Magpul® Industries  has entered the eye pro market in a big way. The company currently offers six different styles of eyewear, with two more styles on the way for Fall 2020, and a variety of options for each. Magpul recently provided me with its Radius eyewear for evaluation.

The Magpul Radius was designed to balance comfort and style with maximum visibility and ballistic protection. The lenses and frame provide full ANSI Z87+ ballistic protection and have been tested to exceed the even more stringent US military MIL PRF 32432 ballistic standards.

The Radius has a modern profile and features an aggressive wraparound 8-base curvature and high-coverage temples for optimal protection from the elements and debris, as well as preventing unfiltered sunlight from entering the eyes and a wider peripheral view. The Radius features a unique lens shape that is not only stylish but provides better peripheral vision than most full-coverage designs.

The Radius is available with either matte black or FDE frames. The frames are made of TR90NZZ, which is a lightweight high-performance polymer that offers outstanding impact resistance, high flexural fatigue resistance, excellent stress crack resistance, and excellent resistance to range of chemicals and solvents, as well as UV and weathering. It’s a rugged material with just the right amount of flex that makes it’s ideal for use in eye pro.

The frames also feature coated stainless steel pins that provide simple but dependable hinge functionality, and durable overmolded anti-slip rubber nose and temple pads,. A low profile temple design provides comfort while wearing helmets, comms headsets or over-the-ear hearing protection. The frames have a discrete Magpul logo on each temple.

Polarized and non-polarized lens options are available. The matte black frame is available with non-polarized gray lenses with no mirror or non-polarized clear lenses with no mirror and polarized gray lens with silver mirror. The FDE frame is available with either a polarized gray lens with silver mirror or non-polarized clear lens with no mirror. I went with the matte black frame and non-polarized gray lenses with no mirror. The gray lens provides true color perception and natural contrast. It has 15% light transmission, which is ideal for bright, sunny conditions and reduces eye fatigue.

Although polarized and mirrored lenses provide added glare reduction and mirrored lenses definitely look cool, non-polarized lenses are a better choice for all around use. Polarized lenses can block the visibility of many electronic displays, make slippery surfaces more difficult to see and can alter depth perception.The FAA recommends against the use of polarized lenses by pilots as they can impair visibility through an aircraft windscreen and also by masking reflections, can reduce the time a pilot has to react in a “see-and-avoid” traffic situation.

The lenses are made of polycarbonate and have a scratch-resistant hydrophobic and oleophobic coating that repels water and provide oil, sweat, sunscreen, and other chemical protection. They resist fingerprint smudges and fogging. Not once have I had the lenses fog up on me.

Polycarbonate lenses are the most impact-resistant lenses available. They’re lighter and thinner than glass or plastic lenses and have from 10 to 20 times more impact resistance. Polycarbonate lenses have excellent optical clarity, although they can’t match glass lenses in this regard. Polycarbonate inherently blocks 100% of UV and HEV up to 400nm (UV400 protection). It does scratch fairly easily and requires a scratch-resistant coating for durability.

As was mentioned, the Radius provides both Z87+ ballistic protection and had also been tested to the even more stringent US military MIL PRF 32432 ballistic standards. The MIL-PRF-32432A ballistic fragmentation performance requirement requires Class 1 eyewear (spectacles) withstand two hits with a 0.15-caliber (3.81 mm), 585 (± 0.15) grain, T37 shaped projectile at 700 to 725 fps (213.36 to 220.98 m/s) to the primary lens. This is over seven times the kinetic energy level of ANSI Z87.1 impact tests. The impact level is similar to being hit by bomb fragments.

The Radius eyewear is designed for optimal fit on medium to large faces. They’re not adjustable. I have a medium sized face and have found it to be comfortable and secure over a wide range of demanding activities. They look great too. 

All Magpul eyewear ships with a Magpul DAKA® Can which was designed to house and protect Magpul eyewear, It’s now also available separately from Magpul. The DAKA Can is constructed of molded high-strength polymer and features a durable-reinforced rob design and a protective positive-friction lid closure with a steel hinge pin. It’s crush, dust, chemical and UV resistant. The interior is fully lined with soft-surfaced high-density foam to further protect the content.

All Magpul eyewear also comes with a microfiber draw-string pouch. The microfiber pouch provides additional protection and also serves as a cleaning cloth.

My Thoughts

Ballistic eye pro isn’t just for the range or battlefield. It’s for everyday. Eye injuries can happen virtually anytime and anyplace. You’ve only got one pair of eyes and you can’t replace them. Proper eye protection is essential. Standard (non-ballistic-rated) sunglasses provide protection from UV but provide inadequate protection from impact and may shatter into secondary projectiles.

Magpul has covered all the bases with its Radius eyewear.  It exhibits the top-notch design, engineering and quality that one has come to expect from Magpul. It’s rugged, stylish, comfortable and provides optimal protection, As with all Magpul products, it’s designed and made in the USA. .

If you ever have any problems with a Magpul product, no matter where it was purchased, Magpul will do its best to make it right. Scratched lenses are not covered. MSRP for the non-polarized Radius models is $109.00. The Radius with polarized lenses run a bit more, with a MSRP of $125.00.

Material Disclosure

I received this product as a courtesy from the manufacturer so I could test it and give my honest feedback. I am not bound by any written, verbal or implied contract to give this product a good review. All opinions are my own and are based off my personal experience with the product.

*The views and opinions expressed on this website are solely those of the original authors and contributors. These views and opinions do not necessarily represent those of Spotter Up Magazine, the administrative staff, and/or any/all contributors to this site.