I bought some Gunnar Optik computer glasses to see if they'd help with the eye strain I've been having lately after being on the computer all day at work, then all night studying for the CCIE. I was originally looking at them a few months ago, but I never bought them simply because I wasn't willing to shell out the money on something that sounds as hokey as iONiK something and diAMIX something else.
Are we 12 here? Who the eff writes words like that?
Lately when I was looking again I noticed that there is a discount page on the Gunnar website, and the "Stylus" glasses I'd been looking at were substantially cheaper than the regular price on the website. So I decided that ~$60 was worth risking and got them. Here they are.
After putting them on the biggest difference was the slight magnification they have. I don't wear glasses, but I probably should. The slight magnification these offered immediately made the screen easier for me to read. You also notice the yellow tint right away, and it certainly softens look of a computer monitor quite a bit.
The effect overall is that the white backgrounds of text/word/webpage documents is "softened" substantially. I never really noticed before, but after wearing the Gunnars for a bit them removing them, all those big white portions of your monitor really are very strong. Surprisingly, I find they also have a positive effect on the green on black I like to keep for terminal colours (and I do spend a lot of time in a terminal window). The Gunnars do seem to make the green "pop" just a little bit more.
After wearing them for an hour and taking them off the effect they were having was much more apparent. The piercing white/blue light was restored, and the change was very noticeable. My screen really did look "harder" with the glasses off then when they were on.
But an hour certainly isn't enough to make a judgement on anything. They did seem to make the screen easier to look at, but I spend a lot more time than an hour on a computer...
I got the glasses on a Friday, and I had 8 hour vRack sessions booked for both Saturday and Sunday that weekend. Both days I had near 8 hour solid config marathons and I wore the Gunnars all weekend. A couple things were made apparent after this.
- The "6 hour" headaches that I sometimes get didn't not appear either day
- After 8 hours I was still able to comfortably read my screen
All in all I have to say, the results seem to be pretty positive. So because the certainly weren't making things worse, I wore them all week whiel at work, and int he evenings studying. That was the week before last. I also had 2 more 8 hour labs last weekend, and I put in some massive marathon studying sessions last week as I was off from work most of the week. ON the order of 12+ hours a day of solid Config T action. And after 12 hours I could lean back in my chair, and still comfortably read my screen.
So at this point I do intend to continue to wear them. I think that they are, for the most part, working as advertised.
However, I'm not sure I'd suggest that everyone run out and buy some. I think, as with anything, there's a real YMMV factor here. If you don't get eye strain, then these won't do anything for you. I also think that these are solving only part of my problem, and that I really need to get off my ass and see an optometrist. I'm very sure that a lot of my eye issues are around my degrading eyesight and could be fixed with proper glasses. If you have poor eyesight then go see a doctor. These may help, but they won't solve the problem.
Specific to the style I got, the actual glasses are not very large. When I look down (to read a practice lab requirement or the odd glance at the keyboard) I am not looking through the lens anymore. That transition in and out of Gunnar-View is somewhat unnerving. With the slight colour and magnification difference it takes an extra fraction of a second to adjust to the new view. This will certainly vary by frame, but is noticeable with the Stylus and I mention it here purely as informational.
Overall they are comfortable to wear, and they are very well built. If you're thinking of buying some I would suggest you check out the
Web Specials page before you start dropping the kind of money they're asking for regular pairs (I honestly don't see any difference in the $60 Stylus vs. the $200 Stylus).
So yeh, so far so good. I like them, and I will keep wearing them. We'll see if that's still the case 6 months from now; that'll be a better test.
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Fingers crossed that the headaches go away.