Wearing glasses and shooting glasses is a real hassle to me. Because of that, I recently decided to pick up some ESS Crossbow Shooting glasses with their Vice Rx insert. The Crossbow glasses can be purchased with their standard stems or what they call their Suppressor stems, which are thinner for use with over the ear hearing protection. ESS had a sale going at the time, so I decided to get both and see which I liked better.
I ordered the Vice RX Insert without the prescription lenses. I took the insert to Wal-Mart and got a pair of single vision lenses for them. Wal-Mart only wanted $30 for the prescription lenses. They were purchased as safety glasses which was less than half the cost of plain prescription lenses.
The pair on the left are the regular Crossbow stems, the pair on the right are the Suppressors. I found the suppressors do not stay on my face well without the strap attached. The Crossbows were nicely snug without it.
They have a new Photochromic lens, which uses Transitions Optics Lenses to automatically change to sunglasses like my regular glasses do, so I decided to get one of them as well.
This is the Crossbow with clear lenses
This is the Crossbow Suppressors with the Hi-Def Copper Lenses.
And this is the Crossbow with the Photochromic lenses as well as the Vice RX Insert installed.
The glasses arrived in a pair of protective cases. A single pair case and a two pair case. the cases are semi-rigid and hold the glasses snugly. The two pair case is molded inside with slots to keep the glasses in place while in the case.
All three of the frames feel well made. The protective lenses remove easily. You open a clip in the middle of the frame and pull the lens out of the frame.
The nose bridge pulls out of the lens as well.
To use the RX insert, you must replace the nose bridge. The glasses fit snug to the forehead. The new nose bridge moves the glasses out enough to get the prescription lenses away from your eyelashes. The pair on the left have the RX INsert. The pair on the right have the regular nose bridge. I found it easiest to use a pen or screwdriver to help push the bridge into the lens when replacing it.
I tried both the Crossbow and the Suppressors with two different ear protectors that I have. I didn't find the Crossbow to be uncomfortable with either of them. Nor did I notice them being pushed away from my head by the stems. The Suppressors, as I stated above, were not snug and required the elastic strap to keep them in place.
So far I am happy with the purchase. I still need to wear them for an extended time to get a final impression, but I do not foresee any issues. For now I prefer the regular Crossbow. We will see if that holds true with extended use.
I ordered the Vice RX Insert without the prescription lenses. I took the insert to Wal-Mart and got a pair of single vision lenses for them. Wal-Mart only wanted $30 for the prescription lenses. They were purchased as safety glasses which was less than half the cost of plain prescription lenses.
The pair on the left are the regular Crossbow stems, the pair on the right are the Suppressors. I found the suppressors do not stay on my face well without the strap attached. The Crossbows were nicely snug without it.
They have a new Photochromic lens, which uses Transitions Optics Lenses to automatically change to sunglasses like my regular glasses do, so I decided to get one of them as well.
This is the Crossbow with clear lenses
This is the Crossbow Suppressors with the Hi-Def Copper Lenses.
And this is the Crossbow with the Photochromic lenses as well as the Vice RX Insert installed.
The glasses arrived in a pair of protective cases. A single pair case and a two pair case. the cases are semi-rigid and hold the glasses snugly. The two pair case is molded inside with slots to keep the glasses in place while in the case.
All three of the frames feel well made. The protective lenses remove easily. You open a clip in the middle of the frame and pull the lens out of the frame.
The nose bridge pulls out of the lens as well.
To use the RX insert, you must replace the nose bridge. The glasses fit snug to the forehead. The new nose bridge moves the glasses out enough to get the prescription lenses away from your eyelashes. The pair on the left have the RX INsert. The pair on the right have the regular nose bridge. I found it easiest to use a pen or screwdriver to help push the bridge into the lens when replacing it.
I tried both the Crossbow and the Suppressors with two different ear protectors that I have. I didn't find the Crossbow to be uncomfortable with either of them. Nor did I notice them being pushed away from my head by the stems. The Suppressors, as I stated above, were not snug and required the elastic strap to keep them in place.
So far I am happy with the purchase. I still need to wear them for an extended time to get a final impression, but I do not foresee any issues. For now I prefer the regular Crossbow. We will see if that holds true with extended use.
