What shooting glasses should we buy?

[Oldbloke]

I often see “shooting glasses” for sale on various forums, magazines and online. Sometimes they use the terms “ballistic” or “velocity” giving the impression that they provide a very high level of impact protection in the event of a mishap or firearm failure. It is unfortunate that the old term “buyer beware“ still applies. Why, well when you ask about what level of protection they offer sometimes you receive vague answers or a test result that is difficult to understand and difficult to compare with the generally accepted methods. (see these tests below) Prices vary greatly but are usually over $100 and recently I saw some for sale at about $250 a pair. When I asked about impact protection I received information suggesting that they may well fail all of the tests below. They were also advertised with the advantage that the lenses easily pop out to change lens colour. If this is the case then will the lens “pop” out when impacted? I suggest they may, leaving you with little if any protection when you most need it. Sun Glasses legally need only pass one of the “low” impact tests below and you can see the level of protection is much lower that standard safety glasses with a medium impact rating. So you would be smart to avoid them. But who is checking? Probably nobody, there is no government agency that I am aware of checking. We rely on the seller, in the work place that is a little different.

AU & US TEST METHOD: A pair of glasses are placed on a foam mannequin head form and a steel ball weighing 1.06 grams is fired at the lens. The USA & Australian Standards test are almost identical but the speed of the balls varies. It is a failure in Australia or the USA if;

• if it cracks through its entire thickness into two or more pieces;
• if more than 5 mg of the ocular material becomes detached from a part of the lens
• surface remote from the surface struck by the ball;
• if the ball passes through the lens; or
• if contact is made with either eye of the test head form by the ball, frame, lens or
any part or fragment of these.

Australia
AS 1337.1 Sun Glasses Low 22 mm steel drop ball 1.8 meters high (speed not known)
AS 1337.1 Sun Glasses Low 6.35 mm steel ball 12 m/s
AS 1337.1 Safety Glasses +Med 6.35 mm steel ball 40 m/s
AS 1337.1 Face shield High 6.35 mm steel ball 110 m/s
AS 1337.1 Face shield Extra High 6.35 mm steel ball 175 m/s

USA
Z87.1 Sun Glasses Low 25.4 mm steel drop ball 1.27 meters high (speed not known)
Z87.1 Safety Glasses High 6.35 mm steel ball 45.72 m/s
Z87.1 Goggles Very High 6.35 mm steel ball 76.20 m/s
Z87.1 Face shields Extra High 6.35 mm steel ball 91.44 m/s

Now as we know we are often asked to wear safety glasses at work and the (+)medium impact test is a minimum requirement for all safety glasses in Australia. So why would we purchase “Shooting Glasses” that do not pass that or the US high impact test? Sun Glasses may look cool and even perhaps provide some optical advantage but if they fail when most needed, what then?

If purchasing a pair of new shooting glasses I strongly suggest you ask the question, "do they pass the Australian standard test for medium impact test or the USA high impact test?"

After all, a good quality pair of safety glasses (often polarized and in various tints) from the local OHS shop can be had for about $20.

[tom604]

i didnt know that all assie safety glasses had to pass the medium impact test but thats cool,, that means that my work glasses are good to wear which is a relief as thats all i wear anyway and even better they are free

[Oldbloke]

tom604, that's right and a good reason to wear them rather than sunglasses or normal reading glasses (both only require low impact test)as the impact test is much lower.

[Guliver]

I just use good safety glasses, I use clear but you can buy all sorts of tints.
Definitely impact resistant.

[Oldbloke]

I just use good safety glasses, I use clear but you can buy all sorts of tints.
Definitely impact resistant.

Yep, a wise move Guliver. At least you know what you are getting for your hard earned.

[sbd3927]

I use safety glasses all the time on the farm.
Smokey tint for strong sunshine.
Yellow tint for pretending dismal days are nice sunshine (it really perks you up)
... and the yellows also as shooting glasses, the bunnies stand out better.

and they only cost around $14

[Oldbloke]

Sbd3927, The tinted safety glasses are a great option in my view. At least you can be very confident that they provide a good level of protection. As soon as you move away from them to other sun/shooting/sports glasses the only legal obligation is to provide the very lowest level of protection. And they want top dollar.Im sure some brands provide the same level as safety glasses or in some cases the slightly higher usa level but many do not. So buyer beware. If you can buy quality safety glasses at say 15 to 25 dollars imagine what the mark up must be at $250!

[bluerob]

I'm in no way affiliated, but, I've found that graysonline sell bundles of various levels of safety glasses, usually crazy cheap, if your happy to get 10 at a time.

[Guliver]

I'm in no way affiliated, but, I've found that graysonline sell bundles of various levels of safety glasses, usually crazy cheap, if your happy to get 10 at a time.

Just to save you a search, this is what I found.

http://www.graysonline.com/lot/0029-501 ... p?spr=true

http://www.graysonline.com/lot/0188-501 ... omplies-to

You'll see other listings to the left of either of these links.

[kurl]

I just use good safety glasses, I use clear but you can buy all sorts of tints.
Definitely impact resistant.

Ditto, just some from Bunnings.

TBH wouldn't really know how up to scratch they are though?

They all claim to be awesome and I don't know how a non-expert would tell the difference?

[Oldbloke]

Kurl, If they are sold as safety glasses they MUST comply with AS 1337.1 Safety Glasses Med 6.35 mm steel ball @ 40 m/s.

As soon as the word "safety" is removed from the name/label it will most likely be the lower standard of AS 1337.1 Sun Glasses or spectacles Low 6.35 mm steel ball @ 12 m/s, perhaps even lower if purchased from some overseas countries.

Some will comply with the higher US standards but unless stated on the label or glasses them selves you should assume the worst.

[kurl]

Appreciate the info Oldbloke.

I can't remember which but the label had standards numbers and the usual funk on it.

The point I was more trying to make is all that info is pretty useless for average Joe. I reckon most people just buy whatever looks good to them without really knowing what they're getting.

99% of people aren't going to realise what taking the word 'safety' off the label means and will assume they're the same. I would guess.

[Brute]

AS 1337.1 Face shield Extra High 6.35 mm steel ball 175 m/s

Now that would wake you up if something came flying off of the bench and hit you like that

[Carter]

Prices vary greatly but are usually over $100 and recently I saw some for sale at about $250 a pair. When I asked about impact protection I received information suggesting that they may well fail all of the tests below. They were also advertised with the advantage that the lenses easily pop out to change lens colour.

Obviously designed more to look cool than protect.

[Oldbloke]

Prices vary greatly but are usually over $100 and recently I saw some for sale at about $250 a pair. When I asked about impact protection I received information suggesting that they may well fail all of the tests below. They were also advertised with the advantage that the lenses easily pop out to change lens colour.

Obviously designed more to look cool than protect.

Spot on carter.

[Oldbloke]

That is the main reason I put that info forward kurl.Its actually pretty hard to get hold of and you simply cant just google it.

[Bennybigbores]

I'm old school eyelids and eye lashes worked out alright so far, haven't blown many things up in my face to date and haven't got anything scheduled in the near future

[Oldbloke]

Wether you wear safety/shooting glasses is a matter of personal choice. To me it should be risk based, eg the more shots you fire the greater the risk and I guess some forms of shooting would be higher risk than others. And older firearms would generaly be higher risk than very modern ones. Safety glasses also provide 100% UV protection. What annoys me is that some stores are selling shooting glasses and not telling the customer that the level of protection is very low. Is a bit of a rip off if you ask me.

[hiyoh]

What annoys me is that some stores are selling shooting glasses and not telling the customer that the level of protection is very low. Is a bit of a rip off if you ask me.

Like petrol station "sun" glasses.

Maximum UV protection I'm sure