Gunnar Intercept Gaming Glasses (Work-Play) Review

Gunnar makes useful computer and gaming glasses outfitted with its various blue-light-reducing tints. It also makes sunglasses. If you want both in one pair, Gunnar does that, too. The company's Work-Play lenses are photochromatic, shifting between a warm tint to counter harsh blue light from artificial sources indoors, to a strong sunglasses tint when you go outside. The Work-Play lenses are available in a variety of frames and accept prescriptions, with prices from $79 to $249 depending on your tastes and requirements.

Lens Tint and Pricing

The Work-Play lenses start with the same tint level as Gunnar's Amber lenses, blocking 65 percent of blue light and transmitting 83 percent of all visible light. This already means they're darker than the Crystalline and Liquet lenses, which respectively block 10 and 35 percent of blue light. It also means whatever you look at will be noticeably warmer than it actually is, which is a desirable effect when working under harsh fluorescent lights or staring at a computer monitor, phone screen, or TV that isn't set to a natural or warm color temperature.

In other words, don't expect accurate colors when looking through these lenses. If you need color accuracy but still want some blue light reduction, Gunnar's Liquet lenses are your best bet. Despite the darker tint and color shift of the neutral Work-Play lenses, they're quite comfortable for use indoors thanks to the generous visible light transmission.

Exposing the lenses to natural light darkens the tint to block 90 percent of blue light. When fully darkened, the lenses have approximately the same effect as Gunnar's sunglass lenses, transmitting only 26 percent of visible light. The tint becomes more gray than amber at this point. Fortunately, ultraviolet light is completely blocked regardless of tint status. All of Gunnar's tint levels, including Liquet, block 100 percent of UVA and UVB light. This is standard protection for most sunglasses and prescription glasses, Gunnar-branded or not.

According to Gunnar, the Work-Play lenses darken completely over 45 seconds. This is an optimistic estimate, and ultimately depends on how bright it is outside. The process is indeed quite fast when it's a sunny day, but overcast skies seem to slow down the transition to a few minutes. When back inside, the lenses brighten up back to Amber levels over a few more minutes.

Like the Gunnar Haus glasses with Crystalline lenses we reviewed, the Intercept glasses with Work-Play lenses are available both with and without a prescription. Non-prescription Work-Play lenses in the Intercept frames pictured here are $79, just $10 more than either the Amber-only Intercept model or Intercept sunglasses. Prescription lenses bump the price up to $249, a fairly big jump from the $189 price of prescription Amber Intercepts. Gunnar accepts many vision plans, so if you need prescription lenses, you might be able to subsidize at least part of them through your insurance.

Frames

The Intercept frames are made of matte black injection polymer and feature large, rectangular black openings with rounded corners. The arms have spring-less barrel hinges, and the entire assembly is both sturdy and flexible, offering much more give than the rigid acetate of the Haus glasses. Curiously, Intercepts don't come in Liquet or Crystalline; only Amber, Work-Play, and sunglasses lenses are available for the frames.

The quality of the Intercept Work-Play glasses are just as high as Gunnar's other frames and lenses. The polymer of the frames is sturdy and flexible, and the non-spring hinges are tight enough to keep their position open or closed without feeling stiff. The lens coating has so far kept the glasses free of scratches even with a few bumps and drops, and while they can pick up fingerprints, they're easy to clean with lens wipes or a combination of lens cleaning spray and microfiber cloth. It's worth noting they come with a one-year warranty for the frame and a two-year warranty for prescription lenses (not including scratches, which are considered "normal wear and tear").

Versatile Glasses for Gamers

If you want transitional lenses that have strong blue light reduction powers indoors and work as sunglasses outside, Gunnar's Work-Play glasses are an excellent choice. The neutral tint is fairly strong but not overwhelming under artificial light and soften the harshly cool whites of monitors and TVs, and the ultraviolet-activated sunglasses tint is dark enough to comfortably block out rays on a bright day. The frames are sturdy and well made, and Gunnar's prescription lenses are reliably accurate. I still prefer Liquet or Crystalline lenses when gaming on my TV (set to the warmest white balance setting, which itself reduces blue light from the screen), but the Work-Play lenses have been very useful on my commute, especially when it's sunny out.

Gunnar Intercept Gaming Glasses (Work-Play)

4.0

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$36.07 at Amazon

MSRP $79.00

Pros

• Sturdy, well-made frames.
• Lenses are coated to protect against scratches and smears.
• Supports prescriptions.
• Tint changes reliably.

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Cons

• Only available in darker Amber tint; no lighter Crystalline or Liquet tints available.

The Bottom Line

Gunnar's Work-Play gaming glasses react to sunlight, shifting from a blue-ray-reducing amber tint indoors to full-on sunglasses outside.