Archive - 2015

I stare at computer and TV displays a lot. By a lot I mean there are plenty of days where very little of my time is not spent staring at the “small” screen of my iPhone 6 Plus managing social media or playing games, on the computer writing or playing games and looking at the television watching shows or playing games. Besides the running theme of video games the other is that I look at a lot of artificial light being blasted at my eyes all the time and plenty of days I have to close my eyes with them feeling sore and strained from it. This Christmas Santa came early and brought me the relief of Gunnars in the form most fitting me: Blizzard Heroes of the Storm Siege Edition.

Description:
Defend your eyes in battle with Siege-HotS. Armed with feather-light high tensile, low carbon steel frame and interchangeable arm sleeves of your favorite Hero (sold separately), the Siege has a wider fit style for larger faces. Sleek styling, adjustable silicon nose pads, and ultra-slim temples make this frame the ultimate battle weapon for any gamer.

Hands On:
Most people realize their eyes get strained after long periods of usage especially if they work in an office at a computer. They tend to just write it off as long hours and work concentration rather than what it actually is, a medical condition known as Computer Vision Syndrome (CVS) or digital eye strain. It can result in headaches as bad as migraines, dry eyes, blurred vision and severe eye strain. The Vision Council had determined that 70% of Americans suffer from digital eye strain and that long term exposure to artificial blue light given off by digital devices can result in cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. This isn’t just about eyes getting a little tired looking at a screen, this is about long term damage.

So Gunnar came up with different eyeware to help combat these medical issues. For me the perfect pair were the Heroes of The Storm Siege Gaming Eyeware. I’m a big gamer and have been playing World of Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo and pretty much every game that Blizzard has put out since their inception, it’s been a long road baby. As a result the styling of HoTS Siege fit my personality and long term gaming history. They are extremely light high tensile, low carbon steel which work with my contacts and even with my glasses when I wear them, adding an almost imperceptible amount of weight and surface area, less than 3D glasses at the movies. The lenses are large enough to fit over my entire eye glass lenses too so as to not weirdly frame my vision.  This might be in part because the HoTS Siege are designed with a larger head in mind (wait did that just imply I have a fat head?).

The vision aspect and benefits is of course the most important aspect (though let’s face it plenty of people would put style first which they have). The glasses have amber lenses designed to add additional contrast to help sharpen images, a tint to filter high frequency blue light, lenses focus power to help prevent eye fatigue, wrap around design to help with eye dryness and anti-reflective coating to prevent distracts and blue light from hitting the eye.

What does all that mean? It means you get a very effective set of eye protective glasses that look bad ass and feel comfortable for long periods of time. If you think about it amber lenses tinting isn’t new, it has been around since those late night infomercials with the medical proof that they helped your eyes but they also had all the style of military issue “birth control” glasses (which ironically have come into style). They were the ugliest aviator lenses but I had friends and family members who swore by them and were constantly buying me pairs every Christmas to help my eyes during long gaming sessions. Now with Gunnars you can not only get the lenses in a frame with nice looking style you can get them with a style that fits you such as the Heroes of The Storm Siege Edition ones with fire red and ice blue colors on the frame and the Heroes of The Storm logo on them. You can let your geek flag fly proud while having style and healthier eyes to go with it. Just in time for Christmas!

Last Look:
Gunnar Heroes of The Storm Siege Edition Gaming Eyeware not only looks fashionable but helps prevent short and long term damage to your vision which is one of your most valued senses. It’s hard to put a price on your eyesight yet alone protecting it in a bad ass way but Gunnar manages to keep it at a reasonable price while catering to style and fandom. You can even purchase separate arm sleeves for $14.99 to switch out and customize you designs!

I can’t recommend these enough for any gamer or even any office worker who spends long hours at the computer. Heck anyone who spends too much time organizing their life through their phones should have a pair. Health and style? How can you go wrong? These Gunnars glasses retail for $79.99 and are available now.

[easyreview title=”Gunnar HoTS Gaming Eyeware Review Score” cat1title=”Overall Score (out of 5)” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”5″ ]