GUNNAR Optiks MARVEL Groot Glasses

We’ve all heard about the “dangers” of blue light, long term, on our eyes. If you’re a gamer, or you work in front of a computer screen for 8-plus hours a day, then you have felt firsthand the added stress on your eyes. Your eyes get sore, dry out, and generally get tired, and it makes you end your session a lot earlier than you probably wanted to. There are a ton of options for you to fight this feeling though, and on the gamer side of things, Gunnar is one of the leading brands helping in that battle.

I’ve been considering getting a pair of gaming glasses for quite some time as I spend plenty of time in front of the screen for both work and play. The issue that I had with most of those on the market that I have looked at, however, is the shape and size of most of them. When I wear sunglasses, I like the thinner (vertically) lenses, and can tolerate being able to see the frames in my peripheral. Not when I am gaming! I don’t want that distraction; I want to see the entire real estate of my gaming screen. That’s why I was particularly excited when I saw Gunnar’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Groot Edition glasses. Sure, they weren’t as sleek and stylized as other glasses, but their overall lens size more than made up for it in my book.

Physically speaking, the Groot glasses are a bit larger than most of the options I have considered. The lenses are 52mm wide and 42mm tall and have a frame width of 133mm. This means that they cover my eyes entirely, and then some. I literally must roll my eyes upwards or down to catch a hint of the frame in either direction. While it is slightly visible to me on the sides, it is on the very edge of my view and not distracting at all. It is close enough to the edge of my peripheral that my mind practically ignores it.

The main reason that the larger lenses appeal to me so much is that fact that I can move my eyes, rather than my head to focus on different areas of the screen. I am not limited to a small area of focus but am instead to allow my eyes to naturally move around the screen. It creates a much more natural feel for the experience. It is also very helpful that the lenses are smudge resistant. It really takes a lot of contact with them in order to build up any noticeable oil or markings that will impact the quality of what you see through them.

Another thing that is very different from most of the competitors, is that the frame doesn’t have any sort of padding at all, but it isn’t really needed. They’re made completely out of a walnut wood material that has been laminated to carbon fiber. This means they’re solid, but there is a softness to the touch. You still get the beautiful, natural wood grained look of the walnut. All of the edges are rounded and smooth, so you don’t feel the pressure of them sitting on the bridge of your nose or on your ears. As a matter of fact, you hardly feel them at all.

Now, the overall style of these glasses may be a bit of a turn-off for some gamers. Perhaps you’re wanting something that looks visibly sleek and stylish; you won’t find that here. Instead, the Groot glasses have a simple, retro-sunglasses look. They’re straightforward, with no special design frills or angles. Think of a pair of classic, 90’s sunglasses, and that is what you have. Personally, these particular frames work for me and I could see myself having the same frame for my real glasses.

Although I didn’t take advantage of the feature, Gunnar can incorporate prescription lenses into the glasses for you. You can simply provide your prescription when ordered, and they can tailor the lenses to your specific ocular needs. This is something that I will definitely be doing the next time I find myself getting a pair, as I would really like to incorporate these into my workday as well as my gaming time.

So, if you’re looking for a solid pair of gaming glasses that more than does their job, the Gunnar Groot glasses are certainly something that should be considered. They have a simple, yet polished design that focuses more on delivering increased visual real estate and comfort than looking sleek. They come with both soft and hard cases for storage as well as a Marvel themed, microfiber cleaning cloth. I am glad I waited because these are exactly what I wanted in my gaming glasses.