Review: Gunnar Optiks Dume Blue Light Glasses

From time to time I get the opportunity to review and sample products from major brands, and they usually involve products like accessories, watches and cheap electronics. Most recently, I got the opportunity to sample a new pair of tinted glasses from Gunnar Optiks, that company that made its name making glasses that supposedly ease eyestrain when wearing them in front of digital displays for marathon sessions.

What I can say is that the company has grown up quite a bit since its origins in the mid-2000s, and its latest eyeglass design in the Dume, is at once forward thinking in its unconventional design, but still carries trademark Gunnar Optiks design qualities, such as sturdy frames with adjustable arms, narrow bridges for secure fits and the signature amber tint that does make screen watching more tolerable, but are in no way immediate replacements for proper sunglasses or polarized glasses.

As can be seen by my own test fit, the Dume glasses are novel in their design but their coating stack also means tons of reflection in anything but full, direct lighting. This isn’t actually a knock on the glasses, so much as its an example of the difficulty to photograph glasses with stacked coating well, especially when using a cellphone. Nosebridge and temple fit is tight, but not uncomfortable and the arms and hinges adjust themselves to the wearer for the ideal fit. The biggest test would be wearing these outdoors, as you never know how people will react to unconventional glasses designs. I’m happy to report that the Dume not only drew attention, but the first question was always, “who makes those?” followed by “where can I buy them?”.

It’s also not lost on me that these glasses are meant to resemble the ones Tony Stark wore in Iron Man, and many out in public were quick to pick up on the similarity, but the fact that these were even being sold as such in pre-CES press marketing should be an example of the audience that Gunnar aims for with their glasses.

Following on from the positive reaction, most people were sold immediately when I told them the price of $89 for the Dume seemed like a steal, since people immediately assumed I spent 3 times that or more, such is the design of the glasses that they look far more expensive than they actually are. These are solid glasses, and I like them, but make no mistake that these are meant primarily as fashion accessories, with the utility only making itself apparent when you’re sitting in front of a computer screen. If you wear these outside or in a building, the tint does help cut down harsh light and are 100% UV-rated, but again, these aren’t sunglasses. Gunnar does offer glasses with blue light blocking full-tint lenses, with those options either costing the same as or a minimum premium over the regular amber tint versions.

$89 may seem like a lot for blue light blocking fashion glasses, especially when the efficacy of such products has been called into question over the past few years. Nevertheless, the sales pitch seems to work just fine for Gunnar Optiks and it has enabled them to sell a ton of glasses over the years. I can recommend these glasses if you like to accessorize your daily wardrobe with fashionable glasses, but as tools to reduce eyestrain, they do make a difference in harsh lighting with the caveat that the jury is still out on blue light blocking.

You can buy the Gunnar Optiks Dume glasses from the official site starting at $89, with prescription options pushing that all the way up to nearly $500.

Gunnar Optiks contacted VDeviance Online to offer a sample of the Gunnar Optiks Dume glasses for coverage and review. Gunnar Optiks did not otherwise receive any editorial input or advance of this review in exchange for the product.