Have you ever thought about how gaming affects your eyes and your overall health? While beating that stubborn boss might be worth staying up all night, it comes with a price. Many gamers experience headaches and eye strain after sitting in front of a screen for a long time. Gaming glasses are made to protect your eyes so you can spend more time gaming without irritating them. A great preventative measure, gaming glasses decrease harmful blue light rays for healthier eyes. Additionally, they reduce insomnia and actually help you look and feel better. Not to mention that they can also give you an edge in certain types of games.
Top 7 Best Gaming Glasses Comparison Chart
There are lots of gaming glasses out there and it can be hard to make a choice. It isn’t so easy to tell whether a pair of gaming glasses would perform well or not by just looking at it. To make things less complicated for you, we’ve reviewed some of the best gaming glasses available on the market today. We’ve also listed the pros and cons for each of them.
Our Top Picks
Made of ultra-lightweight polycarbonate materials, these glasses from Gamma Ray are designed to maximize comfort and durability. The UV400 protection and glare reduction ensure you get a comfortable gaming experience free of visual fatigue. They are available in one size which should fit anyone thanks to the flexible body. Coupled with the low price point, you can’t ask for more.
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One of the key features of the Gunnar Razer RPG gaming glasses is the flexible frame. While there are other gaming glasses with a flexible frame, the one on these is quite impressive. The slice in the sides of the bendable eye guards makes these glasses really fit almost any head size. You get 100% UV protection and 65% blue light protection which is pretty decent. Additionally, these glasses significantly improve the contrast on your screen.
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These gaming sunglasses are great if you’re on a budget. They filter out blue light by up to 40% which is quite good and it has a slight magnification effect. They’re made of flexible and lightweight TR90 frame material which provides extra comfort for long hours of usage. The black frames look minimalistic and they’re rectangularly shaped. The design looks quite similar to common eyewear. It comes with a carrying case. You get a 2-year warranty with these glasses. Additionally, there’s a 90-day money back guarantee too.
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Another great product on our list is the Duco Optiks 090s. These are a bit more sophisticated than other budget-friendly alternatives. The materials on these are excellent. Starting with the design, you get a classic and elegant look with a very lightweight frame and polymer half-rims. The lenses are made of non-reflective, anti-oil materials. One great feature that distinguishes these gaming glasses from the others is that the lenses have a slight amber tint. This tint works on not only significantly reducing the passing blue light but also on protecting your eyes from the UVB and UVA light. This will also prevent your eyes from getting dry.
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These might be pricier than many other glasses, but they are well worth the extra cash. One of the things that make them stand out is that the amber lenses of these glasses drastically improve the contrast of your screen making it easier for you to distinguish things from each other.
Additionally, there’s a hard coating on the lenses that protect against scratching. The stainless steel frame is quite sturdy and stylish. The nose pad is adjustable and we really appreciate this. Needless to say that they significantly reduce blue and UVB light. They are quite comfortable to wear and they offer a great deal of protection.
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These are also another good option for those looking for something affordable and practical, and they come with a lifetime warranty too. The lenses are made of polycarbonate material. They minimize the amount of blue light passing through, reduce glare, and protect against UV rays. They come with a blue light torch and a test card so you can verify that the lenses actually filter out blue light.
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What makes these glasses special is that they are just a frameless pair of lenses that clip to your existing glasses. These are a great option if you already wear eyeglasses. These glasses claim to block up to 85% of blue light and completely blocks UV400 waves. They also reduce dry eyes and help you fall asleep faster. Due to the fact that there’s no frame, it’s quite lightweight at only 12g.
However, you should also add the weight of your existing eyeglasses. The lenses are covered with a scratch-proof coating. They are also repellent to oil and fog. Additionally, you get a 1-year warranty and 90-day money back guarantee.
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What Are Gaming Glasses Good For?
Gaming glasses offer a number of features to protect your eyes while also being comfortable and stylish. Their lenses block blue light to some extent. Depending on the quality of the lenses, they can block between 30%-70% of blue light. Harmful blue light is just next to UV light on the visible light spectrum that carries a huge amount of energy. The same blue light that is emitted by the sun is emitted by electronic devices too.
Unfortunately, even a little exposure to harmful blue light can restrain melatonin production and make it harder for you to sleep.
Lack of sleep can negatively affect your quality of life and productivity. Some studies also show that long-term overexposure to blue light can put you at risk of forming macular degeneration and cataracts.
Gaming glasses are designed to:
Things to Consider Before Buying
Weight
Since you’ll be wearing these glasses for a long time, you don’t want to get a pair that is too heavy as this can cause discomfort over time.
Size
The glasses should fit your head comfortably without getting too tight. They shouldn’t be too big too as they’ll keep sliding off your nose which can be quite annoying when you’re gaming. Make sure you pick the most suitable size for your head. Many glasses have a flexible body design and are offered as one-size-fits-all. However, not all of them properly designed to fit everyone comfortably.
Protection
Some poorly designed gaming glasses do not provide sufficient protection for your eyes. You need to make sure that the glasses you're getting actually do their job. Good gaming glasses are multi-layered to give you maximum protection against blue and UVB light. Blue light strains your eyes and UVB light causes dry eyes.
Additional Features
Many gaming glasses make visuals appear larger to ease the strain on your eyes and improve your gaming performance. Some also improve contrast on your screen which makes it easier for you to distinguish the elements of a game.
Anti-glare coating is also a nice feature to have. You also need to make sure that the lenses are easy to clean because some lenses can be pretty hard to clean properly. An adjustable nose pad would be great to have too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How Do Gaming Glasses Work?
A: Your screen produces what’s known as blue light. Blue light is one of the main causes of accelerated eye strain. Not to mention that it keeps you up at night which could lead to sleep deprivation. Gaming glasses filter out this blue light, by a margin at least.
Even though gaming glasses have a yellow filter, they don’t make games look unnatural. In fact, this filter makes colors pop out more. This can be very useful especially in first person shooter games where you have to distinguish your teammates from your enemies with color. This is especially good in fast-paced games where color is used to distinguish teammates from enemies. In addition to filtering out blue light, gaming glasses also minimize the effects of glare and blur. They also protect your eyes from dust particles.
Q: Do I Really Need to Use Gaming Glasses?
A: Well, it depends. The number of hours you spend gaming every day is the key factor that determines whether you should get a pair of gaming glasses or not. If you're a casual gamer who doesn't spend a lot of time in front of a screen, you might be just fine without glasses. If you're a serious gamer who spends at least several hours a day in front of a screen and you find that this strains your eyes and causes you headaches, then it's a good idea to protect your eyes with a pair of gaming glasses.
Wrap Up
All of the products on our list are great and they will do a great job at protecting your eyes. If we have to pick a winner, it would be the Trust Optics FeatherView Gaming Glasses. The price of these alone make them a very attractive option and it will just get the job done. They look nice and they’re comfortable to wear. The 2-year warranty and the 90-day money back guarantee are good to have too.
If you’re willing to spend some extra cash, another good alternative for you would be the Gunnar PPK Gaming Glasses. You get everything you need in a pair of gaming glasses including blue/UVB light protection, scratch-resistant lenses, and adjustable nose pad. Nevertheless, the other glasses are pretty good too so you might want to have a look at them.