Y&Y Clip Up Belay Glasses
- October 2016
- Climb Uncategorized
I’ve been using Y&Y Belay Glasses and really liking the optics–they have slight magnification and very clear lenses. I was asked if I’d like to review the new Clip Up version which you can clip onto glasses, and at first I said no because I don’t wear glasses. Later that day I went climbing in the sun for the first time this season at Mill Creek and remembered that in winter it’s hard not to refract light directly into your eyes when using belay glasses, and it’s even harder trying to prop belay glasses over your sunglasses. I was very happy that the offer still stood to try the Clip Ups!
My friend Lisa is not a fan of belay glasses, but she immediately grabbed the Clip Ups and put them on her sunglasses. It turns out, she thinks belay glasses are too committing and was instantly sold by the flip-up feature of these Clip Up lenses. I clipped them onto my sunglasses, and found that the weight of the Clip Ups causes the sunglasses to slide down my nose gradually. This is because my frames are a little big, but I was having to keep pushing the glasses back up, which was slightly annoying–this didn’t happen to Lisa, because her sunglasses fit better.
Overall, I think the Clip Ups are great for specialized use–people who wear prescription glasses, people belaying in winter sun and people who feel trapped by regular belay glasses and want to be able to flip them up (this may only be Lisa?). We also have a friend who has a degenerative disease that doesn’t allow him to lift his head (he still climbs) and we are excited to pass them to him to see if they help him with climbing.
The optics of the Clip Ups are just as good as the standard Y&Y belay glasses, and they come in a very nice little zip up case with a small toy biner on it. They definitely get points for minimalism–for those who are shaving weight when packing for a trip or just can’t resist nifty little gadgets, they’d be a good addition to the climbing essentials.
