Advancer with rx insert - ESS Advancer V12 Military Goggles

I just received the goggles and prescription insert and haven't had a chance to use them on a wildland fire yet. But wanted to give prospective RX users an idea of what to expect.

First of all, i don't "stump" for companies but Lenscrafters was the only place I could find who would attempt the challenge of cutting the RX lenses. Only took them half an hour! They are so used to cutting glasses that they actually enjoyed the challenge of working on something different.

Drawbacks I have experienced are probably not product related but something those of us with RX needs can't avoid. It's just a fact of life. There is terrible internal glare from sunlight and flashlight that occurs between the protective lense and RX lense. This sometimes causes a complete "white out" effect. I am hoping the brim of my hard hat will shield some of this.

Smudges and smears: The changeable lenses take some time and effort to lock into place. From my experience they don't just simply "click". They require some force and exact alignment of the locking mechanism. Aggravation is having clean lenses, finally snapping them into place only to realize that in the process the inside of the protective lenses get smudged. Only way to clean them is to remove them again b/c the RX lenses prevent you from cleaning them from the inside. My worry is when the time comes to clean the sweat out of them. Seems like I will be on the fireline going thru the long process of removing lenses and cleaning often.

As someone else mentioned the seal fits under the eyebrow or in my case just on the eyebrow. You need to relax before putting them on because they will either hold your eyes wide open or slightly closed. The facial expression you have when putting them on is going to be the expression you are stuck with. A little uncomfortable. Best fit I found was with the strap slightly loose so it allows better movement. I am hoping a slightly loose strap will still keep smoke out.

All in all a good product designed to protect the eyes. Unfortunately those with RX needs will continue to have a little challenge.
Pros: Full Eye Protection, Ventilation
Cons: Internal Glare, Changeable lenses a little tough to "click" in

This review was written in the old system and had content requirements that are different than reviews written today.