GUNNAR Vinyl Onyx Review
Posted on: 02.04.2013 18:42:37


For the last week or so we have had the chance to put a set of GUNNARs Vinyl Onyx through its paces and determine if it’s all marketing hype or it’s actually beneficial for the health of our eyes. With GUNNAR offering different types such as its Crystalline lens for designers or their advanced gaming eye wear, there is something for everyone.

So are GUNNAR’s glasses a gimmick or are they the real deal? Well in our opinion they are far from a gimmick. Even if our experience while testing was due to the placebo effect or not, it would have still been easy to dismiss them due to their expensive cost, especially for around the same price as a top of the range mechanical keyboards. But why should you opt for the eyewear? Well it’s time to find out.

The design and shape are very appealing, with their adjustable nose pads and lightweight frame, we found them to be a very attractive package. The lenses themselves have a coating on them which reduces glare and also provides magnification which in the words of GUNNAR themselves, they turn up the visual volume. Aside from looks, they feel well built, the frame is a strong aluminium-magnesium alloy and I would really feel confident that if we applied a bit of pressure to the frame, it would take quite a bit of force to damage them which we can really only consider being a good point. It’s nice to see a very well thought out product which provides fantastic build quality, proven performance with elegant style.



From our testing we found that while using them after prolonged periods of time, our focus levels remained alert especially in first person shooters. In reducing the screen glare even just slightly we felt no strain on our eyes during gameplay and was able to inflict some serious damage to the enemy! Even during general activity such as browsing which is what the Vinyl Onyx are designed for, we had no eye strain or fatigue and can confirm that our eyes were not bloodshot.

If we were to pick faults with the glasses they can be considered quite expensive, they might not appeal to those on a budget, but can you really put a price on protecting one of the most important organs in the human body, your eyes? We had a hard time taking them off as it took time for our eyes to adjust after wearing them for four hours, but this is to be expected. The other thing was the Vinyl Onyx frame itself seemed to be a little on the small side, so it might not suit everyone especially those with larger than normal heads. Other than that as mentioned they do fit snug, and are very comfortable during usage which is very important.

So do we believe the hype? We more than believe it, and with a mixture of very informative packaging all the way to the great experience we had while wearing them we can’t really fault them. We did wonder if the results were from a placebo effect but either way we really liked them and priced at €99 we feel them to be a sound investment for anyone who suffers from CVS or wants to prevent the symptoms.

We feel GUNNAR have done an excellent job in not only designing a very useful tool in combatting CVS, but also in how well they are engineered and manufactured. We would have no issues in recommending them, as in the tests we did and their own study they seem to do the intended job. Based on the results we concluded that we couldn’t give the GUNNARs Vinyl Onyx glasses anything less than our gold award. Good job GUNNAR Optiks.

Pros
+ The I-AMP technology works
+ Lightweight and durable frame
+ Stylish
+ Eliminates eye fatigue
+ Reduces eye strain while gaming
+ Comfortable

Cons
- Expensive
- Amber tinted lenses can sometimes hinder white objects




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