When considering sunglesses for duty or training use, officers are faced with choices. When it comes right down to it, the bottom line for officers is that the glasses have to be comfortable and look good. The rangemaster may have other considerations though. If you’re shooting, you need to have ballistic protection, so the mirrored trooper glasses won’t cut it. ESS (Eye Safety Systems), has found a way to please the rangemaster and the wearer. ESS has a couple new models in their product line, new Rollbar™ ballistic sunglass with interchangeable lenses and  a new photochromic eyeshield lens for their Crossbow frame. With my annual firearms qualifications coming up, I was more than happy to try these units on to see how they handled a sunny day on the range.

In the Rollbar Tactical™ kit you get the unassuming, yet technically advanced frame that comes standard with three sets of interchangeable, high-impact polycarbonate lenses: Smoke Gray lenses for daytime use, clear lenses for indoor or nighttime wear, and mirrored copper lenses for cloudy days. The box also has pouches for the extra lenses, an elastic retention strap and a zippered hardcase to keep everything safe. The all-conditions lenses in the Tactical Kit is a great package, now lets see how they work in the field and on the range.

Now the review. I’ll start by saying that these glasses look great and fit my (wide) face quite well. I got the silver logo on the side, but they come in blackout versions as well. Either choice will look stylish on all but the most narrow of faces. They look great when you put them on and they feel great for hours as well. One of my pet peeves in sunglasses is that they have to, at least, have no detrimental effect on the clarity or field of my vision. The Rollbar’s wide peripheral vision and distortion-free lenses met this requirement for me. I had them on for hours and had very little eye fatigue.

The lens exchange is accomplished by opening the frame’s Lens Gate™, which is a uniquely designed lateral-opening piece that pops out the lens as it opens. I’ll admit, I had a bit of trouble the first few times I did the lens exchange, but after feeling how it works, it became second nature. The mechanism is really well thought out and ergonomic. You open the gate, which pops out the side of the lens, exposing the retention tabs. From there, you simply  pull out the lens, exchange it with another lens, and snap the gate back in place. It’s a rigid lens retention system, so it doesn’t rely on the flexation of the frame to keep the lens in place.

The Rollbar™ frame fit my face well and stayed in place with my required ball cap for shooting on the range. I stepped up to the line and fired the qual course with these on. I actually forgot I had them on, which is a testament to how natural they feel on my face. During this range session, my neighbor’s pistol tossed a piece of brass at my glasses, which the lens deflected no problem. The click of the brass hitting the lens reminded me that the ESS glasses are made to repel brass projectiles without a blink.

Overall, the Rollbar™ glasses proved to be worthy sucessors to the the battle-proven CDI and CDI MAX frames from ESS. The unique lens exchange system is alone worth getting these glasses. The fact that they are comfortable, stylish and have high quality polycarbonate lenses should have you in line to buy these.

The Rollbar Tactical™ Subdued Logo Kit retails for $140 and can be purchased from ESS’ secure shopping site, www.esseyepro.com. Rollbar™ sunglasses are compliant with U.S. MIL-PRF-31013 (Clause 3.5.1.1), ANSI Z87.1-2010, and U.S. Federal OSHA.  All Rollbar™ lenses provide 100% UVA/UVB protection.

The Rollbar Tactical™ Subdued Logo Kit Includes:

• 1 x Black Rollbar ™ Frame with subdued matte black ESS icons

• 1 x Pair Clear Rollbar™ Lenses

• 1 x Pair Smoke Gray Rollbar™ Lenses

• 1 x Pair Mirrored Copper Rollbar™ Lenses

• 1 x Replacement Lens Pouch

• 1 x Black Zippered Hard Case

• 1 x Black Elastic Retention Strap

• 1 x Black Microfiber Cleaning Pouch

• 1 x ESS Sticker