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Specifications:
ANSI Z78 Rated
2mm thick lenses made of high impact, optical grade polycarbonate
100% UV PROTECTION from harmful UV A-B-C rays
adjustable nosepiece for custom fit; overmolded arms
LOW PROFILE DESIGN
resistant to chemicals & extreme temperatures; lenses hard coated
Weight 1 oz.
VARIETY of frame and lens colors
OPTIONAL PRESCRIPTION lenses available
Made in:
Street Price: $60.00
Initial Impressions:
The Revision Hellfly come in a garish red box. Contained in the box are the glasses, a cleaning cloth and a zippered hard case.
When I first donned the Hellfly they were not a good fit. It took me a couple of minutes to realize that the rubber nosepiece could be bent to customize the fit.
The styling is low key. There is nothing flashy about the Hellfly. There is a small Revision "shield" logo tastefully molded into the side. If your uniform regs prohibit logos, then it could easily be colored in with a marker.
The nose and ear pieces are overmolded with a gray rubber. The rubber feels rather hard and slick at first, but seems to become slightly tacky when it warms up to body temp.
Operation:
The Hellfly fit well on my face after the initial adjustment. Once they warmed up I never had a problem with them slipping. The field of view is nice and wide without the glasses hanging off the side of my face. They are nice and streamlined.
The coverage is good. When I am evaluating eye protection I look for "chinks in the armor". With the Hellfly there really aren't any gaps that would allow shrapnel to pass to the eye. Obviously this is something the individual wearer needs to evaluate for himself. We have different shaped faces and eye placement. This could allow for gaps on other wearers.
Our evaluation model had the smoke lenses. The tint level worked very well on a variety of conditions. One area where many glasses fail is on cloudy days. Frequently I find myself out when the light level is just slightly above comfortable. Many glasses are simply too dark to wear in this type of lighting. The Hellfly gave me the right amount of filtering without loosing clarity. That would usually mean that they are too light for the brightest of days. While I have yet to take the Hellfly out to the high desert, I have not experienced any issues on the brightest of days so far.
When I am evaluating eyewear I don't generally treat them as nicely as my favorite set of sunglasses. One reason is that I want to see the scratch resistance of the lenses. As they get dirty, dusty or grimy I usually clean them with whatever I have at hand. This may be the t-shirt I am wearing. My watch cap or a sweat rag. This is not recommended. If you are cleaning your glasses, I suggest a high quality microfiber cloth like the bag included with the Hellfly. However throughout my testing and ham fisted handling I have not managed to scratch the lenses yet. I have also managed not to have them fall from my head and go bouncing across the pavement under the car. This was a routine occurrence with my Oakley Canteens. I feel that some of this has to do with the tight fit of the ear stems on the Hellfly.
The frame shape works well for my face. I retain good peripheral vision and the ear stems don't interfere with my ear muffs.
I did notice that the Hellfly seems to be a dust magnet. I am not sure why. Every time I retrieved them from above my sun visor I had to wipe the dust off. A patrol car is not a clean environment by any stretch of the imagination. I usually roll with the windows at least partially down even in the winter. This causes more dust in the car than your average kid-hauler/grocery getter, but I have not experienced this level of dust collection with any of the previous glasses I have used. I only mention this because it may lead to more scratches on the lenses later on. If you store the Hellfly in the included case, this should not be an issue.
The Hellfly offers a great balance of protection, style and cost.
(10.01.11) Update:
In addition to the standard tinted Revision Hellfly Ballistic Glasses, Revision also offers a "Photochromic" version. This version stays almost totally clear indoors. When you step outside they quickly tint to protect your vision. After returning indoors the lenses again become clear.
I was anxious to try these glasses out. I am frequently in situations where I would want to protect my eyes, but do not require the full tinting of regular sunglasses. After several months of wear I can say that the Photochromic Hellfly are a definite step up from the regular version. I find myself working in the sunset hours often. The Photochromic Hellfly allow me to keep my glasses on from dusk to dark without worry. Even on overcast days they seem to have the perfect amount of tinting for any given light condition.
When I initially saw the Photochromic Hellfly advertised I thought that these would be perfect from SWAT Team entry work. Often Officers find themselves stacked on the outside of a house in broad daylight for hours. They then have a split-second to make an entry into a dimly lit or totally dark structure. With standard eye wear this requires that you make a choice between clear glasses/goggles and sucking up the blinding sun or ripping off your sunglasses as you move and now risking eye injury from flash bangs, breaking glass, gunfire, etc. My hope was that the Photochromic feature would solve this.
Unfortunately I found that the Photochromic lenses were not suited for this kind of work. When moving from shade to sun the lenses will tint almost completely in approximately 30 seconds. They take quite a bit longer to become clear again. A lot can happen in the time it takes the lenses to clear up. Conversely I found that the time it take the lenses to clear up is not really an issue for a Patrol Officer. Sure if you are in "hot pursuit" of a suspect entering a blacked out house then you may have to remove the glasses. However on your average complaint run it just wasn't an issue.
For regular patrol work on the street, it's hard to beat the utility of the Photochromic lenses. They adjust to varying light conditions and allow you to keep some protection between your soft gelatinous orbs and the cruel world for a bit longer than other sunglasses. When they go "clear" they still seem to have a very slight tint to them. More so than dedicated clear safety glasses, but so slight that you really have to look to tell.
We did a quick video to show you how quickly and to what degree the Photochromic Hellfly will tint out.
