Recently I have received a pair of Gunnar Optiks’ Phenom eyeglasses. I’m not going to lie, I was very skeptical that these would really do anything, however, after a few days with them I have noticed a complete change in the way I play video games.
The Phenom glasses I am using are from the Advanced Computer Eyewear line. The first thing I noticed, is that the amber lens tint really helps to distinguish the ball in sports games played on grass. This is particularly helpful in FIFA 11, where picking up the ball can be somewhat difficult depending on the shadows at the particular stadium you are playing in. The one sports game where the glasses didn’t really help was in the NHL 12. As the white from the ice was slightly tinted, it did not particularly make picking up the puck any easier. However for every grass based sport, these were a great help.
The greatest benefit I have seen from the Gunnars come from their iONik tinted lens which give them their amber tint. This tint ” reduces high energy visible light”. I’m not optometrist, but from what I understand, this helps reduce the wear on your eyes that makes you tired. From my time with them, I can say this works very well. Usually at the end of a long gaming session my eyes get tired and are a little dried out. After multiple 5+ hour gaming sessions, I can report that my eyes have never felt better.
The only drawback I’ve seen in my testing has come when playing with a lack of ambient light. Under those conditions you can see the reflection of your own eyes in the lenses which can be very distracting.
As for the Phenom frames in particular, they are quiet stylish and, for the sturdiness of them, are very light. The only issue I ran into with the frames was that due to the thickness of the arm, it was a little uncomfortable to wear them under my Turtle Beach X41 and Logitech G35 headsets. The Advanced Gaming Eyewear line by Gunnars is marketed as “headset compatible” and as soon as I can get a pair in from that line, I can verify that.
The Phenom’s retail for $99. Prior to actually testing these out, I would have said that is a joke. However, after using them, and seeing the benefit, I would definitely have to recommend them to anyone who finds themselves spending multiple hours and long stretches in front of LCD monitors, whether playing video games or at work.
You can find the entire Gunnars product line at their website Gunnars.com.