The Gunnars!!! “Advanced Computer/Gaming Eyewear designed to protect, enhance and optimize your vision”. “Snake oil...” shouted my Ed, “...there's nothing such as this”. If you are as sceptical as my Editor, I wouldn't blame you. After all, how can yellow tinted glasses help your eyes when staring at the screen? And why am I so interested in checking Gunnars out (other than for the sake of curiosity)?

Time for a little flashback... Back in 2003, when I was playing GTA:Vice City a little too much, my eye doctor highly recommended glare reducing spectacles for me, this, in spite of having 20/20 vision. From then till now, I've always worn glasses when sitting in front of the computer to reduce eye-strain. Therefore I was keenly interested in trying out this 'off-the-shelf' solution than the ones I get made through the local shop next to my house.

But Which Gunnar?
Gunnars comes in two flavours, the Amber tinted and the Clear (Crystalline) no-tints edition marketed as “Gunnars Advanced Gaming Eyewear” and “Gunnars Advanced Computer Eyewear” respectively. The difference, as Gunnar markets it, is that the yellow tint helps in “improving visual efficiency, endurance, and recovery while combating eye fatigue during extended hours of gaming”. This is not to say the plain whites don't do anything. More on that later.

But Why Yellow/Amber?
Using Yellow tints in glasses is nothing new. Professionals such as marksmen, hunters, drivers, skiers/snowboarders, pilots and bikers are known to use them to enhance vision by increasing contrast. Of course, this will not turn you into a pro-gamer just by wearing these, but will certainly assist you in spotting your next head shot.

No, this not a dumb blonde, she is Julie Goloski professional markswoman, competition shooter, and national/world champion

Below is a typical example of cheesy 80's American commercial which is snake oil at its best and pretty (unintentionally) funny too.

Don't Frame Me
All the glasses that you see at Gunnars.co.in website such as Rocket-Onyx, MLG Legend – Olive, Wi-Five – Espresso, etc are nothing but different frames and styling. They all hold the same tinted or non-tinted glasses having the same health benefits across the line-up. Some as you may notice have basic frames to cooler styling with wider field-of-view such as Halogen – Onyx.

If you look like this however, no amount of awesome glasses or photoshop can make you look into this...

Yes these are actual gaming chicks using their own (bought and paid for) Gunnars, xMrsViolencex review and Raychul Moore review.

Marketing Hype or Reality?
The problem with Gunnars website is that it is overly peppered with marketing talk that’s a little too in-your-face for delicate sensibilities of most humans. You'll see “proprietary terms” flying left, right and centre such as Lens_Tint [IONIK], Lens Geometry [FRACTYL], Lens Material [DIAMIX], LENS COATINGS [I-FI] and headache inducing fancy talk such as “A hydrophobic component keeps water spots to a minimum while an oleophobic coating protects from smudging and fingerprints”. I'm seriously PR-O-phobic of this.

In spite of this, surprisingly and thankfully the technology works as advertised as Ophthalmologists generally advice (Arstechinca notes this too)...
- Anti-reflective (AR) coating to reduce glare used in almost all optical technologies (exactly what I had on my previous spectacles before Gunnars)
- Hydrophobic and Oleophobic components are no different from the ones used in premium coatings in spectacles and sunglasses
- The amber/yellow tint increases contrast when looking at computer or television screens
- “Comfort and focus while reducing eye strain” is partly due to Gunnars having .25 dioptre, a standard practice called "lag of accommodation", that is a slightly higher number reduces the squinting and straining that eyes generally do after long hours of reading or viewing a screen

So in the end what we are looking at is nothing more than a handful of well-known optical techniques put together by Gunnar in a convenient off-the-shelf ready to use package. No rocket science, no re-inventing the wheel and certainly no snake-oil.

For more on Gunnar technology + marketing spiel, see their technology videos here.

But Then Why All This Marketing Talk?
This is the question that I pondered on for long, the benefits are nothing new, the spectacles work as advertised but why all the over-the-top marketing talk. Gunnar Optiks certainly gets the message across but doesn't exactly infuse confidence.

Apparently I'm not the only one who asked this question, after reading betanews article, you can't help but feel a bit empathetic towards Gunnar's predicament. I quote...

Gunnar's founder Joe Croft told us the hype outweighs the science to improve their chances of market adoption.

"There are times when we've been accused of having 'slick marketing' which could possibly detract from the medical message," Croft told Betanews. "From day one, we realized we were making something that is inherently uncool, computer safety eyewear. In order for it to become socially acceptable and widely adopted, you've got to make something uncool very cool. And that's where it doesn't hurt to pull in the celebrities, and forge these partnerships, and make a big deal out of the image side of it."

And on why is there no single seal of medical approval in the marketing?
"There isn't really a single stamp of approval to say: yes, this is a medically beneficial product." Croft said. "And at the end of the day, every mom in the world would love to have their kid who's playing tons of video games wear safety glasses, but it's a brand killer if Mom says 'Here, Johnny, you have to wear these."

"You have to work the opposite angle," Croft continued. "You can make it cool with all the pro gamers and influencers and all the guys that Johnny aspires to be…once you have them, it's an easy sell at that point. Because mom then doesn't know what they are, but when she finds out they protect your eyes, she's okay with them. That's exactly what we're going for.

So Would I Recommend Them?
That would be a resounding “Yes”. While I certainly wouldn't recommend this to my mom who uses the computer for barely 2 hours, I would definitely recommend it to all those who use computers for 8 hours a day; akin to a professional working with tools which lead to occupational hazards. The occupational hazard in the case of computer users is “Computer Vision syndrome” e.g. dry eyes, blurred vision, irritation, eye fatigue, headaches, and neck and back pain.

Luckily I have not suffered from major eye diseases, though I have noticed redness, irritation and sometimes dry eyes. Wearing glasses has always assisted in reducing the effects but don't expect the effects to completely go away unless you follow simple 20:20:20 Rules (every twenty minutes focus on something twenty feet away for twenty seconds).

I've used both the amber tinted and the clear glass Gunnars and the difference is certainly noticeable. While both do the same job essentially, the amber tint does tend to relax the eyes more than the clear whites. The side-effect effect, amber tint on everything that you see on the screen and off. While most people will not like the 'unnatural' tint, it does become unnoticeable after using it, especially in games, where you'll be far more busy with what's on the screen to notice a nude gamer playing next to you (check out Nude Gaming Party-NSFW). As for professionals, that need accurate colour correction, stick to non-tinted clear white glasses.

Are These Worth The Price?
While pricey face-huggers are not appealing, cheap ones don't lend much to quality either. The basic spectacles that I've got made through an optician cost me around Rs 3000 including the frame (around 2 years back), the more fancy the frame, higher the cost. However, the standard pair did not include scratch-resistant hard coat (the optician assured me “some scratches chalega”), minus the amber tint. Adding that would easily bring the cost close to Rs 4500, the starting cost of Gunnar's spectacles and nowhere near the quality or the thought put behind the frames either.

As per the frames; you get the normal ones generally coupled with clear glass and headphone/headset friendly frames that don't interfere when gaming for long hours. The ones made for gaming are not marketing faff, they do accommodate when headphones press against the temples and are easy to take off and put on with headphones on the head.

Left are regular frames VS on the right are headset friendly frames
 

Those who have a number will be happy to know that Gunnars offers Rx compatible glasses. The glasses are made by Carl Zeiss optics and unfortunately cost a pretty penny. Expect to pay more than Rs.10,000 for a pair of Gunnars to tailor to your needs. Alternatively, you can always wear lenses and then buy a standard pair for much lesser. Click here to read more.

Try Before You Buy
I for one did not want to buy without trying some of the Gunnars myself. While we got our review samples directly from the company, you can check the glasses out at retail gaming shops such as Games The Shop at malls. They don't have much in terms of styles to check out. Alternately, you may call Sparen International (Mumbai) and request for a demo before you purchased. Once you have decided to buy Gunnars for yourself, I'd suggest checking out online prices that could be around Rs.500 to Rs.1000 lower than the retail prices.

Editor's note: All references to the Editor made in this article are purely a figment of the reviewer's imagination. The review is real though.

Tags : computers