Gunnar Optiks MLG Legend

Like a lot of people, I spend all day, every day, in front of a computer screen. Multiple screens, in fact. Between my 15-inch laptop, 23-inch external monitor, and the three or four PCs I test every week, my workday is full to the brim with glowing displays. My home life is no different. When I'm not kicking back with some games on either my PC or PS3, I'm usually watching shows on Netflix or Hulu or browsing Metafilter and Reddit. Needless to say, I have some eyestrain issues to deal with. Luckily, the Gunnar Optiks MLG Legend glasses ($99 direct) are made with gamers and heavy PC users in mind.

I'd seen products from Gunnar Optiks before, but have always dismissed them. I wore glasses for most of my life before experiencing the miracle of Lasik. Glasses are uncomfortable, heavy-lensed face huggers, with lenses that manage to get grubby no matter how much care you take not to touch the lenses. I put up with my own glasses because they were necessary to see, but these glasses, made for gamers and PC users? No thank you. But hearing Gunnars' claims about reduced eyestrain, improved contrast, and resulting improvements in competitive gaming performance? I figured it was time to give them a try.

Design
In design, the MLG Legends are quite similar to the Gunnar Optiks PPK Digital Performance Eyewear we reviewed back in 2011, with the same bowed earpieces and simple hinges. The biggest difference between the two is the lens shape. Where the PPK model has rectangular lenses, the MLG Legends use a teardrop shape. The wider lenses reduce the amount of the frame encroaching on your peripheral vision, and resulting in more of an aviator look.

My biggest concern was that the pressure on my nose and ears caused by the weight of the glasses would result in headaches as bad, or worse, than the eyestrain I was trying to avoid. The glasses actually ended up being far lighter than I expected?0.64 ounces?though that may have something to do with the fact that my old glasses had heavy coke-bottle lenses.

The frames I tested came in all black (onyx in Gunnar's parlance), but are also available in chrome. The bowed earpieces are partially covered with transparent plastic sleeves, so you can read the words "Major League Gaming" on the earpieces. The ear pieces are made to flex easily, letting you wear them while also wearing a gaming headset, though it still takes a bit of getting used to. Long term use will still leave little nose pad prints on the bridge of your nose, but the strain on the ears and the problems with headsets that I anticipated were never much of a problem.

Features
Gunnar Optiks touts its gaming and computer glasses as solving the woes of eyestrain through four means, each given a peculiar name for marketing purposes: FRACTYL lens geometry, DIAMIX lens material, IONIK lens tints, and i-FI lens coatings. Let's try to look past the goofy marketing speak to cut through the hype.

Gunnar claims that its lenses are specially shaped?that's the FRACTYL lens geometry at work?to provide optimum clarity, enhance focus, and to wrap around the eye in such a way as to "limit air currents around the eye" and thus prevent dry eyes. The first two claims seem reasonable enough, though they couldn't be easily tested using the equipment in the PC Lab. The lenses do seem to be distortion free, and appear to provide just the slightest magnification?though it's so slight that you'll only notice it if you're looking for it.

The claims that the curved lenses create a so-called "microclimate" are more dubious. Gunnar's website states that the "Lenses wrap closely to the face and form a protective barrier from drying air currents while trapping humidity close to the eye." While the lenses will provide a barrier against air currents, such as those from an air conditioning vent or open window, it's not necessarily a technological feat?even cheap sunglasses or safety glasses will do the same thing.

The second half of the claim, that they reduce dryness by trapping humidity near the eye, sounds like poppycock?and honestly I noticed no difference during use. However, Gunnar Optiks does claim that this is based upon lab testing, though we aren't equipped to verify this.

The DIAMIX material used in the lenses is certainly clear and distortion free, but claims of higher durability and scratch resistance may be exaggerated. Our review unit has a scratch on the left lens that either occurred during shipping, or between the time we opened the package and put on the glasses.

Gunnar's IONIK lens tints were developed to shift colors to a warmer part of the spectrum, while also increasing contrast perception. The result is the distinctive yellow tint of the lenses, which do reduce the level of blue-wavelength light coming into the eye from LCD screens and fluorescent lights, so this claim seems to be solid. This filtering did indeed reduce eye-strain, and softened the brightness of office lighting as well. In addition to visible light, the tinted lenses block UVA and UVB light?wavelengths which can damage the cornea, lens and retina of the eye.

The fourth piece of the puzzle is Gunnar's iFi lens coatings, which include a hard coat to prevent scratching and coatings to reduce smudges and fingerprints. We've already mentioned scratching, but we really wonder about the hydrophobic and oleophobic coatings?the glasses are nearly impossible to keep clean, picking up every smudge and smear from both my face and fingers. Even when taking great care not to touch the lenses at all, I still had to wipe them regularly.

Gunnar's regular offerings are meant for folks that either need no vision correction, or have either contacts or other means to correct their vision without glasses. Prescription lens wearers aren't totally out of luck, however, as Gunnar does offer prescription variations of its PC and gaming eyewear?for a hefty increase in cost. While non-prescription models sell for around $100 each, prescriptions bump up the price to more than $300, combining corrective lenses with Gunnar's unique blend of materials, frames, and lens coatings.

Gunnar offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on all of its non-prescription eyewear, so you can try them out and return them if you're not satisfied. The company also covers its products with a one-year warranty against defects in material or workmanship.

Performance
With my life already filled with glowing screens, it wasn't hard to test the MLG Legends. In addition to wearing the glasses during my regular work day, I also made it a point to wear them during extended periods of game testing. From day to day, I did find that the tinted lenses left my eyes feeling less fatigued at the end of the day, and after a few days, I found myself preferring the yellow tinted view of my screens to the noticeably blue glow without them.

In gaming, there was certainly a benefit to wearing the glasses. The sharper contrast and reduced eye fatigue gave me a slight improvement in play while I fragged Joker-wannabes in Gotham City Impostors, and helped me to play at a slightly faster pace in the Red vs. Blue battles of Team Fortress 2.

One unfortunate side-effect of the glasses, however, is the yellow-tinged view it puts on everything. For games that are more about competition than immersion, it's not a problem, but when playing anything in single-player mode, the yellow tint reduces overall immersion, screwing up the vibrant colors and shades that make modern games so visually impressive. You can either get used to the yellow tinge, or try to adjust your screen to correct for it, but neither is particularly satisfying.

Conclusion
In the end, I can't recommend the MLG Legend glasses for everyone. They're too expensive for most, and the benefits, while real, won't justify the cost in many people's minds. That said, the benefits (though heavily hyped) are noticeable?reduced eyestrain, enhanced contrast, and a potential improvement in gaming performance. If you're a competitive gamer, logging hours in-game every day and serious about your win/loss ratio, then consider them an investment. Your eyes will thank you.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/JGTxLs1QY7s/0,2817,2416778,00.asp

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