FS1040
.45 acp
Magpul makes a ton of great products such as magazines, stocks, sights, grips, hand guards, slings, phone cases, and now sun glasses. Yes, you read that right—they have entered the fashionable world of eyewear designed to provide full MILSPEC ballistic impact and industrial safety standards. Magpul’s marketing machine hypes their scratch resistance and super clear polycarbonate lenses worn by unshaved manly men in order to get you to shell out $125+ for some shades. Let’s see if their eyewear is worth it.
I am reviewing their polarized Magpul Summit Sunglasses I purchased off Amazon.
Style
You won’t find their glasses in white or embedded with Swarovski crystals. Magpul follows the Louis Sullivan philosophy, “Form follows function” and they designed their eyewear to protect the eyes from impact and the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Magpul definitely had the military in mind as they set about designing them.
Compared to other sunglasses I have owned, the lenses feel larger than what I typically wear.
Features
The eyewear comes with a well-built carrying case which, for lack of a better word, I will call a coffin. The coffin feels tough, but is lined with a soft internal ‘fuzz’ to prevent your eyewear from scratches or damage. I got the impression you could throw this coffin onto concrete and have no damage to your glasses.
The lenses are polycarbonate and have a special coating that minimizes smudges and limits backside reflections.
The arms snap into position with authority and firmly grip the head.
They are made in Taiwan and not China so bonus points to Magpul.
Drawbacks
First, they feel and look cheap. I know, I know—they are made with TR90NZZ which is an amorphousthermoplastic polyamide that offers outstanding impact resistance even at low temperatures, high flexural fatigue resistance, resistance to a wide range of solvents and chemicals, excellent stress crack resistance, excellent weathering resistance, but without the Magpul logo, they could appear to be off-the-rack from 7-11 or any two-bit gas station.
Second, the molded nose piece allows light to enter the eyewear and it’s distracting. When looking straight ahead, you don’t really notice it, but when cutting your eyes to the left or right, you see a light-allowing hole in the vision around your nose. It was one of the first things I noticed and it was irritating.
I find the third drawback a little harder to explain. From what I could tell, the frame of the lenses is not perfectly vertical, but seems to have a forward cant to them. The angle of arms then force the glasses down on your nose and create a snug fit. There is some voodoo geometry going on that actually caused a slight pressure headache after wearing for 10 minutes. The arms push on your ears which cause the front of the glasses to seat on the bridge of your nose firmly. This may not be an issue for anyone else, but I didn’t like it.
Fourth, I couldn’t wear these with any hat. The frames are slightly oversized. With my ACLDN ball cap, the brim was hitting the top of the glasses. I had to pull the glasses down farther on my nose or have the hat sit higher on my head. On other hats, it was fine. I did notice that when I smiled, my cheeks hit the bottom of the frames causing them to shift up.
Fifth, the price is outrageous. You could get a Heritage Rough Rider or a Taurus Spectrum for the price of a pair of these injection molded glasses. You could get a spare tire for your car. You could get 14-15 30-round PMAGS. I listened to a podcast regarding how Warby Parker got started and Magpul has definitely taken a play from their sales book. They are charging a premium in an attempt to create value and stoke demand. In my opinion, you can get similar protection for much less such as these Wiley X glasses for $28.29 : https://www.amazon.com/Wiley-Saber-...c+sunglasses&qid=1566698273&s=gateway&sr=8-10
Your mileage may vary and they may be worth it to you, but I am sending them back. I don’t see the value especially with all the drawbacks. As Magpul matures this line, they no doubt will make refinements, but for now I’m not interested.
I am reviewing their polarized Magpul Summit Sunglasses I purchased off Amazon.
Style
You won’t find their glasses in white or embedded with Swarovski crystals. Magpul follows the Louis Sullivan philosophy, “Form follows function” and they designed their eyewear to protect the eyes from impact and the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Magpul definitely had the military in mind as they set about designing them.
Compared to other sunglasses I have owned, the lenses feel larger than what I typically wear.
Features
The eyewear comes with a well-built carrying case which, for lack of a better word, I will call a coffin. The coffin feels tough, but is lined with a soft internal ‘fuzz’ to prevent your eyewear from scratches or damage. I got the impression you could throw this coffin onto concrete and have no damage to your glasses.
The lenses are polycarbonate and have a special coating that minimizes smudges and limits backside reflections.
The arms snap into position with authority and firmly grip the head.
They are made in Taiwan and not China so bonus points to Magpul.
Drawbacks
First, they feel and look cheap. I know, I know—they are made with TR90NZZ which is an amorphousthermoplastic polyamide that offers outstanding impact resistance even at low temperatures, high flexural fatigue resistance, resistance to a wide range of solvents and chemicals, excellent stress crack resistance, excellent weathering resistance, but without the Magpul logo, they could appear to be off-the-rack from 7-11 or any two-bit gas station.
Second, the molded nose piece allows light to enter the eyewear and it’s distracting. When looking straight ahead, you don’t really notice it, but when cutting your eyes to the left or right, you see a light-allowing hole in the vision around your nose. It was one of the first things I noticed and it was irritating.
I find the third drawback a little harder to explain. From what I could tell, the frame of the lenses is not perfectly vertical, but seems to have a forward cant to them. The angle of arms then force the glasses down on your nose and create a snug fit. There is some voodoo geometry going on that actually caused a slight pressure headache after wearing for 10 minutes. The arms push on your ears which cause the front of the glasses to seat on the bridge of your nose firmly. This may not be an issue for anyone else, but I didn’t like it.
Fourth, I couldn’t wear these with any hat. The frames are slightly oversized. With my ACLDN ball cap, the brim was hitting the top of the glasses. I had to pull the glasses down farther on my nose or have the hat sit higher on my head. On other hats, it was fine. I did notice that when I smiled, my cheeks hit the bottom of the frames causing them to shift up.
Fifth, the price is outrageous. You could get a Heritage Rough Rider or a Taurus Spectrum for the price of a pair of these injection molded glasses. You could get a spare tire for your car. You could get 14-15 30-round PMAGS. I listened to a podcast regarding how Warby Parker got started and Magpul has definitely taken a play from their sales book. They are charging a premium in an attempt to create value and stoke demand. In my opinion, you can get similar protection for much less such as these Wiley X glasses for $28.29 : https://www.amazon.com/Wiley-Saber-...c+sunglasses&qid=1566698273&s=gateway&sr=8-10
Your mileage may vary and they may be worth it to you, but I am sending them back. I don’t see the value especially with all the drawbacks. As Magpul matures this line, they no doubt will make refinements, but for now I’m not interested.
