Belay Specs: Affordable, Durable Belay Glasses for Rock Climbing
My brother was in town from Salt Lake for a wedding, so we took the opportunity to go climbing and shoot some pictures of the belay glasses he's been developing. Phil is engineering his own model of belay glasses, called Belay Specs, which are both less expensive than imported European equivalents and much stronger/durable than cheap plastic models available elsewhere.
Belaying with Belay Glasses
Are Belay Glasses Necessary?
Like many, I was skeptical about belay glasses. Not only do they look silly, but are they really necessary? Once I actually tried a pair on, however, my perspectives changed quickly, inside and out.
My first impression was the glasses are incredibly clear and crisp, providing 100% acuity of whatever I was looking at. It's also really easy to either look through the prisms OR use your peripheral vision to see "normally" to the sides (e.g. to check how the rope slack is flaking), below (e.g. to check my belay device), or above the prisms (e.g. to watch my climber in the first 20’ of climbing).
Why Use Belay Glasses?
Belay glasses offer two major benefits:
Belay glasses ease muscle and joint strain in the neck.
Because belay glasses make belaying more comfortable, they tend to lead to a safer, more attentive belay.
Belay glasses aren't really useful for the first 20' or so of the climb, when it's not much strain to watch your climber anyways. Above this, however, they are really fun to use: your climber can be 40, 60, 80 feet up, and you can look right at them by looking straight ahead with zero neck strain.
Belay Glasses Construction
The frames are laser-cut steel, strong enough to endure a jammed-pack rucksack, but also bendable to adjust to your facial contours for a custom fit. Phil ships them inside a nice hard-plastic case for safe transport to and from the crag.
Purchase Belay Specs
If you're interested in trying a pair out, head over to Belay Specs online store for more details and purchase information. Good work, brother!
