SteelSeries Teams Up with GUNNAR to Release ‘Desmo’ Eyewear

SteelSeries has today announced a rather interesting and unusual product: a pair of eyeglasses. These are not usual glasses, however. Rather, the “Desmo” was created in conjunction with the folks at GUNNAR Optiks who have long promised that their glasses will improve your focus while at the same time reduce glare and eye strain. Being that SteelSeries focuses most of its efforts on the serious gamer, it’s not hard to understand how the Desmo came to be.

I admit that I’ve been skeptical of such products for about as long as I’ve known about them, and even after reading through reviews of other GUNNAR Optiks products, I was still left with the feeling of it all being a bit of snake oil. I hate to be so blunt, but that’s just how it is. After all, a pair of non-prescription eyeglasses that improve focus? Seems unusual.

At the same time, reading through some of the bullet-points for SteelSeries’ variant does make some sense – at least, in theory. The amber-like hue of the lenses promise to treat your eyes better than regular glasses or no glasses at all, and thanks to their design, dry eyes are meant to be less of a problem. The reduction of eye strain is the most important feature for me, since I have experienced the occasional issue with staring into a screen for far too long.

We were told that we’d have to “see it to be believe it” (no pun, of course), so that’s just what we’re going to do. We’re receiving a couple of pairs of the Desmo and plan to test them out across a couple of different people. I am supposed to wear prescription glasses, but don’t, so I am interested to see what sort of effect the Desmo will have on me. Since GUNNAR produces glasses meant to be worn outside of gaming, I’m somewhat excited to see if I can actually feel or see a difference at all.

What are your thoughts on glasses like these? Have you ever tried on a pair or know someone who owns one? Have any theories that would debunk what goals these set out to tackle?