EyKuver in Steamboat brings new vision to those wearing glasses
STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — A new start-up company based in Steamboat Springs is hoping its product will offer convenience, and an easy solution for those who wear prescription glasses seeking protection from the sun’s harmful rays.
“I am fascinated by products that simplify everyday life. I wanted to leverage my experience in manufacturing to change the way prescription eyeglass wearers approach sun and glare protection,” said Marcus Boggs, a Steamboat resident, who founded EyKuver and also wears glasses. “Prescription sunglasses are expensive, easy to break and often left behind. Our patent-pending films won’t damage or scratch your existing lenses, so the convenience is really second to none when it comes to protecting the long-term health of your eyes.”
Boggs recently launched EyKuver, a company that offers a new technology in ultraviolet and sun glare protection that he hopes will find its way into retailers like Walgreens and CVS Pharmacy. He also wants to market EyKuver to convenience stores.
But for now customers can find EyKuver in two sizes and two tints at the company’s website.
Boggs, who owned a medical device manufacturing company for 30 years, said as part of his job he often traveled across the country and created the idea after forgetting to pack his prescription sunglasses during a business trip to the East Coast.
“I was going to be there for a week, and I forgot my prescription sunglasses, and I was like, oh man, I got to get something,” Boggs recalled.
So he headed to a local Home Depot and found a protective film designed to block the sun by clinging to car windows. He cut out small pieces that fit on the lenses of his prescription glasses, and solved the problem. It worked so well that he cut out several more pieces and placed them in his briefcase, so he would be prepared the next time he found himself away from home without his prescription sunglasses.
“There are other products out there like flip-ups, cover-ups and those big oversized glasses you can buy to put over your glasses,” Boggs said. “I bought those before but I needed something that was just really convenient.
“This is just a temporary, quick fix for those times when you need some protection or when you’re going to be hiking or biking or driving a vehicle or something like that.”
In 2016, Boggs sold his manufacturing business located in Colorado Springs and moved south of Steamboat. After selling the business, he was looking for something to do and began refining and developing his idea into a product that could offer convenient protection for those wearing prescription glasses when they found themselves in a pinch.
He came up with EyKuver, a precut eyeglass cling that is offered in two sizes that fit most prescription glasses and comes in both a blue or gray tint. Each package includes a tint film for each lens, is slim enough to fit in a jacket pocket, backpack or even a wallet and eliminates the need to carry or remember multiple pairs of glasses.
“Prescription sunglasses are expensive, easy to break and often left behind,” Boggs said. “Our patent-pending film won’t damage or scratch your existing lenses.”
Each EyKuver three-pack includes three pairs of custom ultraviolet protective film that are uniquely formulated to adhere to the front of a prescription lens. There are no chemical adhesives. To apply the user simply peels each individual tinted film away from its packaging and place on a clean prescription lens. The film clings to the lens providing protection and can be peeled off after being used.
“I’m very excited, and I think there’s a big upside to it because of the convenience aspect,” Boggs said. “You can put one in your briefcase, put one in your jacket pocket and maybe one in your car. Then when you need it, you got it. You don’t have to go searching because you’ve got them, and they are very convenient to use that way.”
John F. Russell is the business reporter at the Steamboat Pilot & Today. To reach him, call 970-871-4209, email jrussell@SteamboatPilot.com or follow him on Twitter @Framp1966.
Support Local Journalism
Support Local Journalism
Readers around Steamboat and Routt County make the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.