Rustpot
M Frame Lover
Got these in today, I am super excited!
My initial thought on these when I pulled them out was "huh..." but the more I look them over they feel like a leaner, tougher version of the 2.0 frame.
The initial Ballistic M Frame and the purpose-designed Ballistic M Frame 2.0 had one major draw back; The clip! One both of these the clip is stiff to remove and has to be balanced on the frame to get the lens out. Then you slip in a new lens and it snaps back in place. I don't know if this ever loosens sufficiently to make it easier, but I just yanked it off one 2.0 and the standard frame I have that used it. One 2.0 still has it, but I use a ballistic clear lens at work, so I never really swap it out.
The 3.0 clip is revised with a much easier action. The clip is kind of in 2 pieces, one that holds the frame, and one that wraps that to hold the stud in the lens. Much easier to work off and get the stud out of the way without the clip losing tension on the frame and sliding across the orbital.
The temples of the 3.0 are toned down a bit. The style is still there, but the temple is overall slimmer and shorter before transitioning into the stem.
The 3.0 stems wrap much tighter. There's no rubber, so they use the springiness of the O-Matter to hug your head. This does make it a bit harder to put on 1 handed however. Not too tight on my big head, and zero movement giving them a good head bang and enthusiastic shake. The stems are also flat to help them slip under helmets better and not break the seal on over-ear hearing protection. This was one of my complaints when using a Gen3 M Frame.
The 3.0 nosepiece is harder rubber and plastic, so hopefully it will stand up to prolonged use better before separating or getting sticky. We'll see how it handles sweat, but I'm sure they thought of that. Thankfully they've done away with the need to use the lugs on the lens to clip the nosepiece in place. The harder plastic is still as difficult to remove, but there's much less stress on the lens. The lens has been reinforced at the lugs and can still accept the previous gen ballistic nose piece with the clips, but the 3.0 nosepiece is not backwards compatible. I had previously broken a lens nosepiece clip hook thing on a first gen ballistic lens.
And speaking of the lens, this is where most of the changes have occurred. This is NOT a Strike lens. It looks very similar, but I believe it's a touch taller, and it's extended out towards the side for increased peripheral coverage. The cheek does not taper as much for better lower coverage at the extremes, without adding much height at the cheeks. This lens is also MUCH thicker than my other ballistic lenses. I'll get measurements tomorrow, but I'd estimate 25-50% increase. This lens has anti-fog treatment to the inside like the Wind Jacket and Radar XL, to help keep fogging down as they're wrapping very close to the face and choking ventilation.
And they come in Bone, which is a nice matte desert tan.
Sorry for the bad pics, I'll get better ones at work under better light tomorrow.
And yes, even with the lens revision they'll take retail lenses from what I can tell.
My initial thought on these when I pulled them out was "huh..." but the more I look them over they feel like a leaner, tougher version of the 2.0 frame.
The initial Ballistic M Frame and the purpose-designed Ballistic M Frame 2.0 had one major draw back; The clip! One both of these the clip is stiff to remove and has to be balanced on the frame to get the lens out. Then you slip in a new lens and it snaps back in place. I don't know if this ever loosens sufficiently to make it easier, but I just yanked it off one 2.0 and the standard frame I have that used it. One 2.0 still has it, but I use a ballistic clear lens at work, so I never really swap it out.
The 3.0 clip is revised with a much easier action. The clip is kind of in 2 pieces, one that holds the frame, and one that wraps that to hold the stud in the lens. Much easier to work off and get the stud out of the way without the clip losing tension on the frame and sliding across the orbital.
The temples of the 3.0 are toned down a bit. The style is still there, but the temple is overall slimmer and shorter before transitioning into the stem.
The 3.0 stems wrap much tighter. There's no rubber, so they use the springiness of the O-Matter to hug your head. This does make it a bit harder to put on 1 handed however. Not too tight on my big head, and zero movement giving them a good head bang and enthusiastic shake. The stems are also flat to help them slip under helmets better and not break the seal on over-ear hearing protection. This was one of my complaints when using a Gen3 M Frame.
The 3.0 nosepiece is harder rubber and plastic, so hopefully it will stand up to prolonged use better before separating or getting sticky. We'll see how it handles sweat, but I'm sure they thought of that. Thankfully they've done away with the need to use the lugs on the lens to clip the nosepiece in place. The harder plastic is still as difficult to remove, but there's much less stress on the lens. The lens has been reinforced at the lugs and can still accept the previous gen ballistic nose piece with the clips, but the 3.0 nosepiece is not backwards compatible. I had previously broken a lens nosepiece clip hook thing on a first gen ballistic lens.
And speaking of the lens, this is where most of the changes have occurred. This is NOT a Strike lens. It looks very similar, but I believe it's a touch taller, and it's extended out towards the side for increased peripheral coverage. The cheek does not taper as much for better lower coverage at the extremes, without adding much height at the cheeks. This lens is also MUCH thicker than my other ballistic lenses. I'll get measurements tomorrow, but I'd estimate 25-50% increase. This lens has anti-fog treatment to the inside like the Wind Jacket and Radar XL, to help keep fogging down as they're wrapping very close to the face and choking ventilation.
And they come in Bone, which is a nice matte desert tan.
Sorry for the bad pics, I'll get better ones at work under better light tomorrow.
And yes, even with the lens revision they'll take retail lenses from what I can tell.
