Monday, October 1, 2018

TacVisor ~ A Hit Or A Miss???


BELL+HOWELL “TacVisor” ~

A Hit, Or A Miss???

© 2018 BOB SKIDMORE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

BOB SKIDMORE

CORRESPONDENT


There’s nothing more irritating than driving in bright sunlight, or at night with on-coming headlight glare. While one might think of this as a problem more prone with aging, let’s face it, we all experience the negative effects under such conditions. A workable solution would be most welcome, wouldn’t it?

BELL+HOWELL has introduced the TacVisor, a sun-visor and upgradable night-vision visor that attaches to your automobile’s, driver’s side, pull-down visor.

Installed TacVisor sun-visor with upgraded amber night-vision visor


You’ve seen this item heavily advertised on the web, in print and on TV. It touts claims as a military-inspired device used by fighter pilots, but does it really work? I put the 2-in-1 to the test in the Florida heat and sunlight. After just a few days the sun-visor shield soon revealed that a thin plastic film affixed to a gray tinted hard plastic shield began to dislodge and peel off. At first glance I thought it was simply a protective coating used for shipping purposes that was intended to be removed. Upon a second glance it was quick to see that it actually was a part of the process to darken the daytime shield from the sun. Certainly not designed for prolonged exposure to the sun, or interior heat of a parked car. It appears that this problem is not a fluke as I also saw this same issue occur on both visors that one of our readers recently showed me.


Further testing revealed several factors. The dimensions of the shade, 12˝ x 5¾˝, simply provides too small of a filtered area causing confusion, or becoming a visual distraction to the driver. To put it bluntly, an annoyance! The screened area offers little to no more filtration than what your sunglasses provide during daytime driving. The night-vision amber colored visor exhibits basically the same issues that really accomplish very little, if anything, as a night-vision, anti-glare device. A good pair of prescription, or custom optician’s sunglasses, and/or night-vision glasses fitted with amber lenses would be a far better investment and probably be much more effective. Furthermore, the dislodging of the stowed visor while using the other one can be a real nuisance, something that definitely becomes a distraction while driving not to mention the reflective glare that is inevitable, (See photo in the lead of this column) by just having the visor mounted. So, in the GADGETEER’s estimation it’s definitely a miss!

(TIP: The manufacturer does offer a lifetime guarantee. They were quick to replace my defective visors at no cost, however, I’ve elected not to continue to use it.)

MSRP: $19.95 (Sun-visor) + $7.95 (Night-Vision option at time of original purchase). Costs shown based on B+H on-line purchase. Retail sales in-store and web based offers may vary. Brand names may differ for same, or similar product.

GADGETEER’s RATING: ★★★★★

For more information go to: https://bit.ly/2x04OMf

Graphic credits: Manufacturer & THE GADGETEER

Bob Skidmore is a freelance writer, who may be contacted at bob.thegadgeteer.skidmore@gmail.com, or followed at twitter.com/bskidmore for the latest gadget industry news. He does not represent, or endorse any of the products he reviews and his opinions are solely his points of view and not those of the manufacturer, or any legal resource. The manufacturer generally supplies products and press releases at no cost for the articles and no other compensation is received. THE GADGETEER is highly selective as to products he feels worthy of review so as not to waste the reader’s time, thus the reason for many superior ratings.

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