Time to get your GUNNAR on! Tell us about yours below!
I’ve got a pair of the Weezers and they really do make a difference in making the screen less harsh. Some people complain about needing to get used to the yellow color, but it’s not a problem I’ve had. These really do make a difference, and for this price they are worth a shot if you’re curious about whether they’d work for you.
I’ve had Gunnars before and they do work if you’re usually staring at documents.
It’s probably just me but while I game in the day when it’s well lit I don’t notice a huge difference. At night time it’s a lot more relaxing looking at the screen. Especially when I turn off the lights and game at night. The contrast between the monitor light and darkness of my room don’t bother my eyes at all. The frame is really light.
Yes, there’s a yellow tint when you wear the glasses. However you get used to it relatively quickly within a short amount of time (<5m). If you’re more worried about what you’re doing instead of the yellow tint you completely forget about it. Everything looks like it’s in normal color except for a slight yellow tint. In my experience when I remove the glasses everything seems more blue until I adjust to it again.
My only real problem with the glasses is that they made my ear sore where the arms rested on. I had to elevate the arms slightly above it and have my headset keep it in place. Not sure how it made my ear sore in that specific place since I have a circumaural headset. So it’s not like it’s pushing my ear into the frame’s arm.
Wondering which of these is able to accept prescription lenses. Also, is the yellow color the whole big deal with these glasses? What if I get my local eyeglass store to tint any ole set of lenses yellow? What’s the difference?
Picked the Wing style up last time, and loved them; only problem for me was that I require a minor RX, and the +.2 that these ones came with created a bit of an issue for me; so I ordered RX lenses, and they are awesome!
I would also like to note that my order from Woot did NOT come with the hard case, but rather just a protective sleeve. I would strongly recommend picking up the Gunner case too to keep your new glasses protected, especially if you are going to be transporting them a lot. I keep the protective sleeve on them inside the case too and use it as a cleaning rag.
I picked mine up at Best Buy because I had a gift card, but many online stores have them too:
I bought the Weezer branded ones in the last Woot plus event. I am not impressed. They feel cheap like a pair of $5 gas-station sunglasses. They pull on my ears a bit and dig in to my nose bridge.
The optics are a mixed bag. The yellow tint is not a problem, as you become used to it in a matter of minutes. The benefit seems minor, if even perceptable. The magnification was not helpful. My eyes freaked out for the first few hours trying to use them at the computer screen. I am near sighted and thus have natural magnification, so the extra magnification - mild as it is - was just too much. This may not be a problem for you, though. The magnification also makes them useless for gaming at a regular television set unless you want to be extremely close to the screen. The only gaming use for these seems to be for those who do PC gaming 10 inches from the screen. At 10 feet from the screen, I need my distance glasses to see comfortably, so I can’t wear these.
Bottom line, though, is that I notice no appreciable difference in how tired my eyes are after a day of screen gazing. I think they are a gimmick with little, if any, benefit for your eyes.
Another point I want to make, is that these ALWAYS sell out when they are offered. It took me a few go arounds before I could grab the pair I wanted.
These glasses are also mentioned in articles by Lifehacker as being recommended by the Vision Council.
I own the MW3 set, which I bought from one the Woot Plus deals for Gunnar. I absolutely love them. They are a fine product.
4 things to point out:
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If you aren’t used to wearing glasses all the time it will take you a day or two to get used to having something on your face.
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Check the dimensions on their website or at any resellers for the out of date models. I got the MW3 set because they were the largest and I needed them for my big head.
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You will probably notice that these are considerably more useful in the evening, or sitting in your basement playing Halo 4 with the lights off
If you are in a office setting right next to the window, you might benefit more from the glare protection than the eye strain reduction. If you game, or work on spreadsheets, in the evening you will almost definitely see a reduction in eye strain. -
Take into consideration what you’re planning on using these for. I have a 24" monitor and play full screen games at about 10" away. I knew that I would need large lenses so that I can move my eyes without moving my head. If I were playing on my TV from 6-10’ away I might be able to get the more stylish sets that have smaller lenses.
I live near and game with the main Call of Duty player who is sponsored by Gunnar. He uses them when he plays at big tournaments and always wears them around as a sponsored athlete but admits they are more of a gimmick than anything. Personally, my vision is very good without any kind of eyewear so using them really had no upside. I found the distraction with my Astro headset and the yellow tint to outweigh the positives. Plus you feel like a nerd like never before! lol
Just a reminder that the lifehacker article is a sponsored post. So take it with a grain of salt.
I’ve been wearing Rx glasses since I was about 10 yrs old (1974). Dedicated computer glasses are not new. For those asking why the glass lenses are yellow its to cut down on glare (you see it in shooting glasses as well). If I remember correctly color monitors also tend to be blue shifted so it helps with eye strain as well.
You can pick up a pair of shooting glasses and probably get some help with glare but they aren’t cheap in general. Some safety glasses are tinted yellow but they’re really cheap.
Per their website you can get them fit with Rx lenses (they recommend either Ziess or gunnars own). It bumps up the cost considerable, but personally I am used to it. I think this is for all their frames. I usually wear Oakley but I can’t see putting in +$400 for a pair dedicated for just the computer. So I got a pair of Wi-Five and am hoping that for $45 + the cost of lenses it will work out.
How about dialing warmer colors in your monitor instead? If all they do is shift white balance and reduce brightness, why wouldn’t I just calibrate my screen as such?
I have had mine for several years now. Forgot to take them off one night after gaming with my brother at his place and was very happy to note that they also help to reduce the glare from those ultra blue halogen headlights. Really makes a difference for me when driving at night. Love them.
Are you kidding me? Woot only had ONE pair of the Bit Surfer???
Buying by first pair. Going for the Gem model. Not sure if I’ll be a fan of the blue frames or not. They look BA in the pictures though.
I was really excited when I saw these! I saw the article on lifehacker when it was first published, and have wanted some ever since.
I’ve seen them on sale here a few times, but they sell out so quickly.
I finally got the chance to order them today, and viola! No shipping to canada!? I’m a little pissed…
Does anyone know where I can get these without spending $100 - $200?
Thinkgeek has them for about $60, and I know they will take my money. But I love woots good deals.
Bestbuy.com has some starting at $55. Sears.com has pairs starting from $60.
Also main Gunnar site has some pairs for $50 (probably soon to be discontinued?) http://shop.gunnars.com/outpost-web-exclusives/l/700
Not sure if all of those guys ship to Canada. It sounds like the main Gunnar site does from a quick google search. Don’t beat me up too bad if I’m wrong.
I wonder if there are more people who choose not to buy something because it has “Call of Duty” slapped all over it than choose to buy it.
Find someone you trust in the US and have them reship the woot order to you if the cost savings that way is worth it.