Item: Gunnar Optik eSports glasses
Price: $80-$100
Buy ithere
Themanufacturer’s websitefor these high-end goggles lists more than a dozen enhanced features – most of which sound like a load of voodoo marketing crap. But they’re not. Two weeks after my ocular orbs fell in love with these shades, I asked my optometrist what kind of glasses could help a heavy computer user and gamer. She systematically suggested every single feature the Gunnars have. By the time I left, she was on the website herself. Hokey sounding to the layman or not, Gunnars are legit.
So what to Gunnars actually do? Basically, they do lots of little things that are good for your eyeballs. Gunnars’ lenses are tinted and coated to enhance “good” frequencies of light, cut down on “visual noise” and block out reflections and glare. This actually makes images onscreen look clearer and sharper. In theory, this also leads to faster reaction times, but yours truly still sucks as Black Ops, so no confirmation there. Then again, dozens of pro gamers are wearing these things and they seem to be doing just fine, so there’s that.
Above: Gunnars are the official glasses of the Major League Gaming circuit. More importantly, the players actually wear them, so you know they do something
Gunnars also filter out specific frequencies of bluish-white light that our monitors unleash in vast amounts, causing eye fatigue. So your eyes won’t get as “tired.” And the lenses are specifically shaped to fend off little gusts of air and keep humidity close to your eyeballs (as all glasses would to a degree, obviously), which helps keep your eyes moist and lets you play longer without irritation.
So, should you want a pair of Gunnars? If you already wear “normal” glasses and don’t want to double up, it’s probably a no. Maybe save up for contact lenses, instead? And if you play in small doses, sit in an evenly-lit room, have never experienced eye fatigue and aren’t terribly competitive, maybe not.
For everyone else… maybe so. It’s an inexact science, but I’d suggest looking into Gunnars if any two or three of these statements describe your gaming style:
-If you’re a PC player who sits close to a monitor, or a console player whose couch is abnormally close to a giant TV.
-If you play for hours on end.
-If you play so competitively that a mildly perceptible bump in visual clarity is worth it to you.
-If you have naturally dry eyes.
-If you play in a dark room, in which a bright TV blazes like a high-contrast star.
-If you actually do feel your eyes get fatigued at times (if this one’s a yes, I guarantee these will feel like an instant massage for your eyes).
Above: This is the exact pair of Gunnars I am wearing as I type this
For my own part, the Gunnars are a godsend. But I make my living staring at various glowing screens for 14 hours a day, so I’ll admit your mileage may vary. But that’s okay. The point I’m trying to make is not that you absolutely need these glasses. The point is that they actually do the things they claim to do. So if the things I’m talking about here sound good to you, don’t be afraid to pull the trigger on these … ahem … Gunnars.
Nov 24, 2010
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