Tac Visor is a small windshield visor that heightens color recognition while preventing glare. Does it really work? Here is my Tac Visor review.
Where to Purchase
As of this 2022 update, Tac Visor is still sold in stores (typically in the As Seen on TV aisle), on Amazon (link here), and the official website, tacvisor.com. Tac Visor costs $19.99. There is an optional double offer for a separate fee of $7.95 which would raise the total to $27.94. Shipping is free on both offers. I found Tac Visor at a local As Seen on TV store here in Las Vegas for $19.99.
About Tac Visor
The Tac Visor, from Bell & Howell, is a light-filtering windshield visor inspired by the face-shields used by Air Force pilots. The official product website is tacvisor.com, which was registered in September 2017. The screenshot below shows how the product website looked in April 2018.
Claims & Features
- Filters light
- Prevents glare without obstructing sight
- Augments color perception
- Easy installation and adjustment (takes moments)
- Influenced by fighter pilot face-shields
Tac Visor Review
When I first saw the commercial for Tac Visor in late 2017, two things immediately jumped out at me: I had seen something like this before, and wondered just how many “Tac”-branded products are they going to release?
Tac Visor is a day/night car visor that clips onto your existing visor. There are two panels, one for daytime and one for nighttime. You can easily flip down whichever panel you’d like, or keep them both in an “up” position when not in use. Admittedly, when I first opened the Tac Visor, I installed it incorrectly, which I imagine others will do as well. Installing it incorrectly will cause a distracting reflection that is probably not even safe to use while driving. But once installed correctly there is still a reflection, although not nearly as distracting.
As you can see in the video below, I took Tac Visor out for tests in the morning, afternoon, and night. I was pretty happy with the daytime panel, as it functioned basically the same as a pair of polarized sunglasses. And yes it is polarized, as they prove with the inclusion of a special card. The daytime panel could be helpful to those who wear prescription glasses but don’t have prescription sunglasses.
I am less impressed with the night panel, as it seemed to only provide a yellow tint without much difference in glare. I even compared it to the Tac Glasses Night Vision and Night View NV, which are both yellow-tinted night glasses, and none of them impressed me much or seemed to provide a discernible improvement on nighttime glare.
There are a few potential cons when using Tac Visor. As mentioned before, there is still a slight reflection even when installed properly. I found that if you tilt the panel slightly, it seems to lessen the reflection. If you have a bright-colored shirt, however, you may still see it reflected in the Tac Visor. Another minor issue is that it seems to pick up fingerprints rather easily. Consider that every time you use it, your fingers touch the panel. The side of the daytime panel facing away from you is mirror-like and seems prone to preserving fingerprints.
If you look at the Tac Visor on the website or the commercial, the design appears different than the version sold in stores. My assumption is that a prototype was used for filming promotional materials, but the final version was altered for production reasons. In fact, the final version of Tac Visor more closely resembles the HD Vision Visor than the Tac Visor shown in the ads. HD Vision Visor was a very similar day/night car visor that advertised several years ago.
Below you can see my full review of Tac Visor.
August 2018 Update:
After using Tac Visor in the Las Vegas sun and heat, it ended up warping considerably to the point of being unusable. I don’t recommend leaving this exposed to high heat for extended periods of time.
Alternatives
As mentioned, HD Vision Visor was a very similar product around 2014 and can still be found on Amazon for about $12. Since then, a number of comparable products have hit the market, such as this $15 best-selling anti-glare visor.
Your Tac Visor Reviews
Have you used Tac Visor or something like it? Leave a comment below and tell me what you think.
Updated August 2022
I was excited to buy the TAC visor thinking that I could use it to extend my normal car visor because I am short and the car visor isn’t big enough to block out the brutal AZ sun when it’s low in the sky. TAC visor doesn’t work that way. It’s awkward; it falls off easily and is supposed to replace the visor rather than extending it.
Lol always refuse the second one tell them you only want one and you won’t pay the extra for 2. But you will get to because they are packed two per box and there is no way they will send someone into the warehouse unpack and repack one just for you. That is a scam and just getting extra money out of you. That goes for any TV product that tells you they will give you two. Tell them you only want one and you’re not going to pay the extra charge
Piece of Chit…worthless, don’t bother.
Tac visor … total trash !!!!!!!!
Couldn’t wait to see what the vision looked like in my Trashcan . Should have just thrown my money out the window at 50 miles a hour. Every time I see them talk it about on TV I want to throw whatever’s in my hand threw the TV !!!
Received mine today, and first off, the clip that holds it to the visor, doesn’t fit my wife’s Lexus nx300 properly. Second, I got it to extend the visor coverage, because she is short, and it doesn’t do that. Very disappointed, but I will try to modify it and see what I can do with it