I have to admit that while I was curious about the GUNNAR Optiks glasses I was also a little skeptical, but SteelSeries was kind enough to let me check out a pair of the Desmos and I was pleasantly surprised. I spend most of the day working on the computer and lots of nights in front of the tv gaming. So, I’m pretty familiar with eye strain. After 12+ hours staring at a screen ones eyes tend to get dried out and tired. Generally while I’m working or playing I don’t notice too much. Then, when I stop I realize how bad it got. So, I decided to try these Desmos out for a week and see how it goes. I spent most of the week playing Battlefield 3 when I was not working and I wore the glasses each time.
The first night i wore them I had to take them off after about 30 minutes because I was getting a bad headache. While, I can’t be sure that it was because of the glasses I do not generally get headaches and when I took them off the headache went away. The next night I decided to try them again and there was no headache so I used them the whole night. After that I kept using them each time I was playing and never again did have a headache. So, I don’t know if my eyes/brain just needed a little time to adjust or if something else was going on.
The specs claim the glasses will minimize eye strain and improve focus. I did not notice any real improvement in my focus while gaming. I was getting about the same kill/death ratio I normally do and I felt like I was playing like normal. However, I did notice after a few late nights that my eyes were not tired or dried out like they normally would be at that point. By the end of the night on Friday or Saturday I can tell I’ve been at it too long because my eyes will get a little watery and irritated. When I was using the Desmos I did not have that. My eyes felt fine as the end of the night just like when I started.
These glasses are also quite stylish and practical. They have a sleek rimless design. And come in two colors. The frames are thin and very lightweight, and have been designed to fit comfortably while using various headsets during gaming. And while out of the box they are ready to rock and roll for those with 20/20 vision, if you wear glasses Gunnar has a Rx partnership with various eye care providers, so you can get prescription lens.
I plan to keep using the glasses, at least for longer gaming sessions of games like Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3. And while they are made for gaming, I can see them cutting down on eye strain during normal PC usage as well. I don’t think they’re helping me be a better gamer but they do seem to let me play comfortably for longer, and that is good enough for me.
