Tech Olive

This is a three part review by Tim, Craig, and Steve. Each have their input on the glasses separately.

Tim’s Review

I will admit, when I first heard of these glasses, I had serious doubts as to how well they would work. The maker’s claims seemed too good to be true, especially in just a simple pair of glasses. I went into this expecting nothing but a yellow-tinted view, but it actually did help in multiple ways. However, the slight discoloration did get in the way with some computer tasks like editing photos.

It felt very different gaming with these glasses, not only because I don’t wear any prescription glasses, but also because it made a change to the contrast and color. However, they were comfortable enough to easily get used to and after a few minutes, my eyes adjusted to the color change. Once I got used to that, I felt the glasses actually helped quite a bit, making it easier to focus on things and it really did lessen the fatigue I usually felt after long hours of computing.

Steve’s Review

If the folks at Gunnar could make these glasses without the tint, I would probably stand in line to buy them all a drink. Here’s why:

The glasses seemed to live up to the claims of the manufacturer quite well. A few of those claims: eases eye strain, enhances eye focusing power, increases detail, keeps eyes from drying out, eliminates glare. Sounds pretty great, right?

Let me divulge the cons first. The keyword here is SUBTLE. No, you won’t experience a miracle when you grace your face with these stylish shades. In fact, the first thing you will notice is the yellow-bathed world around you. While the lemon colored reality is something I adjusted to pretty quickly, it sadly made the glasses unsuitable for the task that causes my eyestrain: hours in front of the screen editing pictures. Now, I suppose I could use the glasses, and err on the yellow side when color correcting, but I’m not going to. Also, at the risk of oversimplifying a couple of the benefits Gunnar is providing the world, I’m not convinced that the humid “ocular micro-climate” (quoting from the Gunnar webpage) that is created for your eyes to keep them from drying out is superior to what every person wearing prescription glasses enjoys all the time. I’m also not sure that the pleasant result of “enhanced focusing power” is terribly different from a very mild pair of reading glasses.

But here is the deal (and the PROS):

The above  image illustrates the difference as best we could – the super-imposed circle was taken while holding the glasses in front of my camera lens. Both images were taken with a tripod that didn’t move, and at the same exposure. The only adjustment I made to either image was to tone the one taken through the glasses blue enough to match the other so that only differences in clarity and contrast would be noticeable. The distortion visible (the images don’t line up exactly) is due to the “enhanced eye focusing power” of the glasses. I think it is clear that the glasses do improve contrast.

In short, you get everything they claim, however subtly: contrast boost, glare control, slight magnification, and your own tropic ecosystem that keeps your eyes moist (ie, the breeze from your case fans don’t dry your eyes out as fast). The glasses are very light, comfortable, and do make a notable improvement to the computing experience. Who wouldn’t want all that? Oh, and they look cool.

Craig’s Review

After a total of about 15 minutes of testing time with these glasses, I did not see the point of them. They were comfortable and they did come in a cool box, but the yellow tint ruined it all. Sorry :(

Scores:

- Price: 5
Although the glasses do help, it is not enough to justify the high price tag.

- Setup/Install: N/A
As long as you have a head, ‘Installation’ of these glasses should be pretty straightforward.

- Ease of Use: N/A
Again, if you have eyes, you should have no problem using these glasses.

- Performance: 8
They do help quite fantastically, making most text easier to read and keep you more focused, visually and mentally.

- Features: 7
These glasses not only reduce fatigue on your eyes, but also are designed to block airflow to your eyes, preventing them from drying out.

Overall: 7 Olives