Review: GUNNAR Tahoe gaming glasses - Style comes with a price

Quick Verdict: The quality and style of the GUNNAR Tahoe gaming glasses is remarkable, easily some of the best in their catalog. But, the $250 price tag may scare away some people looking for great-looking, sturdy glasses on a budget.

The GUNNAR Tahoe gaming glasses were sent to us by GUNNAR for review.

Brand:	GUNNAR
Product:	Tahoe
Review Score:	7
Cozy Score:	8
Pros:	The glasses are incredibly sturdy and well built, have lenses made from the same kind of glass used in NASA telescopes, and it comes in Clear Pro lenses.
Cons:	Sturdiness comes with some extra heft on your face, the reflection of your eyes, and the price tag
Price:	$250
Lens Options:	Amber and Clear Pro

With physical products, the cozy score is entirely qualified and quantified into the final review score, which will affect it.

I’ve said this before, but GUNNAR always shines the brightest when they do something new and unique, in-house, as opposed to licensed stuff. The GUNNAR Tahoe, their new super premium frame option, is no exception.

Sure, the frame itself is made of some top-notch materials, but what the Tahoe brings to the table is a special type of lens made of NASA telescope-grade glass. So, let’s dive right in.

What’s in the box?

This section is generally quick in these reviews. Aside from the GUNNAR Tahoe frames, you’re getting a standard black GUNNAR-branded microfiber pouch, a gray microfiber cloth, and a hazard glasses case.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with the cardboard glasses case that comes with the GUNNAR Tahoe. It’s their normally-$10 case that you can buy separately. It’s come with countless other pairs of glasses I’ve reviewed.

But, when you spend $250 on a single pair of gaming glasses, you kind of expect more. For instance, the 3 frames of the recent Strata Collection each come with nicer, faux leather triangular cases. The Tahoe could have also done this, but they opted to go the cheap route on their most premium glasses.

I’m not mad that it came with a case. I’m just disappointed that they didn’t do more with it, especially considering that the Fallout Vault 33 glasses come with a fancy metal case at the $99 price point.

Tech in the Specs (or, Holding a Lens Up to These Glasses)

This section is going to be the most important to understand why the GUNAR Tahoe costs double any other pairs of glasses currently available on GUNNAR’s website.

Getting it out of the way, GUNNAR always offers a special coating on all of their lenses, which helps with glare, water resistance, smudge resistance, and eye strain. These are no different.

In addition, the lenses are made of a special mineral glass. This is the same type of glass that is used in NASA telescopes and high-end photography equipment. It’s really noticeable how good the quality is of the lenses.

They come in two coatings, their classic 65 Amber and their newer 20 Clear Pro. I originally requested the Clear Pro for this review, but they sent the Amber. All in all, it’s really not bad either way and the Amber is surprisingly not as deep or dark yellow as it normally feels on other frames. It could have something to do with the type of glass being used.

In addition, the frame itself is built from “high-quality Italian acetate and lightweight aluminum-magnesium alloy sourced from natural elements”. This gives the entire pair of glasses a hearty, sturdy feeling.

Wearing the GUNNAR Tahoe glasses

Wearing the GUNNAR Tahoe feels like a step up from a lot of offerings that GUNNAR has peddled in the past. The physical quality really shines through in the materials used and they look really good on my face.

However, sturdier material does mean a heavier frame, overall. On my face, it’s not too noticeable, but it’s definitely heftier than I’m used to from GUNNAR. If you want light glasses, you might pass on this pair.

It’s important to note that the GUNNAR Tahoe does have the flexible spring hinges that I always love. As someone with a pretty big head, rigid arms can dig into the sides of my cranium and, depending on the material used, can hurt quite a bit. These don’t have that particular problem.

The problem I do have is a unique one I’ve never encountered in any other GUNNARF gaming glasses. When I wear them anywhere with proper lighting, I can see the perfect reflection of my right eyeball in the glass. It’s incredibly distracting at times and I wish I was kidding.

The mineral glass used must be the culprit here. But, it’s got a blue-ish tone to the entire reflection and shows up for me inside or outside.

Final Verdict

I do actually like the GUNNAR Tahoe, despite its flaws. But, I worry that the $250 price tag might be just a bit too high for the average GUNNAR purchaser.

If you’re alright with a tiny bit of extra heft and possibly some reflection of your eyes in the mirror, the GUNNAR Tahoe is incredibly well built from the ground up.

You can pick up the GUNNAR Tahoe gaming glasses at the official GUNNAR Store. Or you can save a bit of money with their wooden pairs from the Arbor Collection, which are some of my favorite glasses that GUNNAR has ever made. I reviewed them earlier this year and I adore them to this day.