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Posted: 3/3/2017 4:21:45 PM EDT
| I have a 2-day carbine class next month. I have a cheap pair of glasses from Cabelas that work fine for the the range but are not comfortable to wear for more than an hour or so with ear muffs. What kind of eye-pro are you guys using? I was looking at the Smith Aegis Echo II glasses as an option. Thoughts? |
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I was issued Oakley M Frames and Revision eye protection. Of those two, the M Frames are far more comforatable, especially with ear protection. The Revisions have hard material over the ears and they dig in for me, while the Oakleys have soft rubber.
My straight jackets with thicker temples aren't quite as comfy with ear pro, but theyre not too bad because of the soft rubber ear socks. |
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As per Oakley customer service, all lenses come off the same production line, rated or not.
I've had my flak jackets for 2.5 years now. They've been abused, and held up amazingly. POL (antifreeze, diesel, ATF, 15-40, grease, hydro), impacts from big stuff smacking my face (namely the stupid short eye relief on a TA31), projectiles (safety wire clippings, dust/dirt, lead/copper fragments, grinding, wire wheel bristles), haven't melted from cigarette ash being blown into them. I have replaced the rubber bits, and lenses. The final blow to the lenses was being stepped on, and scratched too much to use. Got another set. It takes about 4 hours for the legs to dig in when wearing muffs, and they do break the seal some. Just wear plugs underneath like you should be doing anyway. Give it a 15 minute break here and there, and I'm fine all day. ESS products can go to hell. The ICE and crossbow are heinous abortions of glasses. I don't know a single person that actually doesn't mind wearing them. They are also not dark in the slightest, and the clears fog up instantly on me. |
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As per Oakley customer service, all lenses come off the same production line, rated or not. I've had my flak jackets for 2.5 years now. They've been abused, and held up amazingly. POL (antifreeze, diesel, ATF, 15-40, grease, hydro), impacts from big stuff smacking my face (namely the stupid short eye relief on a TA31), projectiles (safety wire clippings, dust/dirt, lead/copper fragments, grinding, wire wheel bristles), haven't melted from cigarette ash being blown into them. I have replaced the rubber bits, and lenses. The final blow to the lenses was being stepped on, and scratched too much to use. Got another set. It takes about 4 hours for the legs to dig in when wearing muffs, and they do break the seal some. Just wear plugs underneath like you should be doing anyway. Give it a 15 minute break here and there, and I'm fine all day. ESS products can go to hell. The ICE and crossbow are heinous abortions of glasses. I don't know a single person that actually doesn't mind wearing them. They are also not dark in the slightest, and the clears fog up instantly on me. Really that bad huh? Lot of reviews beg to differ on the crossbow suppressors |
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Everyone I know hates the damn things. Maybe some other guys beat on them enough (are careless) that they like the free lenses. ETA: quality. I'm not saying they won't protect your eyes, or fall apart on you. Their construction and materials are quality. Guess Ill just have to try a pair. Might go Smith over ESS though. |
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Having worn ESS crossbows the past week (have to wear issued on range now) and having lost my flak jackets... I have a harsh reminder how much I hate them. Better than nothing I suppose.
Lens clarity and tint really suck. It's like going from having ziess scopes to cheap rimfire, or from a DSLR to an ipotato. Fit to your face is user specific, but for me they just aren't the same. I'm sure some of you will find them way more and less comfortable than I will. |
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Having worn ESS crossbows the past week (have to wear issued on range now) and having lost my flak jackets... I have a harsh reminder how much I hate them. Better than nothing I suppose. Lens clarity and tint really suck. It's like going from having ziess scopes to cheap rimfire, or from a DSLR to an ipotato. Fit to your face is user specific, but for me they just aren't the same. I'm sure some of you will find them way more and less comfortable than I will. Do you have a large or smaller head? |
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Revision Sawfly's. Also nice to be able to change from the smoked to clear lens in seconds, once the sun sets during class. Ditto on the Revision Sawfly glasses. Very comfortable through two full pistol classes and a couple of carbine classes from a friend. Never had any discomfort with the hearing protection at all. Even has special lens holders for prescription lenses. They work great, too! |
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Personally, ESS.
Be careful about how you buy them. There are plenty of fake ("airsoft") eyepro that looks very close to the real thing, complete with trademarks. Stick with reputable dealers, avoid ebay. FWIW, my goggles cost me close to $400 including the prescription inserts. I've got an ESS NVG Turbofan (for airsoft) and a ESS Crossbow (for the range). The prescription inserts are interchangeable between the two, but I really don't like the overall fit of the ESS Crossbow; it puts the insert two close to my eyes with the frame too far away. |
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Personally, ESS. Be careful about how you buy them. There are plenty of fake ("airsoft") eyepro that looks very close to the real thing, complete with trademarks. Stick with reputable dealers, avoid ebay. FWIW, my goggles cost me close to $400 including the prescription inserts. I've got an ESS NVG Turbofan (for airsoft) and a ESS Crossbow (for the range). The prescription inserts are interchangeable between the two, but I really don't like the overall fit of the ESS Crossbow; it puts the insert two close to my eyes with the frame too far away. I understand the fakes, and cheap knockoffs, but wouldn't eye pro be the #1 thing an airsoft enthusiast spends real money on? I'm comfortable not wearing eye pro with real gun, but airsoft, hell no! Eyes on! |
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Quoted:
Personally, ESS. Be careful about how you buy them. There are plenty of fake ("airsoft") eyepro that looks very close to the real thing, complete with trademarks. Stick with reputable dealers, avoid ebay. FWIW, my goggles cost me close to $400 including the prescription inserts. I've got an ESS NVG Turbofan (for airsoft) and a ESS Crossbow (for the range). The prescription inserts are interchangeable between the two, but I really don't like the overall fit of the ESS Crossbow; it puts the insert two close to my eyes with the frame too far away. |
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As per Oakley customer service, all lenses come off the same production line, rated or not. I have Flak Jacket XLJs and love them. I have corrective lenses and the ones I order though Oakley are better optical quality than the glasses I get from my optometrist. I wear them for driving, shooting, motorcycling...The only reason I'm on my second pair is the first pair are at the bottom of Lake Pend Oreille after getting wiped out waterskiing. So they don't float. Otherwise no complaints. Maybe I have chubby cheeks or something but if I squint or smile, regular lenses get pushed up and lift the frames off my nose. The XLJ lenses don't do that. Also, although the polarized ones are slightly better clarity and filters (I think), they do weird things to polarized windshields and some computer screens. I couldn't read my Alpine stereo screen in the car or the one on my Harley and switched back. |
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I was issued Oakley M Frames and Revision eye protection. Of those two, the M Frames are far more comforatable, especially with ear protection. The Revisions have hard material over the ears and they dig in for me, while the Oakleys have soft rubber. My straight jackets with thicker temples aren't quite as comfy with ear pro, but theyre not too bad because of the soft rubber ear socks. |
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Naturally polarized lenses will give you issues with other polarized things.
I have a pair of flak 2.0 xl on the way with "daily prizm polarized" lenses. I don't expect them to be nearly dark enough at 14%, being used to the 9% of the "black iridium polarized", but I'm hoping the prizm feature will make up for it with optical clarity and increased contrast. The 17% (iirc) of the ESS lenses kills me. I'm making do with unknown 3m lenses that I judge around 15% and polarized, which suffice. Where the 3m's really lack is fit, causing a lot of light to get around them. The flak regular and xlj fit me very well, but they have been lost and destroyed, respectively. |
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Got my new glasses in a couple days ago.
The flak 2.0 is an improvement in some ways, and the same in others. Nothing has been made worse. The "daily prism polarized" are amazing. My speculation that the technology would make up for the lighter lenses was correct. Across the board, colors POP and even more so being polarized. It's like going from petroleum jelly on a Ipotato to s&b glass. 14% is still dark enough for me to not get headaches. The flak 2.0 frames fit just like the originals, so if the first gen didn't fit you, you probably won't like the new ones. The arms have much more grip, as well as the nose pieces, these things aren't falling off your face. The redesigned lens pattern is a tad bigger, so where the xlj was needed to get a tight fit, the xl will do it now. In the far extremes I can see the edge of the frame poke around, but it's more FOV than the original offered. The arms kind of lock open/closed. Easier to put them in a case or on your face with one hand. They also have a horizontal flat spot, so where you normally grab to lift them up to move/remove, there's a much better grip. The rubber on the arms is more squared, and seems thinner where earmuffs would sit. I haven't tested it yet, but it should be more comfortable with muffs on. I'm still amazed with how the lenses perform. Night and day difference. |
| My daily wear shades are Flak Jacket XLJ's, but my ballistic eyepro are Wiley X Valors or ESS ICEs, both of which are ok. I'm not enamored with either (both were free though, found the Valors and was issued 2 pairs of ICEs for deployment), so I'm considering switching to M Frames. |
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Never had unreasonable fogging with oakleys. Typically my glasses take twice the effort to fog up, basically you have to try and breath on them. My ess cloud right up just thinking about it.
I don't know if it's the fit of the lenses/frames, or if there's a coating, but fog is no problem for me. The fit is unlikely because the original flak and 2.0 both fit very close around my face, while the ess seem to as well. Must be a permanent coating, I used to wash my old ones with dish soap all the time, so if it was typical antifog, it probably would've came off. Haven't gotten oil/grease on my new ones yet. Update to my above post: Those prizm polarized lenses are amazing. They also work well for shooting. Cardboard had much more contrast to red (ish) dirt and grass (green and brown), even in the shadows. I don't know what kind of magic and trickery they do to the lenses, but it works. |
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