Belay Glasses for Rock Climbing

Product Information

Numerous brands offer belay glasses of all varieties — in various designs, colors, and features. When we asked a handful of climbers their opinions, four distinct categories of climbers emerged that all recommend wearing the glasses.

While these glasses are significantly more expensive than some of their peers, they do come with a plastic zippered case with attachment clip, microfibre cloth, and lanyard. While wearing belay glasses ones visual and spatial awareness of the immediate surroundings is severely diminished. Although it is possible to somewhat see around the edges of the specs, it can be hazardous in certain positions and terrain. This is significant when belaying as body position is of paramount importance to both the climber and the belay partner. One must be able to move around freely to first keep the climber in view but also to avoid falling debris (and climbers) as well as maintaining solid footing to catch the climber effectively in case of a fall. The frames are built from stainless steel. A single plate cradles the prisms and curves into straight, hinge-less arms. A small forked protrusion forms the nosepiece. Overall: Editor’s Choice! These inexpensive belay glasses have a sturdy frame, decent optics and are easy to put on with one hand.

Because all products performed fairly well, comfort became a very important category. Like most questions of fit, comfort is subjective and may depend on head size and shape. The Belay Specs look futuristic, but they were hit-or-miss for comfort. Portability & Features The following chart gives a brief description of the characteristics for each pair of glasses. A more detailed description is written below. Overall: Y&Y Classics (the metal framed ones) are good glasses. They are thin, light and offer excellent peripheral vision around the glasses. They are fixed-prisms glasses and, as a result, have a limited field of view. The case is a good design, but the attachment is flimsy. The glasses are sold by Y&Y out of France, but they are made in China.

But after we surveyed a number of pro climbers, we found that although they’re not for everyone, some love belay glasses. What Are Belay Glasses? The nosepiece is a single molded piece of flexible plastic. This is another excellent piece of design — the arched plastic conforms to your nose, which means that a wide range of testers found it comfortable.

The Sendy Climber

Case: The temples don’t really fold; they just bend in a bit. As a result, the case is bigger than most other cases on the market. It’s made of hard plastic and isn’t as compact or carry very well on a harness. The case only snaps shut, rather than having a secure zip closure. Between the larger case size and not 100% secure opening, going up a multi-pitch route with these glasses isn’t advised. When looking for belay glasses a few years ago, the market was limited to a few options, most notably CU belay glasses, the original belay glasses, and a few competitors such as Belay Specs and Y&Y Belay Glasses. These days, however, there are many more options to choose from that range from basic models that are relatively cheap, to more engineered models that come with all sorts of accessories and a corresponding price. With the wide selection available, we have to ask ourselves if it’s worth buying a pair of belay glasses that cost as much as a new cam or whether a DIY pair will serve the purpose. As with most gear, you get what you pay for. Y&Y Classic Belay Glasses

If you can take good care of these and are only looking to give an occasional gym belay, they might last long enough to be worth the low cost. Finally, a good belayer does not rely on visual cues alone, and every experienced belayer knows that rope feel and constant communication with the climber are as important as what they observe. Indeed, in some cases, the climber can move out of visual range into chimney or overhang. Summary of the Best Belay Glasses for ClimbingRodden, most commonly found climbing Yosemite’s difficult multipitches, believes the adjustable prism is a game-changer, especially for overhanging and steep pitches. Fit and comfort are extremely important factors in buying belay glasses, especially if you belay frequently or for long periods of time. Overall: We found Belaggles really heavy and uncomfortable. They are a fixed-prism design with large prisms. The nose piece is too small and not adjustable. The case is difficult to clip to a harness. The prisms are rounded, which is nice, but otherwise not protected from being chipped. This feature is really convenient because it allows the belayer to switch in and out of wearing the belay specs easily with one hand, so they can do this while belaying depending on where the climber is. Like the other metal-framed glasses, the upside is adjustability. The nosepiece and arms can be bent to accomodate your face, although the arms only bend in the plane of the glasses (not up or down). The Belay Specs were reasonably comfortable but more noticeable on the face, especially on long belays.

Y&Y Classic Belay Glasses: The similarities in design between the Y&Y and Tembo are quite obvious, scroll down and compare this photo with the Tembo photo. It doesn’t impede belaying, but we felt others did a slightly better job balancing size with visibility. One tester also complained of more reflections through the prisms in the Belay Specs. While certainly not the cheapest belay glasses available, they seem to be the most product for value. As the sage said, you get what you pay for.Given the wide price range of glasses, it’s worth deciding how much you want to spend. If you have the cash, the Y&Y Classic glasses will likely be all you need. If you’re on a budget, it’s hard to beat the Plasfun Firsts. Case & Portability Overall: Metolius Upshot are relatively new glasses on the market. They are built on a sturdy plastic frame and have good sized prisms. These glasses are a fixed-prism design, but have a steeper field of view because they sit really high on the nose. The case design in uninspiring and doesn’t even come with a carabiner to attach. They’re made in China.