A Couple months back my friend’s at Laura Burgess Marketing sent me a pair of Revision HellFly Ballistic Photochromic Sunglasses to test out. It is no mystery that I am the discriminating wearer of glasses working in construction. When I buy a pair of glasses I look for certain qualities and uses.
My list of pre-qualifications is:
How do they look and feel? I ask myself will I feel comfortable wearing these?
Do they meet my requirements for intended use (ANSI Z87.1-2003, UVA/UVB)
Are they Comfortable?
My first impression of the glasses wasn’t all that great because of the way they looked on me, as you can tell in the photo above. Some might say ” with an Ugly Mug like that it doesn’t matter what you put on – you still look goofy”. <-Thanks BB Jr.-< Their safety factor was a no brainer – with safety certifications higher than any other glasses I have personally worn since the day’s of 1/4″ thick lenses with plastic wire lenses and bulky side protectors.
So…
The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
By reputation Revision Eyewear makes spectacular shooting and outdoors goggle systems. So much they charge a premium retail price for their product, and rightfully so. Each pair of HellFly glasses are optically correct – meaning that their lenses are near perfect or give off the same effect as the naked eye without distorting the image. In addition to providing one of the best optic views on the market their lenses are scratch resistant.
How do you make a 1 piece ANSI rated safety glasses and maintain a style? Revision figured it out. Remember, for it to be a “legal” pair of safety glasses it has to prevent sideways foreign debris from entering. Which can cause some serious style issues which is why I believe they didn’t look so great on me. Considering the constraints Revision did a pretty good job.
Due to the size of my face and head the ballistic glasses never fit me well. I did find the adjustable nose piece nice… Overall the glasses seemed to put too much pressure behind my ears. In the future I may try to adjust the frames with a heat gun (probably not recommend by the manufacturer).
Upcoming
In the near future I hope to test a few things out about these glasses. Since they were sent to me free of charge by Revision Eyewear… I hope to try shooting one lens with my .22 caliber pistol and the other lens with my .17 HMR rifle. There is sure to be video follow that post. When else does someone give you the opportunity to shoot a pair of perfectly good safety glasses? Until then I recommend you try a pair out for yourself.
Day 3 of the BLACKHAWK blogger seminar was ripe full of activities. Probably the most notable was playing paintball with Navy SEALs and professional shooters. At first it can seem very intimidating to go toe-to-toe with experts of their crafts… But, in reality when the whistle blows all bets are off and paint is flying at anyone. I can say that I successfully gunned down 1 Navy SEAL and owned Todd Jarrett.
Day three concluded with saying goodbye’s and enjoying dinner at a local dive near Norfolk, VA with the Blogger’s and BLACKHAWK team. Thanks to Jeff Rose of Team BLACKHAWK put together a video for the closing dinner.
Blogger Profile: Richard Johnson –Can be found at Gun Holsters and Gear and Blue Sheepdog. Richard is a full-time father and protector of the streets with a suburban Tampa, FL police department.
Blogger Profile: Kenn Blanchard – Black Man with a Gun – I’ve been a “guard” or a protector of some type all my life. The oldest child, the responsible one. In elementary school I was a crossing guard, a cub scout. My first job was as a life guard in a really rough neighborhood. It was more like being a bouncer that wore shorts. I joined the US Marines after high school trying to overcome some low self-esteem issues. In the military, I was often “volunteered” to escort prisoners or stand guard duty. I ended up as a Marine Security Guard serving in a couple of places abroad. I’ve worked protective details for international celebrities, US diplomats. Later after becoming a federal police officer, I was detailed to protect a couple of families which morphed into another career path where I worked or taught firearms, tactics and protection. I was into counter terrorism before it was a household word and knuckle-draggers like me, and the bad guys passed each other in airports around the world.
Life is often about the simple things. Over the past few months I have been doing some personal testing on different products that I believed would make life easier and more comfortable – mostly for no good reason. The economy is down and most Americans are feeling the effects.
I changed from having a desk job to working in the field doing construction (something I never dreamed I would be doing again). One of the biggest changes and something I didn’t remember was that construction was hard work, I mean real hard. I went from being a relative couch potato to being a professional athlete overnight. I don’t mean I became athletic – my job did. I went from wearing Suits to Boots. I’m no stranger to hard labor – but if you haven’t done it in awhile…
Trading in my argyle socks for a pair of boot socks wasn’t easy. My first day of work I threw on a pair of white cotton socks and came home with blisters! Who knew that such discomfort would make me miserable. I did some testing and found the perfect pair of socks, 5.11 Tactical ® 9″ Socks.
I tried a couple different brands and styles and found the 5.11 Tactical 9″ Socks to be the best for my needs. I wanted a moisture wicking and an over the calf sock to keep my pants from sticking to me when wet. They also must be comfortable and durable.
I work in extreme industrial settings and anyone that has ever worked in heavy industry knows that the term “industrial strength” is a joke. Sure it maybe a little tougher but nothing will last with hard use. In a recent 10 week Power Plant outage I broke two 1/2″ ratchets and wore out a pair of work boots. But something that made it was the 5.11 socks. I was surprised considering all the abuse my boots took. I bought the 3 Pair Special and they are going on the next job with me.
If you noticed I did keep track of the country of manufacture. I have been trying to only buy American when it is possible. 5.11 Tactical ® Socks is that the socks are imported.
A down sides to these socks- The fire retardant or ANSI specs are no where to be found. Yeah Yeah! Who cares right? If you have ever seen poly clothing stick to someone after getting burned you would think differently. Kind of surprising considering they market to first responders and fire-fighters. I work around potential flash fires and extreme heat. You get to wondering about what would happen if that 2000 ° Steam Vessel cracked. I happen to like my skin and feet and do what I can to protect them.
If I find a comparable pair of socks Made in the USA that are rated I may switch. But for the moment the best Pair of Socks I have found are the 5.11 Tactical ® 9″ Socks.
A Couple months back my friend’s at Laura Burgess Marketing sent me a pair of Revision HellFly Ballistic Photochromic Sunglasses to test out. It is no mystery that I am the discriminating wearer of glasses working in construction. When I buy a pair of glasses I look for certain qualities and uses.
My first impression of the glasses wasn’t all that great because of the way they looked on me, as you can tell in the photo above. Some might say ” with an Ugly Mug like that it doesn’t matter what you put on – you still look goofy”. <-Thanks BB Jr.-< Their safety factor was a no brainer – with safety certifications higher than any other glasses I have personally worn since the day’s of 1/4″ thick lenses with plastic wire lenses and bulky side protectors.
How do you make a 1 piece ANSI rated safety glasses and maintain a style? Revision figured it out. Remember, for it to be a “legal” pair of safety glasses it has to prevent sideways foreign debris from entering. Which can cause some serious style issues which is why I believe they didn’t look so great on me. Considering the constraints Revision did a pretty good job.
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