I need more and more light to see clearly. My presbyopia is getting worse, and my progressive lenses don’t fully correct it. Switching between the different focal lengths of my glasses while working at close range is also very tiring, so I prefer to work without them.

I hadn’t really noticed a magnifying glass for needlework before, and I wondered: Would this actually work? A large glass like that, with a thin strap and a chest strap? Would it wobble, or could you actually position it well over your needlework?

Unpacking it wasn’t exactly easy. I had to cut open the packaging with scissors.

The product looks high-quality. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with batteries or a user manual. Closing the battery compartment is a bit fiddly and doesn’t work right away. The light switch is easy to figure out, but without instructions, I’m not sure if there might be a few tricks I haven’t discovered yet.

I usually use the magnifying glass without its built-in light, since it doesn’t help much; instead, I use a different light source.

The switch for the magnifying glass light is easy to feel, but it takes a bit of effort to operate with your thumb. I can imagine that as you get older and your strength wanes, it might become difficult to slide the switch.

The battery compartment on the back is harder to feel, and at first it’s a bit fiddly to close it again. Once you get the hang of it, it’s easy.

I can’t really say how long the battery lasts, since I’ve hardly used the light.

With a magnifying glass, I can thread fine sewing thread through the eye of a needle more easily and make finer stitches. When knitting, I can see the stitches and patterns more clearly and distinguish dark colors more easily.

As is probably the case with all magnifying glasses, there is only a relatively small area where the magnified image appears clear, sharp, and free of distortion. It took me a while to get used to that. I find the image sharpness in this area to be excellent. Outside this area, the image is blurry.

The light on the magnifying glass is a nice little extra. However, I would prefer it to be brighter; the current brightness is barely sufficient for me, so I have to use other light sources as well. Because the lights are located on the outer edge of the magnifying glass, the central area—where the image is sharpest—is barely illuminated.

So far, I’ve mainly been using the magnifying glass while knitting, and I find it practical and helpful in the evenings when I’m knitting on the sofa, since it allows me to knit without my glasses. However, this is only true when I use the other light source I mentioned earlier. Thanks to the easily adjustable strap, I don’t have to change my posture, though it does slip slightly, and I then have to adjust the strap. I can see yarn colors and patterns more clearly.

I’m still getting used to working with the magnifying glass. It’s definitely different than without it, but I think it will be very helpful once I get used to it. That’s why I always use the magnifying glass for longer stretches at a time, so my eyes can adjust to it.

It was okay to have the magnifying glass strap around my neck, but I’d prefer a wider strap. I imagine that would be more comfortable. When I wear it for a long time, I feel the weight pressing on the back of my neck, so I have to take a break or try to find a different spot for the strap to rest. Overall, though, I can knit or crochet with the magnifying glass for one to two hours.

The magnifying glass can slip while I’m working, especially when I move, since only the two points of the holder rest against my chest.

I really liked the magnification on the magnifying glass I tested. Unfortunately, I found the lighting to be inadequate; I had expected more. I would definitely prefer a brighter light source.

I would recommend this product to people who simply need a wider field of view. I think the price is very reasonable for this purpose. I would buy this product myself if it came with a better light source. I think a combination of magnification and good lighting would be great.

I would recommend this product with some reservations to people with similar limitations, because I feel the light source is too weak.

I would not recommend this product to people with, for example, cataracts.

I currently keep this magnifying glass handy for times when I want to do very delicate, detailed handiwork. If my eyesight continues to deteriorate, I’ll definitely be using it for many of my projects.