Published , by Bill Lavoy
Published , by Bill Lavoy
As someone who spends a lot of time in front of screens, I take the health of my eyes seriously. I’m quick to walk away and take a break, most of my devices and apps are already in dark mode and, more recently, I was asked to take the HyperX Spectre Stealth glasses for a test run. The Spectre Stealth glasses are intended to filter out blue light when wearing them, which may reduce digital eye strain that can cause headaches, blurred vision, and eye fatigue. That sounds great on paper, but do these glasses live up to expectations?
The glasses came in a package that included a hard-shell carrying case, microfiber pouch for easy storage, a welcome message, and a sunglasses attachment that snaps onto the glasses themselves. The frames are made of acetate and the lenses are nylon.
The hard-shell carrying case that contained the rest of the items in the package didn’t give a good first impression. It feels cheap in how the zipper appears sloppily attached. The spine of my case began to wear very quickly, and if someone wanted, they could crush the case in their hand like a soda can. If a person were to step on this case or fall on it, I have little hope the glasses inside would survive. I’m also unsure of why there’s a sunglasses attachment – even though I opted to have it included – given the HyperX site itself says these are not for outdoor use. At least the microfiber pouch felt on par with what I’d expect.
The glasses themselves don’t feel well built. They are rather flimsy even though the acetate material is smooth to the touch. The nylon lenses just feel like cheap plastic, both the ones permanently attached to the frame and the snap-on sunglasses attachment. They did comfortably fit my head, though, and since I have a rather large head, that’s a win.
As advertised, HyperX Spectre Eyewear does remove blue light while wearing them, so long as you are looking through the center of the lens. It’s easy to see the difference just raising and lowering the glasses on your face while looking at a screen. After extended use, it’ll take a moment to adjust when removing the glasses. In this specific way, they live up to expectations.
Unfortunately, I didn’t find relief from wearing the glasses. My eyes weren’t better off after sitting in front of a PC wearing them. In fact, there were times when my eyes were strained and began to water as I used the glasses.
When looking directly at a screen through the center of the lenses, blue light was removed. If I tilted my head down, looking through the top of the lenses, I could see blue light again. If I turned my head left or right, blue light was visible. This seemed to cause the irritation in my eyes while wearing the glasses as I would have to adjust to the addition or removal of blue light just because I looked to the left to see my second screen.
I gave the HyperX Spectre Eyewear every chance to impress me. I would have loved to add one more tool to my arsenal to maintain healthy eyes while looking at screens for hours on end. Unfortunately, these glasses don’t feel well made, don’t properly remove blue light unless under perfect circumstances, and are overpriced given their lackluster design and performance. If blue light exposure is a concern for you, I would advise shopping around.
This review is based on a sample product provided by the manufacturer. HyperX Spectre Eyewear is available for purchase now.