KIT & GEAR EYEPRO
ESS ICE & CROSSBOW EYEPRO FOLLOWING ON FROM THE CAGE FEATURE ABOUT WHAT EYEPRO THE LEGION USES AND WHY, STEWBACCA TELLS US WHY HE FAVORS A PARTICULAR MODEL FROM ESS.
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nytime a new player - particularly one I might have indoctrinated to our addiction - asks me what to start buying and where to source it, my first port of call for them is always suitable eye protection! Having heard a few horror stories, seen a few close shaves and even had some myself, I can never stress enough to people how critical this simple addition to the base running gear for any shooter is. Whether you’re skirmishing, doing Action Air, or even real steel shooting, good eye protection from a reputable supplier and manufacturer, while meeting relevant international standards, is a must-have for everyone. Whether you go full face pro like the growing SpeedQB movement and their anti-fog, wide vision capable DYE or EMPIRE paintball style masks, or prefer (like me) to go for separate goggles/glasses and a lower face mesh for greater ease of use, keeping your eyes free from pellet strikes is obviously of paramount importance. When I first started out all those years ago, I began experimenting with a variety of solutions, beginning with simple (yet effective) “science class” glasses which I wore over my existing corrective lenses, as well as mesh alternatives with removable lower face protection. I would only ever advise mesh eyepro if you have corrective glasses on underneath to deflect any potential fragments and, even then, I would rather recommend people use solid polycarbonate lenses instead. Mesh can deform
over repeated hits, rust due to impacts wearing away surface treatments, or just be susceptible to penetration by the very nature of its structure. From there I moved on to ESS “Advancer” goggles, which were kind of bug-eyed in appearance! The replaceable separate lens units offered the usual clear/cadmium, yellow/smoke pigmented lenses as clip-in units, which could also be extended out slightly to open vents for improved ventilation, plus also had “Rx” corrective lens inserts, which I got my prescription made up for. These were a little bulky and still fogged up a lot for my liking and I was still not satisfied. I also dabbled in Guarder C4 modular glasses with snap in lenses but couldn’t use them with corrective lenses, so sold them to a teammate who then had a rather alarming incident where one of the separate lenses popped out forwards from the frame during a game!! Thankfully without injury but this was nonetheless very disconcerting to us both and he quickly replaced them with something more suitable.
ESS ICE COOL!
Eventually, around 2008 and after a few years of playing and figuring myself and my equipment out, I settled upon ESS ICE 2.4 wraparound, single piece 2.4mm thick polycarbonate ballistic protective lenses. At the time these were also widely adopted by UK & US forces, as being a well-received and respected
“THE ESS ICE 2.4 OFFER A GREAT ALL-ROUND VISIBILITY WITHOUT ANY NOTICEABLE OBSTRUCTIONS AND THEIR SINGLE PIECE LENS DESIGN (WHICH THE NOSE BRIDGE AND LEGS CLIP ONTO) MAKES EVERYTHING VERY EASY TO SET UP. WITH ADDITIONAL NOSE PIECES AND LEGS IN SETS ALLOWING YOU TO RUN DIFFERENT PIGMENTS INTERCHANGEABLY EASILY ESPECIALLY IF LIKE ME YOU NEED THE CORRECTIVE LENS INSERTS...” 70
NOVEMBER 2021
