I’m a big fan of using my eye protection as my daily sunglasses. There are some perks to wearing ballistically rated eye protection throughout your day. It’s like having an IFAK on hand in the way that it’s more likely to get used than your carry gun. Plus, I can combine the cost of a good pair of sunglasses with a good pair of eye pro and justify the expense. Admittedly, the subject of today’s review, the Easy Day eye protection from War Bird, was provided free for review.
As a man with a larger head, finding glasses that fit and look good can be a challenge. However, the Easy Day eye protection from War Bird manages to strike the right balance. While it’s important to note that these glasses do not meet the Z87.1 specifications due to the lack of wrap-around coverage, they still offer impact protection. For solo trips to the range, the side protection is not a major concern.
War Bird, a company new to me, seems to specialize in body armor, with a side dish of ear and eye protection. While I may be unfamiliar with them, their focus seems to be on personal protection.
The Only Easy Day
The Easy Day glasses come in a ton of frame and lens colors. You can mix and match to an extreme degree, but I’m a simple man who went with a classic black-on-black look. The glasses come in a semi-hard case with a section of MOLLE-compatible webbing. This would attach with ease on the inside or outside of most modern packs. The case arguably offers a nice touch to protect the classes when not in use.
The polymer frame design keeps the glasses super light and cooler in the summer. I’m a Florida man, and my previous glasses were a pair of Gatorz. Gatorz are great, but metal frames are tough. The downside is that if you leave a pair of metal-framed glasses in your car during a summer day, they are way too hot to wear. That’s not a problem with the Easy Day.
I like the Gatorz, and I only retired them for the Easy Day because they got a save. I was on the wrong side of an old Remington Rolling block, and the frames and lenses were impacted by some shrapnel from the case that blew backward. It left a few marks on the lenses that made them a pain.
Wearing the Easy Day
I almost felt like a fudd moving from a metal-framed 1911 to a polymer-framed Glock 19. The lightweight design of the frames is a nice change from the hefty weight. With Gatorz, I had to stretch them a bit to fit, but the Easy Day has enough stretch to accommodate my big head. The Easy Day glasses were an interesting change and quite comfortable.
The frame is made from Kaiwall, a polymer material with high degrees of strength and flexibility. It’s also drop-resistant and tough. The Easy Day glasses are supposed to last nearly forever, and they feel like it. The lightweight, flexible design means the glasses never get painful or annoying to wear—not bad traits to have.
The lenses deliver a crystal-clear look at the world. The smoke lenses do a great job of dialing down the brightness without compromising your ability to see details. It’s easy to see your red dot reticle, make out the fine details of targets, and see and land shots where you want them.
More than once, I’ve looked over the top of glasses to get a better look at the target, but I never found that to be an issue with the Easy Day glasses. Even when I went for an extended range session and the day became evening, I didn’t have issues with clarity until the sun got behind the trees.
Squint and Print
The Easy Day glasses have become a favorite for both daily wear and range use. They are comfortable and clear and work well at the range, on the boat, or just driving home from work. I like the impact resistance for range use but also for daily use and protecting my eyes. There are some downsides.
I can’t swap from smoke to clear lenses for night-time shooting or low-light courses. That requires another set of glasses, and that’s a pain. War Bird offers other glasses with swappable lenses if you prefer that. The Easy Day glasses are capable, comfortable, and well-suited for most adventures. Give them a peak if you want something that’s comfy for both daily wear and range use.
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