Gatorz eyewear has a longstanding history of being durable, and the MILSPEC Ballistic Magnum is certainly no exception.  Designed and used by shooters and operators the world over, the ballistic series pairs durability alongside ANSI 787.1 mil-spec safety requirements.  Gatorz was kind enough to send a pair over for me to review this past month.  Here’s what I found.

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TFB Review: Gatorz MILSPEC Ballistic Magnum Eyewear

When you spend good money on eye protection or sunglasses, you’re secretly hoping it comes in a cool case.  It may not be a deal-breaker, but you’re bummed if it’s just in a cardboard box.  To that end, Gatorz knocks this out of the park with a stainless steel carrying case.  Needed?  Not really.  Awesome?  Absolutely.

The Ballistic Magnum’s hard case has a soft interior, but in case that’s too large, you have a convenient soft case for on-the-go use.

Now there are two sets of safety ratings that these glasses are using.  MIL SPF 32432A, Clause 4.8.4 Ballistic Fragmentation Protection, and ANSI/ISEA z87.1 2015 Standard.  What is this and why do I care?  Well, just because your safety glasses are impact rated doesn’t make them ballistic rated.  Ballistic-rated glasses are held to a much higher standard.  This takes into account things like possible fragmentation and field of view.

What results is a very sleek and wrap-style frame that’s designed to protect without obscuring your field of view.  Below is the product description for the Ballistic Magnum from the Gatorz website.

Built from our classic Magnum, this frame offers enhanced eye protection in our popular wrap style you know and love.  The high impact resistant lenses will shield your eyes from unexpected fragments.  This style offers a fully adjustable frame and nosepiece ensuring a comfortable and secure fit.  Thin temples fit easily under helmets or ear protection.  This frame features a sleek blackout logo and is available in Smoked or Inferno (photochromic) lens options.

What makes these glasses unique is the adjustment style.  These aircraft aluminum frames are highly adjustable, and Gatorz has the below video that shows just how much these can be adjusted.  Once adjusted, they will not fall off in use.

At The Range

The Ballistic Magnums I reviewed took some getting used to in terms of fitment.  These are much closer to your eye and have a very snug fit.  Once I settled into how these fit, they become more of an afterthought.  The wide wrap style frame paired with wide lenses gives you a full peripheral view.  The wrap style also gives you a better cheek weld with more space when using optics with shorter eye relief.

The only downside to the metal frames is that they can get hot.  Do not accidentally leave them in the sun to get nice and toasty.  They will try to burn your hands/face when you need them.

I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting to be blown away by these MILSPEC Ballistic Magnums.  I have plenty of sets of eye protection and sunglasses, and I kinda felt like these made me look like RoboCop.  After just wearing these daily for a month, I really like them.  You can adjust them for comfort or hard use, they have a great field of view, and the smoke lenses are just dark enough that you can use them on a cloudy day.

The ANSI 78.1 MILSPEC Ballistic Magnum has an MSRP of $240 and comes with a Gatorz lifetime frame warranty.  In addition, replacement lenses start at just $50 for the Magnums (trust me, this is cheap compared to big-name competitors).  So, if you like having a go-to set of eyewear that sees hard use, I  would strongly recommend taking a look at the Ballistic Magnums or other series of Gatorz products.  They’re extremely tough and everything is made here in the U.S.A.

Product Features

• MILSPEC Ballistic, Lenses Meet MIL PRF 32432A, Clause 4.8.4 Ballistic Fragmentation Protection
• Compliant with ANSI/ISEA Z87.1 2015 Standard
• Impact testing to withstand two hits from a .15 caliber projectile between 700-725 feet per second, without cracking, shattering, or dislodging.
• Patent Pending
• MSRP: $240
• Includes: User Manual, Soft Carry Case, Hard carry Case, Glasses
• Lenses feature:
  • Anti-fog coating
  • Hydro-oleophobic (Oil/Grease Repellant)
  • UV 400 Protection

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Thank you to Gatorz for sending these Ballistic Magnums over for review.  For more information on this or other Gatorz products, head on over to the Gatorz website here.  Thanks for reading!

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