish, vegetation, rocks, and the water itself.

Here's the practical difference. With standard copper polarized lenses, you can see through the surface glare into the water below. With PRIZM Water, you can see through the surface and the fish, weed beds, and bottom structure appear with heightened definition because the lens is amplifying the specific color wavelengths that differentiate them from their surroundings.

Shallow Water vs. Deep Water

Oakley offers two PRIZM Water tunings:

PRIZM Shallow Water Polarized — Tuned for sight fishing in water under 15 feet. Enhances greens, reds, and earth tones to make fish and bottom detail stand out in freshwater lakes, rivers, and saltwater flats. This is the lens for bass anglers scanning submerged timber, fly fishers reading a trout stream, or flats guides spotting redfish over grass.

PRIZM Deep Water Polarized — Tuned for offshore and bluewater. Enhances blues and greens to spot fish, bait schools, and color changes in deep water. The Deep Water lens handles the extreme brightness of open ocean better than the Shallow Water tint.

Most anglers will want the Shallow Water version — it covers the widest range of fishing scenarios. Deep Water is the specialist choice for offshore-only use.

The Integrated Leash

The Split Shot includes a removable 20-inch lightweight woven steel leash that attaches at both temple tips. This sounds like a minor feature. It isn't.

Every angler who's lost a pair of sunglasses overboard knows the sinking feeling (literally) of watching $200 disappear beneath the surface. Aftermarket retainers work, but they're easy to forget, they slide, and cheap ones break. The Split Shot's integrated leash solves all three problems:

• It's always there — you can't forget it because it's part of the frame
• Woven steel won't stretch, slip, or degrade in saltwater
• It's lightweight enough that you genuinely forget it's attached

The leash is fully removable if you prefer your own retainer or don't want it for non-fishing use. The attachment points are small metal loops at the temple tips that accept the leash clips.

One minor complaint: the attachment loops can occasionally snag on shirt collars or jacket hoods. It's not a frequent issue, but it happens.

Frame and Coverage

The O Matter frame is Oakley's proprietary stress-resistant thermoplastic. It's lightweight, durable, and maintains its shape in temperature extremes — from freezing morning launches to midday sun on an open boat. O Matter is also resistant to saltwater corrosion, though you should still rinse after every saltwater trip.

Extended coverage on the top, sides, and temple areas blocks peripheral light from entering around the lens edges. This serves the same purpose as Costa's side shields — reducing stray light that degrades polarization effectiveness. The Split Shot's approach is less aggressive than the Blackfin Pro's dedicated side shield panels, but it's noticeably better than a standard wrap frame.

The medium-to-large fit accommodates most face shapes without the oversized feel of the Costa Blackfin Pro. If you've tried Costa's large frames and found them too wide, the Split Shot may fit better.

Unobtainium Grip

Oakley's Unobtainium is a proprietary rubber compound used on the nose pads that gets tackier when exposed to moisture. It's the same material used across Oakley's sport line (Flak 2.0, Jawbreaker, Radar) and it works exactly as advertised — the wetter your face gets from sweat or spray, the more securely the frame grips.

The nose pad is a single non-adjustable piece, unlike Costa's fully adjustable nose pads. For most face shapes, the fixed position works well. But if you have a very flat or very narrow nose bridge, you can't customize the fit the way you can with adjustable pads.

High Definition Optics

The Plutonite polycarbonate lens is optically corrected using Oakley's High Definition Optics (HDO) standard, which means the lens meets ANSI Z87.1 testing for optical clarity and impact resistance. HDO lenses are ground to minimize distortion across the entire lens surface, including at the edges where cheaper lenses show noticeable warping.

The practical benefit: objects appear where they actually are, even when you're looking through the peripheral areas of the lens. For sight fishing, where you're scanning a wide area and tracking moving fish, distortion-free edge-to-edge vision matters.

One note on UV protection: Oakley rates the Split Shot at 99% UVA/UVB filtration, not 100%. The practical difference between 99% and 100% is negligible for human health, but Costa and Maui Jim both spec their lenses at 100%.

On the Water

The Split Shot performs best in the scenario it was designed for: sight fishing. Whether you're poling a flats skiff looking for tailing redfish, wading a trout stream reading lies, or scanning from a bass boat for underwater structure, the PRIZM Shallow Water lens reveals detail that standard polarized lenses miss.

The difference is most dramatic in variable-depth water — where the bottom transitions from sand to grass, or where scattered rocks create shadows that fish use as cover. PRIZM's contrast enhancement separates these elements visually, while standard polarized lenses render them as a more uniform dark mass.

In offshore deep water conditions with the PRIZM Deep Water lens, the Split Shot handles extreme brightness well. The extended coverage keeps peripheral glare manageable, and the polarization cuts through open-water reflection. Bait balls and color changes in the water column are easier to spot than with a standard gray polarized lens.

How the Split Shot Compares

vs. Costa Blackfin Pro ($212–280): The Blackfin Pro's 580G glass lenses deliver better raw optical clarity. The fishing-specific frame features (sweat channels, eyewire drains) are more specialized. But the Split Shot's PRIZM Water lens offers better contrast enhancement for sight fishing, and it's lighter with an included leash. Choose the Blackfin Pro for maximum clarity and offshore comfort; choose the Split Shot for sight fishing and lighter weight.

vs. Costa Broadbill ($180–250): The Broadbill is more versatile as an everyday frame and offers both 580G and 580P lens options with seven color choices. But it doesn't have PRIZM-level contrast enhancement or an integrated leash. The Split Shot is the better fishing-specific tool; the Broadbill is the better all-around frame.

vs. Wiley X WX Aspect (~$90): The Aspect costs less than half the price and adds ANSI Z87.1+ safety certification. But its standard polarized lens doesn't come close to PRIZM Water's contrast enhancement, and the frame lacks the Split Shot's extended coverage and integrated leash. The Aspect is the budget pick; the Split Shot is the performance pick.

Who Should Buy the Split Shot

Buy it if: You sight fish — period. Whether it's bass, trout, redfish, bonefish, or permit, the PRIZM Water lens gives you a genuine visibility advantage over standard polarized lenses. The integrated leash and lightweight frame are bonuses that make it the most practical fishing sunglass available.

Skip it if: You strictly fish offshore and want the best glass optics (the Costa Blackfin Pro is better for that), you need maximum scratch resistance (polycarbonate scratches, glass doesn't), or you fish once or twice a year and don't need PRIZM technology (the best fishing sunglasses under $100 will handle casual trips).

Final Verdict

The Oakley Split Shot is the best sight fishing sunglasses you can buy. PRIZM Water lens technology is a genuine advantage — it reveals underwater detail that standard polarized lenses can't match. The integrated leash, lightweight O Matter frame, and Unobtainium grip round out a package that's purpose-built for anglers who need to see what's below the surface.

At $170–230, it sits below the Costa Blackfin Pro while delivering better contrast enhancement for sight fishing. For our full comparison of the best fishing sunglasses at every price point, see our complete fishing sunglasses guide.