This year I was surprised by the gift that gave me the biggest “wow” factor. (Excluding the Surface Pro 3 of course) My sister gave me inversion glasses (view on Amazon) as a holiday gift. Now I’m sure you’re wondering what inversion glasses are. These glasses essentially allow you to look through mirrors and prisms to see at a 90 degree angle. Why would these be useful? Let me tell you my friend.
I’ve had friends who have wanted to purchase a projector so that they can project an image onto the ceiling to watch movies and TV in bed more comfortably. I’ve even purchased goofy looking video glasses for this reason in the past. It is always challenging to get the right angle to watch television in bed. You’re almost always guaranteed to be left uncomfortable and potentially with a kink in your neck. This is especially true if you fall asleep in that position.
Inversion glasses allow you to lay in bed at a comfortable angle and watch TV, or use your phone or anything else, at a much more comfortable angle. I’m sure your next question is going to be, “if it is using mirrors, won’t everything be backwards?” Thankfully, the answer to that question is a resounding “no.” Because it uses a combination of mirrors and prisms, your image is exactly how it would be without the glasses; i.e. not backwards.
Functionality
The next question that I can hear you screaming is: how does it look? This is what astounded me most. Looking through the glasses is crystal clear and not distorted, or weird, at all. In fact, at times I felt like my vision was more crisp while looking through the glasses. The width of the field of vision is sufficient, though not as wide as your normal vision. Additionally, the angle of the view through the glasses is perfect. When laying on the ground I was able to watch a movie perfectly on a 42 inch screen that is about 5.5 feet up on the wall in complete comfort. You may have to put a pillow under your head get to get the right angle in some cases, but remember, you’re laying on a pillow with your head back; not kinked forward. I did notice that your depth of field is impacted and tapping your phone in the right place can take some practice. After 20 minutes of use, you’ll be tapping like a pro.
Often times looking through different types of glasses (such as 3D glasses) can cause your eyes to strain and give you headaches. I can report that after watching an entire 2 hour movie through these glasses, you don’t have to worry about eye strain while using these glasses. Overall, from a functionality standpoint, these glasses performed beyond my expectation.
Design
The glasses are made of a high quality combination of rubber and plastic, aside from the lenses. They are not, however, the most stylish looking glasses. In fact, they are incredibly goofy looking. You definitely would not want to wear these in public. (Just take a look at the lady in the picture to the right…) Even just using them around my family I would get looks and giggles; though everyone was interested in giving them a try due to the “weird and interesting” factor that these glasses have.
Needless to say, these glasses are intended to be used at home primarily for watching TV, reading books, or playing on your smart phone while laying down. I have a bulged disc in my neck which makes sitting for long periods of time uncomfortable. These glasses now make watching full length movies a comfortable pleasure once again, which I haven’t truly enjoyed since my injury.
Overall
In conclusion, for the value ($6.50) I couldn’t ask for something better to improve my life. With many experts agreeing that we are all hurting our necks from looking at computer screens and down at phones all day, this provides an easy way to give your neck a break.
What do you think of the inversion glasses? Would you find them useful? Are you willing to give them a try in public? Or do you have too large of a friend list to lose? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below