If you wear prescription glasses for your vision – or often wear sunglasses at the crag – it’s important that your belay glasses work with your other glasses. Some belay glasses are designed to be compatible to wear over other glasses, which works, although it can feel a little clunky. The Y&Y Clip Up can only be worn by being clipped to another pair of glasses, so they are a great choice for those who wear glasses all the time.

Our experience is that the price of belay glasses seems to match their feature set. If your climber often climbs overhangs and/or if intentional design high on your priority list, the PitchSix glasses seem worth the cost. Their prism size is either bigger than or the same as all the other competitors we looked at giving a great view. 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.Y&Y made it on our list twice, and for good reason. The company makes very high-quality products that are thoughtfully designed and in my opinion are worth the high price point. PitchSix donates 1% of our annual revenue to the grassroots environmental nonprofits as verified by 1% For The Planet. They’ve also partnered with One Tree Planted to plant one tree for every pair of belay glasses sold. Case The PitchSix belay glasses strikes a nice balance between having a large field of view and also allowing you to be able to look over or under the prisms (depending where you have them on your nose). The PitchSix prisms themselves are a very similar size to the Metolius Upshot prisms. PitchSix left (bigger prisms), Cypher right (smaller prisms) Fit with other Glasses

The adjustment lever itself was very nice to use. The lever movement was incredibly smooth and it doesn’t slip when you stop moving the lever.

What are the best belay glasses to buy in 2023?

Rodden, most commonly found climbing Yosemite’s difficult multipitches, believes the adjustable prism is a game-changer, especially for overhanging and steep pitches. Another upside of the metal frames is adjustability. The stainless steel isn’t hard to bend, so the Classics can be customized to fit those of us with crooked heads.

To choose belay glasses it all depends on your preferences, but the things to keep in mind are comfort, the field of vision you want, and other glasses you might be wearing with it too. How to make belay glassesTembo utilized the same size optics as all the other glasses, with the exception of the Belaggles, so of course they offer the same field of view. The prisms are high quality though they don’t seem to be quite as good as some of the more expensive glasses. Unless you’re comparing them side-by-side you’ll never be able to tell the difference though. If you want to buy the best belay glasses on the market right now, Y&Y Classics are the way to go to give you the best in terms of design and functionality. For those who want similar quality but at a lower price, the Y&Y Vertical Plasfun are an excellent choice giving a comparable experience at a lower price. The real downside to the Firsts is the case. The zipper works well enough, but the clip attachment broke after about five minutes. This probably isn’t a dealbreaker — the case still functions, and it’s easy enough to replace if necessary. It’s just not as nice as the other Y&Y offering.

However, if you’re likely to be using them a lot, across a range of climbing scenarios, particularly in mountain crag settings, with longer approaches, I’d suggest pushing for some of the more durable and better performing glasses, like the Y&Y Belay Glasses Classics. 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. The fit of the glasses was the number one attribute dictating how much our testers liked them at the end of the test. If a pair fits well, they become a seamless part of the belay system. Those with smaller heads should consider avoiding the Plasfun Evos, but otherwise we found that all the Y&Y offerings were very comfortable. The Y&Y Classic’s plastic nosepiece meant it satisfied the widest range of fits. Increases your peripheral vision, which may be helpful when needing to watch your surroundings and the rope you control. How robust are the glasses? Will they bend or snap over time? We grade the sturdiness of all pairs.Stylish stainless steel frames with articulating hinged arms that look modern and sci-fi instead of goofy. The silicone nose pad and memory alloy allow the belay glasses to be adjusted to most heads, ensuring comfort.