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Gunnar Optiks Wi-Five Review

Faceman

     I would like to preface this review by saying that I bought these used on eBay for $25 shipped.  This model of Gunnar Optiks usually retails for around $75 brand new.  $75 is very expensive for a product like this, and I was incredibly skeptical of how these would actually perform.  When I first heard about this product, I immediately dismissed it as junk and a product for gullible people.  I later saw a video review done by JayzTwoCents   and decided I would like to give the product a chance, but there was no way I would risk $75 on it.  The vast majority of reviews on Newegg and Amazon are all very positive, so that gave me some hope that the product would be good. The biggest knock on the glasses were how easily they get dirty, more on that later.

 

     The main draw of these glasses are to help alleviate symptoms that come with staring at screens all day, which is something I do, and I'm sure many of you also do.  Headaches, Dry and Bloodshot Eyes, Blurry Vision, and Eye Strain are the most common adverse effects of staring at screens all day.  I know I suffer from all of the above mentioned symptoms, some worse than others, and they only get worse as the day progresses.  On the Gunnar Optiks website, they call this "Digital Eye Strain" and say that 70% of Americans suffer from this. 

 

     The glasses are designed to be used with 20/20 vision.  I suffer from nearsightedness, so I have to wear contacts or glasses to get 20/20 vision.  I mostly wear contacts.  The glasses do come with a slight magnification, which makes reading text very easy, and I find myself sitting back in my chair more than leaning forward like I used to. This is good for posture and general comfort.  I measured the distance from where my eyes are to my main monitor, and it is 48inches away.

Gunnar 01

 

    The glasses also come with a slight yellow tint to them, and it is not as pronounced as you would expect from looking at them.  It makes whites a lot less straining on the eyes.  I have found that the glasses are great for every screen I use.  Whether it be my computer monitor, my Kindle Fire, or my cell phone, it makes the harsh light less painful, and the more you use the glasses, the more noticeable brightness and harsh digital screens become.

 

 

S61272-C001RX_onyx_l.jpg

 

     When I bought my Gunnar's on eBay, I didn't pay much attention to which model I was buying, I just wanted to try out the product without paying retail price.  I really lucked out because I do like the Wi-Five Onyx model, and they do look pretty good.  There is a wide variety of different models, lenses, and frames to choose from and you can even get them with a prescription if you are willing to pay $200+.  My biggest concern with buying a used pair of Gunnars was that the lenses would be scratched up and unusable.  I again got very lucky and the only noticeable damage was on the sides where the finish was starting to wear off a little bit.  This is by no means a deal breaker and doesn't impact the comfort at all.

 

Gunnar 02

Gunnar 08

Gunnar 03

Gunnar 09

Gunnar 06

Gunnar 07

 

     The Glasses are very well constructed, they are incredibly light weight and I often forget that I am wearing them.  They can be used with headphones and still be comfortable which is very important to me.  They are sturdy, yet flexible and you can change the way you want the silicon nose guards to sit giving you the perfect fit and angle for your face. 

     My absolute favorite use for them is when I am working on the computer.  Not gaming, not watching videos--work.  It reduces the eye strain that comes with staring at a screen for 8 hours a day and I am not rubbing my eyes or reaching for my eye drops nearly as often. Blurry vision is also something that would ail me towards the end of the day, and while it is not all-the-way solved, it is definitely lessened. I already have my monitor set to a low brightness setting, but these glasses provide even more relief.

 

     Gaming is nice with these, although I don't find using these glasses as necessary as when I am working.  The slight magnification doesn't really impact gaming visuals except in one game, FIFA World.  The reason why FIFA World is not so good with these glasses is because of the way the field is layed out in the game, it makes the game look very flat which is not good when you need the depth perception to properly play.  Battlefield4, Crysis3, Metro:LL(Metro didn't look very good with the glasses on, very brown and dull.), Witcher2, Civilization V, Diablo3 were all unaffected.  I got to play ArcheAge during the BETA, and I really liked playing that game with these glasses on.  When playing MMOs, I tend to stare at a screen without blinking more so than other games and the glasses really helped me there.

 

     Videos, Pictures, and Images are not as clear with the glasses on.  The colors are not the same as with the naked eye, but are not as bad as you would think.  Watching a movie is not something I would do while wearing these glasses, but I don't watch movies on my main monitor anyways, so not an issue for me. Youtube videos are fine.  If you have to do any kind of color work, then obviously these are not going to be for you.  I have seen some non-yellow tinted models, but can't speak to how good they are.

 

I took some pictures of my monitor in daily use scenarios with and without the glasses over the camera lens, unfortunately only 1 set would work properly.  I wish the other pictures of different situations would upload, but for some reason it wasn't working.

Gunnar 13

^-- Without Gunnars

Gunnar 14

^-- With Gunnars
 
     The Big Con with these glasses is how easily they smudge and smear.  When they have even the smallest amount of unwanted dirt, they become borderline unusable.  Within the first day of using these, I recognized that this was going to be a problem andI was going to have to buy something to clean the lenses properly and frequently.  I have to use a wipe daily to clean my Gunnars, so be aware of the cleaning price involved in purchasing these.
 

Gunnar 15

I purchased a 200 pack for $14 on Amazon.  They are great, not only for the Gunnars, but also for any glasses, sunglasses or screen.
 
I don't know how these things accumulate so much smear, but they do.  You have to be so careful when handling these because the smallest smudge will bother you.  When the glasses are perfectly clean, they are incredible, but when they are dirty, they are going to bother you, and you will have to clean them before going back to using them.
 
     Conclusion After using these for two weeks, I feel confident enough in my time spent with them to give a review.  I do love my Gunnars, and I recommend them to anyone who spends a lot of time looking at computer screens.  After having spent a small amount of money to test them out, I would gladly pay the full retail price for these. I would get these LASIK'd to my eyes if I could.  If you are hesitant about paying full price for them, buy a pair on ebay and hope they are in good condition, if not, make sure the seller accepts returns, and even then, at least you can get an idea of what it is like to wear them.  I love my Gunnars and I will be buying a brand new pair sometime in the future.  Just be sure you have some way to clean them.
 
 

 

"I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts."

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Could you not get the same effect from just turning down the blue colour in the monitor settings?

"Have you tried turning it off and on again?"

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The Big Con with these glasses is how easily they smudge and smear.  When they have even the smallest amount of unwanted dirt, they become borderline unusable.  Within the first day of using these, I recognized that this was going to be a problem andI was going to have to buy something to clean the lenses properly and frequently.  I have to use a wipe daily to clean my Gunnars, so be aware of the cleaning price involved in purchasing these

 

     Conclusion After using these for two weeks, I feel confident enough in my time spent with them to give a review.  I do love my Gunnars, and I recommend them to anyone who spends a lot of time looking at computer screens.  After having spent a small amount of money to test them out, I would gladly pay the full retail price for these. I would get these LASIK'd to my eyes if I could.  If you are hesitant about paying full price for them, buy a pair on ebay and hope they are in good condition, if not, make sure the seller accepts returns, and even then, at least you can get an idea of what it is like to wear them.  I love my Gunnars and I will be buying a brand new pair sometime in the future.  Just be sure you have some way to clean them.

I find they help a lot for reducing fatigue and I can't remember the last time I've gotten a headache from sitting at my computer and not blasting music.

 

but omfg I try so hard to keep these things clean. You can literally never touch the lens themselves and they will still get dirty. 

I figured out that when you blink, some of the moisture from your eye can actually get flicked back into the inner part of the frame. Dried tears are hard to clean off.

Could you not get the same effect from just turning down the blue colour in the monitor settings?

you could, but you still don't get the magnification or "put it back" instantly.

I use gunnars and f.lux, before anyone goes on about that too.

Error: 410

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I find they help a lot for reducing fatigue and I can't remember the last time I've gotten a headache from sitting at my computer and not blasting music.

 

but omfg I try so hard to keep these things clean. You can literally never touch the lens themselves and they will still get dirty. 

I figured out that when you blink, some of the moisture from your eye can actually get flicked back into the inner part of the frame. Dried tears are hard to clean off.

you could, but you still don't get the magnification or "put it back" instantly.

I use gunnars and f.lux, before anyone goes on about that too.

Ahh thats interesting about the blinking.  Because I also wonder how they get dirty even when I haven't touched them.  If you do buy these, be prepared to spend some time cleaning them.  Thats a fact.

"I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts."

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Thanks for the review ive been interested in some giunnars for a while as i spend the majority of my day in front pf a screen thanks!

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Yep I use gunnars especially when gaming late at night or during long sessions of intense FPS games

 

The yellow tint takes some time to get used to but it does not mess with my colour perception, I find it increases the contrast and I find enemies easier to spot

 

The slight magnification just makes my eyes relax more, no squinting when there is small text, I find myself just more relaxed and more focused

 

I am not a glasses wearer, but I forget they are on sometimes, mine are very comfy

 

No longer get headaches after long sessions, if I am feeling tired sat at my PC, I put them on and within 15 minutes I feel so much more awake, its crazy the difference it makes to me (although I am prone to headaches and migraines) 

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I would love a pair of these, but I can't drop $200+ on glasses, considering I would need prescription lenses. And fuck contacts, how about no.

 

So I guess I can deal with a little dry eye.

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@LinusTech Do a review of Gunnar Optiks please!

"I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts."

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And here I use sunglasses when my eyes are really strained. 

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I bought a pair when I started getting headaches while sitting in front my monitors all day. They work so well you can really notice the difference especially when viewing white backgrounds and documents. The only time I get a headache now is when I'm lazy and don't put them on.

They do pick up everything though and keeping them clean can be a pain but well worth it

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@LinusTech Do a review of Gunnar Optiks please!

Pretty sure he's done one, the Steelseries collaboration version I believe.

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Pretty sure he's done one, the Steelseries collaboration version I believe.

ahh youre right, my bad.  didnt search hard enough.

"I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts."

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I have the same pair and I love them! I don't find them incredibly useful during the day, but they're excellent in low-light. Incredibly comfortable and stylish.

 

Edit: Haha, I also purchased some Zeiss cleaning wipes.

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nice review, personally i despise these types of things mainly because theyre usually "aimed at gamers" and that pisses me off.

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nice review, personally i despise these types of things mainly because theyre usually "aimed at gamers" and that pisses me off.

They should really be called computer user glasses. I get much more benefit from them when I use them for non-gaming tasks. Don't get me wrong, gaming is nice in these, but working on a word document, excel, or mySQL, is where I get the most relief. The whites are just so harsh sometimes, even with the brightness turned way down.

"I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts."

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They should really be called computer user glasses. I get much more benefit from them when I use them for non-gaming tasks. Don't get me wrong, gaming is nice in these, but working on a word document, excel, or mySQL, is where I get the most relief. The whites are just so harsh sometimes, even with the brightness turned way down.

ehh my eyes have held up quite well with whites and bright colors. but im only 14 so that may be why :P

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ehh my eyes have held up quite well with whites and bright colors. but im only 14 so that may be why :P

Hahaha the same way all of us didn't get hangovers when we were that young, it will change.

"I genuinely dislike the promulgation of false information, especially to people who are asking for help selecting new parts."

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Hahaha the same way all of us didn't get hangovers when we were that young, it will change.

lel. nice analogy ;)

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Nice review

 

I also have a pair of Gunnars, but really, in bright environments, for short periods of time, I would argue they're useless.

BUT, I find that they're fantastic during late night gaming-in-the-dark, and for when you're on your computer for a long time, and the greatest benefit is wearing them to look at white pages (Word docs, Excel, etc) because it seriously reduces the harshness of the whites.

Overall though, I'd say they're worth it if you're using a monitor for extensive amounts of time.

Furthermore, your brain kinda "edits" the image you're seeing and the yellow tinge practically disappears.

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They're a complete gimmick, absoloute scam. Especially since you can literally download a piece of software that does the EXACT SAME THING, for free.

 

https://justgetflux.com/

 

I love how people think those glasses improve gaming performance and shit like that too, makes me laugh so hard.

 

And if you're so adamant you want a physical pair of glasses, there's no need to buy Gunnar ones. Look:

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BQ7KBV4/

 

$6.95, does the exact same thing. There are probably even cheaper ones, they're just the first I saw.

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They're a complete gimmick, absoloute scam. Especially since you can literally download a piece of software that does the EXACT SAME THING, for free.

 

 

 

You realise they are not just a colour filter? they actually magnify the screen a bit like reading glasses, so you eyes are not squinting at small fonts/objects on screen

 

I have FLux and I have a pair of gunnars (steelseries scopes) just for the record

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You realise they are not just a colour filter? they actually magnify the screen a bit like reading glasses, so you eyes are not squinting at small fonts/objects on screen

 

I have FLux and I have a pair of gunnars (steelseries scopes) just for the record

 

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BQ7KBV4/

 

IE9qcmR.png

 

$6.95.

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Fair enough, though I can attest to the lenses in the gunnars being extremely clear optically and the glasses robust

 

But I agree they are extremely expensive, I paid about £40 for my pair and there are gunnars that are much cheaper at around £20 for plastic frames, and up to £150 for more elaborate versions even though I assume the lenses are the same

 

Call my crazy but I would trust Zeiss optics on my eyes, over some random 6$ glasses, that could cause further eye damage (not saying they do, but if they are unproven)

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