I like Oakley just as much as the next person, but I've always associated the brand with snowboarding goggles and performance sunnies. This all changed after a recent visit to one of their showrooms, where I was shown Oakley's gaming lineup – a range of prescription glasses said to attenuate light from the newest OLED and LED screens by 30%. Needless to say, I wanted to try them in that instant – and now that I did, there is no going back to using standard prescription glasses.
I’m puzzled how the US-based company's prescription division alluded to me up until now. Not only do I use prescription glasses for computer work, reading and gaming, but I’m also a massive fan of the brand, so I don’t understand why I wasn’t aware of how big this side of Oakley was. Looking into it, I realised prescription options are available on almost all popular Oakley frames, including the Holbrook, Pitchman R, and Wheel House. Most of these are also available as part of the Prizm Gaming 2.0 Collection.
What’s different about the said gaming collection is the unique Prizm lens technology; Oakley’s proprietary tech reduces blue light exposure by 30% from LED within the 400–500 NM range. The lenses are also engineered to enhance visual contrast and provide sharp vision, featuring blue-light filtering technology without compromising aesthetics, allowing you to look at screens for longer. Something you’d do anyway, but now without ruining your eyesight forever.
Since I started using the NXTLVL glasses, I have had fewer headaches, and my eyes generally feel less exhausted at the end of the day. I love the gentle yellow tint that turns the world around me into this slightly vintage environment (and also enhances my vision). I prefer the oversized fit, too, and how the glasses stay on my face, no matter how I wiggle my head around, looking at objects on the screen. This comes in handy both for work and recreation (a.k.a. gaming).
Better still, given the size of the frame and the tinted lens, most people notice the NXTLVL on me. I have always appreciated bold, stylish objects, and the NXTLVL is definitely one of those. It’s hard not to notice and comment on them; they just look cool (or, at least, I think so). This really is just the icing on the cake, given they also protect your eyes from harm, which is the real benefit here.
My only criticism is that the arms of the glasses press against the back of my ears, although it may be due to my ginormous head. The glasses are headphones-friendly thanks to the bendy section of the arms, although I’d still recommend getting a comfortable pair of gaming headphones, like the Skullcandy PLYR (which sounds exceptional, IMHO). For more info on the Oakley Prizm Gaming 2.0 Collection, visit Oakley today (opens in new tab).
