AllOutdoor Review: Vortex Banshee & Vortex Jackal – Ballistic Eyewear

Vortex Optics is widely known throughout the firearms and shooting industry (and soon golf community) for their quality optics. If you need a riflescope, red dot, binoculars, rangefinder, and many other tools, they have got your back. All things glass, optical, and sporting, they are here for us. So, it should not come as a tremendous surprise that they now are dipping their toes into protective eyewear. Vortex announced this morning that they are now manufacturing ballistic eyewear for shooters, hunters, and outdoorspeople. From the outset, they have several models to choose from depending on the look and eye coverage you are wanting to achieve. So, in today’s AllOutdoor Review, we will take a look at some of the new Vortex Banshee and Vortex Jackal ballistic-rated eyewear to see how they perform. Let’s dive in!

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Specifications: Vortex Banshee & Vortex Jackal – Ballistic Eyewear

Being as the new Vortex Banshee and Vortex Jackal are directed towards shooters, these new pairs of ballistic eyewear have everything instilled in them that you would desire. You have UV Protection from the sun, polarization when fishing or out near bodies of water, an anti-reflective coating, and of course, a ballistic rating so spalling from steel plates or other targets does not come back at you. The complete listing of specifications can be read below as presented by Vortex Optics:

UV Protection
Polarized
Smudge Resistant
Anti-Scratch
Non-Slip
Lightweight
Anti-Reflective
Ear Pro Ready
Ballistic Durability
ANSI Z87.1+ Tested and MIL PRF 32423-A 4.8.4 Ballistic Impact Tested (Lenses)

To reiterate, Vortex Optics has announced 3 unique sets of protective eyewear today with the unveiling of the Jackal, Banshee, and Rangepoint. The 2 that we are specifically reviewing today are the Jackal and Banshee. Both of them come in a an MSRP of $179.99 while the Rangepoint is priced out at $99.99.

Vortex VIP Warranty: Vortex Banshee & Vortex Jackal – Ballistic Eyewear

In the rare event that your eyewear should ever require service, warranty, or replacement of any kind, Vortex Optics has set the bar for customer service. The Vortex VIP Warranty that covers all of their optics also covers your eyewear as an unlimited lifetime warranty that is fully transferable to future owners of products and no receipt is needed. So, whether you gift something to a friend or pass it down to a family member, the next owner in line is still covered if their eyewear takes a tumble out of a treestand or down the side of a mountain trail.

Why Eyewear from Vortex? Vortex Banshee & Vortex Jackal – Ballistic Eyewear

So, why eyewear, Vortex?… That is a fair question. When you think about the Vortex Optics brand and everything that they produce from scopes to binos and so much more, it is all glass products related to shooting, hunting, and the outdoors. So, it is a logical progression for Vortex Optics to eventually produce protective eyewear related to shooting, hunting, and the outdoors.

As an optics company, this is a natural next step in helping folks enjoy the outdoors – whether at the range or on the mountain. Our team designed these in-house and packed them full of features tailored to hunters and shooters everywhere. With our warranty, we’re also able to offer something that many competitors can’t – a promise that we have their back.

What Does a Ballistic Rating Mean? Vortex Banshee & Vortex Jackal – Ballistic Eyewear

One of the specs that Vortex Optics lists for these different pairs of eyewear is that they are ANSI Z87.1+ Tested and MIL PRF 32423-A 4.8.4 Ballistic Impact Tested, but what does ANSI Z87.1 certification mean?… The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a nonprofit organization that creates uniform testing standards and guidelines. Moreover, when some piece of optical equipment – like eyewear – receives a Z87.1 passed test rating that means the eyewear “provided the necessary protection from impact, non-ionizing radiation, and liquid splash exposures.” So, the Z87.1+ rating of the Vortex Banshee and Vortex Jackal eyewear means they went even above and beyond those testing standards for quality, and the eyewear meets high-velocity impact requirements. In layman’s terms, this new eyewear from Vortex Optics is more than ready to protect you from spalling, metal particles, and projectile deflections which can occur while shooting firearms.

Field Use: Vortex Banshee & Vortex Jackal – Ballistic Eyewear

Vortex was kind enough to send out these two pairs of shooting glasses – the Banshee and Jackal – for this review, and I have had them in my possession for a couple weeks now. Normally, that’d be a pretty narrow window of time to form an educated opinion on something, but unlike other reviews we accomplish on AllOutdoor like firearms, there is no “round count” that needs to be achieved. For these, I was looking for several things.

For one, they need to be comfortable. Comfort has nothing to do with protecting our eyes other than if a pair of ballistic glasses are not comfortable, you aren’t going to wear them. So, with the Banshee and Jackal they cleared that hurdle easily because I found both of them to fit my face really well. I’m 6’0″ and ~180 Lb most days for reference, and these shooting glasses fit me perfectly.

I had the opportunity to wear them when it was cold (20 degrees in MN) as well as when it was warmer (60 degrees in MN) because our weather is so fickle this time of year. All in all, I appreciated that they had non-slip contact areas across the bridge and arm of the glasses. So, warm or cold or indifferent, these weren’t slipping around on my face. Also, they did a superb job of inhibiting glare and “super-bright sunshine.”

For those who live in colder climates like myself, you’ll know some of the brightest sunlight you’ll endure is when you get a gloriously sunny day and it is vibrantly reflecting off of clean, white snow. Much of our snow is receding in Minnesota now, but for a while it was a good test for these shooting glasses.

I have used these shooting several times and I can confidently – and thankfully – report that they protected me from any kind of spalling while shooting steel targets. I did not “unsafely” shoot steel targets mere feet away (that would be extreme commitment to this review and also negligent towards my own eyesight), but when I go the range I love to shoot steel and no flake, debris, or spalling ever made it past these shooting glasses while at the range.

Final Thoughts: Vortex Banshee & Vortex Jackal – Ballistic Eyewear

So, what are my final thoughts on the Vortex Banshee and Vortex Jackal ballistic-rated shooting glasses?… Overall, Vortex Optics has yet another winner on their hands. They perform as advertised, are moderately priced within the marketplace at $179.99, and they’re both comfortable and good-looking. All metrics I’d want in a pair of shooting glasses.

In closing, I want to say thank you to Vortex Optics for allowing AllOutdoor and myself the opportunity to try out their new Vortex Banshee and Vortex Jackal ballistic-rated eyewear. That is greatly appreciated. Also, we would like to know what all of you guys and gals think? Do you believe that the Vortex Banshee and Vortex Jackal ballistic-rated eyewear is something worth spending your money on? As always, let us know all of your thoughts in the Comments below! We always appreciate your feedback.

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Adam Scepaniak