PitchSix has created the worlds first adjustable angle belay glasses. With a small easy-to-use lever, you can adjust the angle of the prism to follow your climber up the wall.

This image from PitchSix sums it up well, when a climber is on an overhung pitch:

Overhanging Cliff PitchSix Belay Glasses neck changes

Prism Angle / Adjustable-Angle Prism

Most belay glasses have the prism tuned to about 60 degrees, which is great for slab, and is still fairly decent balance for vertical walls. Pitchsix’s adjustable range is from 60 degrees to 120 degrees. Now, you will likely never need 120 degrees, unless you want to check out your forehead / helmet brim. The bonus is really in the 70-110 degree range.

The adjustment makes a particular difference if your climber is on vertical to steep overhang. Even while using traditional belay glasses, the belayer would need to tilt their head to follow a climber who is on a steep overhang.

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.

We did experience some slight distortion in the image. It was unclear to us if the bottom-most angle caused features to be elongated, or if the top-most angles caused compression.

PitchSix EyeSend Adjustable Prisms up and down
Lever goes up/down for 60-120 degrees of prism adjustability

Prism size

The height of the prism determines the field of view. In some belay glasses the height of the prism is shorter and that reduces the field of view.

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 vs Cypher prisms comparison
PitchSix left (bigger prisms), Cypher right (smaller prisms)

Fit with other Glasses

The PitchSix belay glasses fit over sunglasses and prescription glasses. They fit especially well if you are open to wearing them lower on your nose. I like the straight glasses arms much more than the arms that bend around the ear – it seems to give more adjustability to where they fit on your head/over your ear.

PitchSix glasses fit over other glasses

Lanyard

On first use, we questioned the integrated lanyard, but it turned out to be a non-issue. It easily fits over a helmet, and was never noticed during use. We really liked how low key/slim the lanyard is when comparing it to other brands.

Note: We haven’t had enough testing time (thanks COVID) to say whether this is a super win or not. We never used the included lanyard on our other belay glasses. It’ll be interesting to see if this makes us want a lanyard on the other pairs, or if we’ll end up disliking the bulkier lanyard on the other pairs.

PitchSix Eyesend Lanyard fits over a helmet

Sustainability

The EyeSend frames are built from 25% recycled materials and the shipping box is printed on 100% recycled corrugated cardboard.

PitchSix has worked to minimize the amount of shipping material needed to send product through the mail. The product box is used as a shipping box. This box is designed to fit snugly over the glasses case, without extra packing material inside or an extra box on the outside. The glasses are delivered without harm in all the shipping tests.

USA Made, the frame factory is located in Utah, adjacent to final product assembly shop and fulfillment warehouse. Staying in close proximity reduces the final assembly carbon footprint.

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

PitchSix mentions the “Awesome Case Design”, but this is the one place I don’t totally agree. I am glad it’s a hardshell case (70 grams for those counting). I’m also glad is lined with a velvet interior. I also appreciate how simply the spare screw and wrench are tucked away in the case, instead of left floppy to scratch the glasses.

My beef is that the case has a zipper AND velcro closure. If I can figure out a clean way to do it, I hope to cut off the velcro closure so I don’t have to deal with two openings. It’s also unlikely I will keep the accessory carabiner & D-ring on the case long term as I’ve yet to find anywhere I’ve wanted to clip this to.

My negatives with the case are a bit of a reach. Sure, I’m not a huge fan of the case, but it doesn’t have anything to do with the glasses, and the glasses are the thing that matters.

PitchSix case open and closed
This is the official PitchSix case photo – we felt they hit all the angles perfectly so we didn’t need to create our own.

Price

It’s hard for us to compare the value of the price because we’ve received all of our belay glasses for free to test. In our opinion, the price seems to match the features. For PitchSix, the price difference is really in the adjustable prism, which is (surprisingly?) rad. The prism height is also more generous than some other models, which makes them easier to use. PitchSix definitely has the most intentionally engineered belay glasses.

Note: At the time of this review, if you signed up for the PitchSix newsletter on their website you could get a 15% discount. 

Summary

If you already have neck issues, belay glasses are a lifesaver. They also allow you to be a more attentive belayer because you don’t need to worry about stressing your neck.

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.

As an accessory, belay glasses can often feel hard to justify the cost if you’re not already feeling the pain. In this case, we think belay glasses are an ideal Birthday or Holiday gift.

Note: At the time of this review, if you signed up for the PitchSix newsletter on their website, you can get a 15% off discount.

Where to Buy

You can buy from Amazon or from the PitchSix website directly.

Note: Normally PitchSix glasses are available via Amazon Prime. During COVID-19 craziness Amazon has placed a lower priority for shipping PitchSix belay glasses.

Whole Package Includes

  • EyeSend adjustable belay glasses (the neck strap lanyard is integrated into the glasses)
  • Microfiber leaning cloth
  • Hardshell case
  • Not-for-climbing accessory carabiner
  • L-wrench for field servicing
  • Extra screw
  • Manual
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Alison Dennis

Alison Dennis

Alison (she/her) runs WeighMyRack from her 17' travel trailer. She is currently touring the US and would love if you contacted her to meet up to talk about climbing, climbing gear, or if you have any fun and/or ridiculous adventure in mind.

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