Prescription ESS ICE Eye Shields

[Del Monty]

A Review of the ESS ICE Eye Shields made specifically for me due to my need of Prism lenses for vision correction.

 

 

About 2 years ago I was diagnosed with a muscle imbalance in my eyes after a routine eye inspection from Spec-savers, warranting the need to wear permanent glasses, I don't like contact lenses as a rule, finding them uncomfortable and personally awkward to insert and take out, So I opted for glasses and found a perfect pair for me..... However as an airsofter this posed a problem as I could no longer wear standard shooting glasses/goggles and didn't like wearing large mesh ones over my standard glasses as the fogging was horrific to the point I couldnt play properly and was always taking them off the clear the mist.

 

After a little digging around on the forums and Google I came across a gentleman by the name of Andy Bourne, from http://www.tacticaloptician.co.uk/ , after a little phone call and several hundred emails together, Andy was able to produce the perfect solution for me in terms of Vision and Protection with the ESS ICE Eye Shields

 

Quoted from himself as being ..

 

Chris,

I think the ESS ICE will offer the best solution for the price. Together with the ESS Rx carrier, we can glaze your prescription & provide a ballistic standard solution. The Rx carrier can be re glazed as & when this becomes necessary. ESS ICE eye shields have a good spares availability, thanks to the fact that they have been the issued eye shield to UK forces.

 

 

 

 

 

This to me sounded fantastic as it was everything I was looking for, after a few more discussions about my prescription as well as several phone calls to Spec-Savers, Andy was able to produce these shields in a little under a week, to which they was delivered a day before a skirmish, allowing me to try them out instantly.

 

The shields were fantastic, no fogging whatsoever, all day long they were as clear as crystal and did exactly was they was meant to .. taking several hits to the face during the afternoon they protected me perfectly without so much as a mark. The prescription inserts fitted perfectly with the nose piece Andy had supplied, they are secured firmly into the shields via a clip on the nose piece of the shields and are kept firmly in place with no wobble or slip .. something I was admittedly worried about.

 

The Shields .. admitted were not cheap .. the total cost for everything Andy did was £90:

 

ESS ICE 1 lens system (clear) £25

ESS Rx carrier £23.95

Single vision CR39 lenses £35

P&p £5.95

Total £89.90.

As my prescription was somewhat different to normal vision correction lenses the cost of which was slightly higher, but Andy was fantastic throughout our conversations and was certainly the best person to talk to being a Military Optician, he was completely straight and honest with me from the start and delivered to his word everything he planned out.

To summarize .. the Shields were made to a very high professional standard, they are fantastically durable, I have experienced no fogging whatsoever for the 3 times I have skirmished with them, they fit comfortably to the point you don't feel yourself wearing them, the prescription lenses for me are fantastic, just like wearing my standard glasses, coupled with a head strap for extra support they are simply fantastic and very much recommended to those needing prescription shields for Airsoft/Shooting Activities.

Pro's

Comfortable

Excellent Ballistic Protection

Minimal to No Misting/Fogging

Professionally Made

Excellent Customer Service

Fast Service/Delivery

Con's

Price

I have listed the price as the only con .. simply because for newcomer's to the sport, especially younger players, this is £100 extra you will have to find as well as the cost of everything else when starting up .... but, from my personal experience it will be the best £100 you ever spend on eye protection for the visually impaired. There are cheaper versions and granted they were considered first, but after speaking to Andy from Tactical Opticians I would not want to go anywhere else for my eye protection, a definite thumbs up from me.

Andy Bourne BSc MCOptom
www.tacticaloptician.co.uk

 

https://www.facebook.com/AirsoftOptician

 

 

 

[Finius]

Excellent review. Been looking at something like this for a long time. Gonna have to treat myself so I can ditch the contacts!

 

Cheers.

[jcheeseright]

well I'm sold, will be hitting him an email this afternoon!

[Joshb1612]

This is exactly why I choose ESS goggles and inserts, yeah they're pricey but totally worth it, in my opinion

[AK47frizzle]

hmm, i might try this some day

[jcheeseright]

as a follow up to this, I'm now in contact with Andy regarding getting a set of inserts (didn't end up sending an email in January!).

 

How do you find the prescription lenses for fogging up Del monty? I'm a little worried that my sweaty face will cause the lenses to fog up while the eyeshield itself remains clear!

[Joshb1612]

I've never really had a major issue with fogging, I just clean with the warm water and once dried wipe them over with the ESS no fog cloth. Then I usually wipe them over again at lunch, just to be sure. I've found it helps alot if you try and dry your face inbetween games too.

[jcheeseright]

Just worn mine for an entire weekend at STANTA and didn't have any issues with fogging, only treated the lens inserts once with the ESS anti fog cloth on the Saturday morning and it was fine.

[Joshb1612]

I'm glad I switched to glasses from goggles, so much better

[Del Monty]

as a follow up to this, I'm now in contact with Andy regarding getting a set of inserts (didn't end up sending an email in January!).

 

How do you find the prescription lenses for fogging up Del monty? I'm a little worried that my sweaty face will cause the lenses to fog up while the eyeshield itself remains clear!

Never had any issues with fogging up at all with the glasses from Andy, even in the recent hottest days I never had a drop of fog on them.