Gaming Gear – A Look At NoScope Gaming Glasses And Catalyst Energy Mints

Gaming is a serious business.  Competitive gaming is exploding in popularity, and as a result, LAN parties are becoming more popular than ever.  As gaming becomes more and more competitive, gamers are always on the lookout for something to give them a competitive edge over their opponents.  Today we are looking at gaming glasses from NoScope, and energy mints from Catalyst Energy Mints.

NoScope Gemini Professional Gaming Computer Glasses

Firstly the glasses; many people will tell you that staring at a monitor all day long will give you eye strain. For anyone that has ever experienced it is a very uncomfortable condition which can include headaches, fatigue, pain around the eyes and so on.  This can particularly ring true for gamers who are staring at a monitor that may have the same color scheme for hours on end.

Some people are more susceptible to this than others, but either way, if you are going to be staring at a monitor either at the office or at a LAN party for hours on end, you may want to consider some eye protection.

It has been shown that a large contributor to eye strain is all of the blue light emitted by electronic devices.  The counter to this, is to wear eye protection designed to filter out that blue light, and gaming glasses are designed to do just that.  Today we are looking at the NoScope Gemini Professional Gaming / Computer Glasses.

These are lightweight, smaller lens glasses.  These are designed for a low profile aesthetic, being very light, and highly adjustable.

The frame is a lightweight metal, the nose pads are adjustable, as is the frame and the arms.  The arms are also super slim, which makes them great if you are wearing headphones. The lenses are a durable, scratch resistant, resin coated, and tinted to block blue light which is a leading cause of eye strain.

I found these glasses to be extremely comfortable, even when wearing them all day, even with headphones on, they were never uncomfortable for me.  I like that the frame is metal, which makes them easy to adjust if you have a large head like I do; you can give them slight tweaks to make them fit your head perfectly.  For being budget friendly, you owe it to yourself to give these NoScope Gemini glasses a chance, especially if you are staring at computer screens all day like I am.  And with them being on the lower end of the pricing spectrum, you aren’t going to be too upset if they get lost or stolen.

These glasses are available at NoScope’s website for $28.99 or slightly less on Amazon.

Catalyst Energy Mints

Energy mints?  Yes, those.  I had never heard of them myself, until recently when NoScope announced that it had partnered with Catalyst Energy Mints.  Once I heard about this, I had to give them a try for myself.

Personally, I love coffee…no, it’s more than love, but we can get into that later.  I also love energy drinks, Red Bull being my favorite, especially the sugar free version. If I really want a jump start, I will get a 12oz and be up all night.  The problem with that is, Red Bull is expensive…very expensive, so often I will turn to coffee.

The issue with coffee?  You are often sprinting to the loo not long afterwards.  Let’s say you have a long gaming session, long paper to write, a long night of coding, or whatever.  What do you do if you don’t want to buy a $3 Red Bull, or have to stop for bathroom breaks?  You eat energy mints!

The Catalyst Energy Mints are a mint that is a little smaller than a Mentos, and the company claims that three of them are the equivalent to one energy drink.  These are sugar, calorie, and fat free.  The main sweetener is Sorbitol, so anyone who is leery of artificial sweeteners, take note.  These are made in the USA, they have 30mg of Caffeine per mint, along with Taurine, Vitamin B3, B12, and B6, and Siberian Eleuthero.  The mints also come in a tin so that you can keep them in your pockets without smashing them.

These mints aren’t exactly what I would consider delicious, they do have a bit of a strange flavor, but are by no means bad tasting.  They are minty and refreshing, and unlike drinks, don’t make you rush to the loo 30 minutes later.  I found that three mints, as the company claims, had the same effect on me as if I had drank an 8oz Red Bull.  They do take affect quickly, and I always ate all 3 mints at once, but you may prefer to space them out over time.

I work on a Technical Support team for a local software company, and we are all energy drink and coffee junkies of course, and I sampled these to many of my co-workers.  At first people were a little leery of the idea of an energy mint.  Once they tried them, the results were very similar to my own: bit of an odd taste, but not bad, and three were a good dose.  And them being sugar free is just an added bonus, if you are watching your sugar intake.

These mints are certainly cheaper than buying energy drinks, with pricing starting at $9.99 on the Catalyst Mint website for the Nano Pack which includes 21 mints, or equal to 7 energy drinks, is quite a value when compared to Red Bull.  The more you buy, the better per unit price of course.  You can get the Giga Pack, which is equivalent to 21 energy drinks for $19.99, or the Ultra Pack which equals 42 energy drinks for $39.95.  Or if you really like to stock up, or are throwing the LAN party of the century or hosting a competitive gaming event, you can always purchase the Omega case which is equal to 175 energy drinks for $164.99.