NatefromVT
FNG
This is just a quick post for fellow Roksliders on shooting glasses. If you don't want to read the rest of the post, here's the summary:
Oakley now makes better ballistic shooting glasses than Smith. They are clearer with no reflection or distortion when you're scanning the woods. Read on if you wish... but that's the summary. Specifically, I'm referring to the the Oakley Industrial M Frame 3.0 and my experience with them.
I cycled through every pair of clear shooting glasses I could get my hands on over the years but when a South Dakota pheasant hunt opportunity came up, I decided to upgrade to ballistic glasses. I wasn't friends (yet) with many of the other gents in the group, so I wasn't sure if every hunter would be as safe as my usual hunting buddies are. I wanted a ballistic-grade lens, an open view over the bridge of my nose, and thin temples so they'd work with my Leight hearing protection at the range. I ordered the Smith Aegis Echo II glasses as that was the only ballistic product that available at the time. This was 5 years ago.
They worked well enough, and I liked the added safety of protecting my eyes from the pellets of other hunters while hunting (I'm a big fan of depth perception). When bird hunting back East, you generally have to be willing to push through heavy cover to find game. Twigs, branches and various plants were always causing me to close my eyes or squint as I walked through, instead of keeping my eyes wide open and looking for birds. Enter the clear glasses - no more squinting, more time scanning the forest floor, and no sharp sticks in the eye. I was happy.
I had two issues though - first, the lenses created a rolling distortion when I looked around. I didn't dig that. Second, there was always a faint reflection back on the clear lens, as if I could see my own eyeball. It was distracting right when I didn't want to be distracted.
When an Oakley sale turned up a short while ago, I figured "why not?" and ordered the Ballistic M Frame 3.0. They have the traits I'd initially wanted (open bridge over the nose, thin temples, ballistic grade) BUT with the added improvement of no rolling effect, and no reflection. They've been great, and I'm sold. The temples aren't quite as nice as the Smith's, but the lens is clearly the better of the two. If you're an optics nerd who loves clean, clear glass, you'll want the Oakleys.
Hopefully this saves some of y'all from buying the Smith Aegis Echo Elites, and you'll have a better experience with the Oakley's. Best of luck out there.
Nate
Oakley now makes better ballistic shooting glasses than Smith. They are clearer with no reflection or distortion when you're scanning the woods. Read on if you wish... but that's the summary. Specifically, I'm referring to the the Oakley Industrial M Frame 3.0 and my experience with them.
I cycled through every pair of clear shooting glasses I could get my hands on over the years but when a South Dakota pheasant hunt opportunity came up, I decided to upgrade to ballistic glasses. I wasn't friends (yet) with many of the other gents in the group, so I wasn't sure if every hunter would be as safe as my usual hunting buddies are. I wanted a ballistic-grade lens, an open view over the bridge of my nose, and thin temples so they'd work with my Leight hearing protection at the range. I ordered the Smith Aegis Echo II glasses as that was the only ballistic product that available at the time. This was 5 years ago.
They worked well enough, and I liked the added safety of protecting my eyes from the pellets of other hunters while hunting (I'm a big fan of depth perception). When bird hunting back East, you generally have to be willing to push through heavy cover to find game. Twigs, branches and various plants were always causing me to close my eyes or squint as I walked through, instead of keeping my eyes wide open and looking for birds. Enter the clear glasses - no more squinting, more time scanning the forest floor, and no sharp sticks in the eye. I was happy.
I had two issues though - first, the lenses created a rolling distortion when I looked around. I didn't dig that. Second, there was always a faint reflection back on the clear lens, as if I could see my own eyeball. It was distracting right when I didn't want to be distracted.
When an Oakley sale turned up a short while ago, I figured "why not?" and ordered the Ballistic M Frame 3.0. They have the traits I'd initially wanted (open bridge over the nose, thin temples, ballistic grade) BUT with the added improvement of no rolling effect, and no reflection. They've been great, and I'm sold. The temples aren't quite as nice as the Smith's, but the lens is clearly the better of the two. If you're an optics nerd who loves clean, clear glass, you'll want the Oakleys.
Hopefully this saves some of y'all from buying the Smith Aegis Echo Elites, and you'll have a better experience with the Oakley's. Best of luck out there.
Nate
