I've been digging my original Sawfly specs for sometime now so I was curious how any positive changes were going to be made to this new version. When I first got them in hand, I mostly had a "whatever... these are the same damn thing" reaction, but you know the Monkey wouldn't stop there and investigated further. While actually wearing, the most noticeable and welcomed change are the leaner arms. The ends in particular being slim make these Gen2 glasses go on much easier while wearing a hat or active ear pro / comms. On a long day of training or ops, the slim arms relieve pressure and are much more comfortable that most glasses when used with ear pro / comms.
For those who haven't experienced that fun detail, it can take all day before you notice, but once sore it really sucks. Revision used a great balance of non-slip and polymer materials on these arms to make them effectively rigid to keep the glasses on your head while still being slim.
I didn't have any nose piece issues on Gen1, however it has also been redesigned for enhanced comfort and durability. They also managed to make the lenses slightly wider to protect the sides of the face a little bit more without getting in the way of the user. This also helps keep the sun out further when looking to a side. The frame itself is similar, but with more angled edges to give a slightly more aggressive look. At the end of the day they are fairly bulky looking glasses, so I wouldn't consider them fashion glasses. The design looks appealing where possible, but they are all business protection oriented specs when it comes down to it and that is what I want in my eye-pro. The great lens ballistics are still there withstanding the impressive shotgun blast test, offering up to 3 times the requirements of the ANSI Z87.1 standard.
Two sizes are available; regular, fitting most and large for those biggun' heads that wear sizes 7.5 and larger. Since I'm on the smaller end I could probably use "Asian" size. No big issues, but if I end up looking down while exercising the Sawflys start to slip down my nose a little. The other frame features are still there such as optional head strap, Rx insert capability, and 5 position arm length adjustability. The latest gens come in kits like last time, the military version without the yellow lens I believe since the Army has been getting weird about usage of them. I'm not sure what that is about since they do help add contrast in cloudy / overcast lighting conditions. None the less, many kits are available and besides the soft case, the head strap and microfiber pouch are also included. It appears cool guy foliage and tan frame colors are also available.
If you already own some earlier Sawfly glasses and don't wear any kind of ear muffs then you can probably hold out a little longer, but if you do wear muffs I say going Gen2 is totally worth it. Of course if you don't have any specs, the Sawfly package is highly recommended and I'd go with Gen2 as all changes are positive improvements in my book. As a special cool guy promotion Revision is graciously offering the coupon code:
MONKEY
for 30% off MSRP on up to 5 items. That is some no messing around savings!
http://www.revisionmilitary.com/sawfly.html
