Improve your shot with the SSP Eyewear innovative Top Focals
News & Testimonials

Improve your shot with the SSP Eyewear innovative Top Focals

by Sunny Dodeja on May 03, 2024

When using a firearm, it is important that you stay focused. It also helps if you can see your firearm's sights. If you are shooting recreationally or rely on a firearm for your everyday job the Top Focal® shooting glasses from SSP Eyewear will increase your accuracy. SSP Eyewear is constantly introducing new designs, techniques, and materials to develop their eyewear kits and accessories. They work closely with Law Enforcement, Military and firearm competitors to introduce new, innovative eyewear such as the reasonably priced (really under $80.00) Top Focal® kits

SSP Eyewear was tasked by the Washington State Criminal Justice Center to design a shooting glass for their firearms instructors. The Top Focal® glass is designed for anyone who wears reading glasses and shoots a firearm. By placing the magnifiers at the top of the lenses, your shooting stance will improve, you will see your sights clearly and the target unobstructed. These glasses are available in stores (to find the store nearest you simply click here). If we do not have a location in your area, you can order directly from SSP Eyewear. Just click on Top Focal® and check out our industry changing shooting glasses.

Choose the magnification power of the Top Focal® (between 1.00 and 3.00). Generally this will be the same as your reading glasses but, to be sure, try on a pair of reading glasses at your local drug store and focus on the tip of a pencil at arm's length. You may use a lower strength as you are focusing at a further distance than your normal reading distance.

The Top Focal® Glasses offer a lot of flexibility and are interchangeable with the Denial (bottom bifocal) and the Chelan Kits (no magnification) offered by SSP EYEWEAR. Additional lenses are available if your right eye requires a different strength than your left eye or vice versa.

Choosing the correct Top Focal® Lenses

To choose the correct magnification power 1.00, 1.25, 1.50, 2.00, 2.50 & 3.00 use the same magnification you would use for your reading glasses, unless you have long arms. (Long armed individuals may go down one full power as your focal point is further than your normal reading distance)

Note for best results we recommend testing with different power reading glasses at a drugstore and focusing on the tip of a pencil at arm's length.

Ways to customize your Top Focal® glasses to improve accuracy:

  • Wear both right and left Top Focal® lenses (sights clear target blur) Top Focal® Assorted Kits

  • Wear with a Top Focal® lens on your dominant eye and a Chelan lens (no magnification) on your non-dominant eye. (sights clear, target unobstructed both eyes open) Top Focal® Premiere Kit

  • Wear with a Top Focal® lens on your dominant eye and a Denial lens (bottom bifocal) on your non-dominant eye. (sights clear, target clear, reading clear) Top Focal® Ultra Kit

  • Swap any of the above methods to shoot with your weak non-dominant hand/eye

Breaking Bad Habits

SSP Eyewear research has found as we age, our bodies tend to favor certain weaknesses. For example, you may favor a bad shoulder or hip. A lot of times we do this unconsciously. The same can be said for our shooting stance. If you wear reading glasses, you tend to wear them at the end of your nose so you can see unobstructed in the distance and through the glasses for reading. If you are on a gun range, you may find yourself leaning back or shooting with your head held high.

The SSP Top Focal® glasses are designed to be worn up next to your face to prevent debris from going behind the lens. This may require you to change your shooting stance, don't worry it will be for the better. Remember how you shot when you were in your 20's? Wearing Top Focal® glasses offers the opportunity for you to shoot that clearly again. All of SSP Eyewear’s glasses were designed with our end users needs in mind. SSP Eyewear makes sense.

Correct Body Position

When shooting your firearm, your torso should lean forward slightly with no more than a small amount of bending forward at the waist. NEVER bend backward at the waist, hip or shoulder area. Shoulders and head should always be forward of the hips. Your weight needs to have a forward bias to counteract the kick of the gun. The idea is to get in a position that allows you to be active against the rearward force of the gun firing (recoil). This will enable you to control the gun properly and quickly return it from muzzle rise and recoil to the position back on target is what our researchers here at SSeyewear.com shared.

To keep your weight forward, your head will be tilted slightly down closer to your chest. The Top Focal® glasses with the magnifiers at the top of the lens will allow you to see naturally in this stance. Portions of these powerful tips were copied from the shooting tips.

Learn to shoot both eyes open safely:

Wear with a clear Top Focal® lens on your dominant eye and a smoked Plano lens (no magnification) on your non-dominant eye. This will allow you to comfortably practice shooting with both eyes open as your dominant eye will focus though the Top Focal® lens on your sights and your non-dominant eye will be slightly obstructed (similar to using a piece of scotch tape) so you don't feel like you see two barrels.

Improving Cross Dominance Gun Stance

Right-hand left-eye (cross dominance aim)

The design of the Top Focal® lens has the magnifier located next to the nose piece out about 1- 1/4" wide. With dry fire practice, this will enable you to bring your firearm correctly in line with your dominant eye. (you may need to turn your head slightly on its vertical axis till your dominant eye is looking through the magnifier at the sights) You may also try putting a Plano smoked lens SSP Eyewear Chelan Lens in your non-dominant eye to direct your dominant eye to view through the Top Focal® lens.

It takes a little practice, but you will be rewarded with a better stance and improved accuracy. Here is a great article you may benefit from Cross Dominance Aim.

Dominant Eye Has Changed

Your eyes get used every day. SSP Eyewear is passionate about protecting them. With the introduction of Lasik surgery correcting nearsightedness (seeing far away) has become very popular. The downfall is many times you lose your ability to see up close to read.

Your left and right eyes may deteriorate at a different pace, and you lose the ability to see up close with your dominant eye. This results in your "dominant" eye changing. With the use of the Top Focal® glasses you will be able to improve your sight on your dominant eye.

You can also set up both the Top Focal® and the Denial (bottom bifocal) glasses up with different powers for each eye. Additional lenses are available.

Long Gun Use

  • The Top Focal® shooting glasses are commonly used in conjunction with an AR as the sights are the same distance from the eyes as a handgun.

  • Scope use, adjust the reticle eyepiece to view the crosshairs clearly either through the Top Focal® or through the bottom of the lens, whichever is your preference. Look through the Top Focal to adjust the turrets on the scope.

  • Iron sights can be tricky, as the distance is longer between sights. We do not have a lot of data but generally the rear sights are difficult to see as they are so close. If you have data feel free to share with us.

  • Red Dot use the same Top Focal® power as you would for pistol shooting.

Misinformation

Using a low power magnification example +0.5-0.75 will allow you to view your target better.

Using too low a magnification will provide slightly better sight view and slightly worse target view, a compromise.

Don't compromise, use the correct Top Focal® glasses to see your sights crystal clearly and use a Chelan lens. Chelan Lens in your non dominant eye so you can see the target crystal clear.

Specifications

  • NTOA (National Tactical Officers Association) approved & recommended
  • Exceeds ANSI Z87.1+2015 specifications for high impact protection
  • Other users include mechanics, electricians and anyone doing overhead work
  • Anti-fog coating, is double sided & permanently bonded to the lens, lasting 65% longer
  • Feature optically correct, decentered, shatterproof, polycarbonate lenses to virtually eliminate distortion
  • Offer sharp peripheral vision, without any blind spots
  • Permanent durable anti-scratch hard coating
  • Provide 100% protection from harmful UVA/UVB rays
  • Tough nylon matte black frame
  • Anti-Fog venting between the frame and lens
  • Rubber nose and ear pads
  • Fits narrow, round, and up to XL faces
  • Magnifier at the top of the lens is 3/8 inch from the top of the frame down by 1-1/4 inch wide
  • Frames are 1-3/4" tall and 5-3/4" wide at the front
  • Weight is 1 oz

Common Questions

In order to keep the costs down SSP Eyewear has done everything possible to find a frame style that accommodates the largest variety of face shapes. In the future they will introduce new styles to fit XL and XS faces as well as large nose bridges and petite noses.

Q. Can you make the Top Focal Magnifier larger?

A- At this time it is as large as ANSI (American National Standards Institute) will allow for two reasons:

  • It should not obstruct your distance view (height)
  • The curvature of the lens would distort the magnifier (width)

Q.The Magnifier sits too low on my face, the line is in my view

A1- Make sure the Top Focal® glasses are fully seated against your face. The lenses are cupped so they should not hit your eyelashes.

DO NOT WEAR ON THE END OF YOUR NOSE LIKE READING GLASSES

A2- If you have a small nose bridge you may purchase stick-on felt or silicone nose pads from a drug store and apply to the stock nose pads to make the glasses ride higher on the nose bridge.

Q. The magnifier sits too high on my nose, I cannot see through the magnifier.

A1- You will need to tilt your head down with your weight forward to see through the magnifiers.

A2- Unfortunately the glasses will not fit very large nose bridges causing the glasses to ride high. Call our office to make arrangements to return for a full refund. SSP is working on a solution.

 

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.

Making Every Adventure (Fun)ctional

Lifetime Warranty On All Products.

We standby our products.

Learn more

SUPERIOR CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

We’re here to help!

Free Shipping

On all orders $35 or more.

Free returns

For 60 days after purchase.