Eye Wear

[6BRinNZ]

Hi,

I am struggling to find glasses that I feel don't impact on my shooting. I don't normally wear glasses so I am starting from a foreign place anyways - however I have found that fogging is often an issue, using them with earmuffs (I don't want to use plugs only...is this why a lot of guys only use ear plugs?) will often push the glasses off slightly and I think this in turn affects my shooting as looking through the edges of the glasses distorts the picture...as does waiting for the fogging to clear as the wind has usually changed by then

I have had a search of the forums but I'm not turning up much, so maybe if guys could chime in with brands they are using...its my eyes at stake so happy to pay good money, I just want to get it right as its kinda frustrating.

Thanks

 

[TonyR]

Struggle is a good word to describe my journey with safety glasses. I have used the WileyX but have found I need to coat the lenses with the goop they put on goggles to get rid of fogging

 

[Minesweeper3433]

US army has been issueing a but load of oakleys to troops and many end up in stores near post. I have a bunch left over from when I was in but I like them to much as everything glasses. they are open lense type so litle frame to get in the way. they are expensive but they work for me. Best bet is find a sporting goods store near you and go try on different brands and types. Fishing stores also carry a bunch of safety glasses with really neat coatings and lense colors. I did a bunch of shopping around and just whent back to what I already had on hand with the oakleys.

 

[maxpower]

I hadnt thought about the fishing glasses having coatings. I might be dropping into a fishing shop to check some glasses out which have anti fog coatings.

 

[kentuckytroutbum]

You might check out a brand called Cocoons. They have numerous coatings on them, and are aimed at the outdoor & fishing sports where you need polarized sunglasses. I've not had a problem with them fogging on a hot humid day on the water. They are the "wraparound" design with 'side' windows which gives you high protection frontally, and also on the sides.

Bill

 

[lynn]

You can google up a company that sells
Decot Hy-Wyd shooting glasses and your all set.
I get them with multiple lenses so you can match the lense to the target.
The IBS 600/1000 yard targets are a blue/green/turquoise color so I get spare lenses that match the targets color.
If you shoot trap and use red or orange clay pigeons you can match the lenses to the targets and they swap out in seconds and come in there own little carry case.
Lynn

 

[Cort]

I have a concern about anyone using Decot, Knobloch, Champion, etc. shooting glasses. All of those types of shooting glasses can do extremely good jobs of providing excellent vision for specific shooting activities. However, they are not safety rated and do not provide any significant levels of protection from unexpected failure of your firearm or load.

I strongly recommend that you only consider shooting glasses with a Z87 safety rating. For those of us with prescription daily wear, that means that we must purchase prescription safety glasses. The problem with that is that only a very small number of optical providers understand the requirements for a pair of shooting glasses. Consequently, the safety glasses don't work like the shooter needs them to work. Depending upon the shooting activity, the optical center of the sighting lens needs to be placed in a slightly different spot than the normal position. Also, the correction may need to change slightly to provide good sighting. These requirements are understood by Decot, etc. but not by your normal optician. My optician lets me bring my pistols into the exam room and adjusts the position of the optical center and the lens correction for pistol shooting. Rifle and shotgun shooting need different setups. If you want to have good vision in all shooting disciplines, then you will have to have multiple sets of glasses. I use a standard set of prescription safety glasses for pistol and rifle shooting and a second pair of prescription safety glasses for shotgun shooting.

I only have one pair of eyes. I believe that the highest level of protection is needed while shooting.

Cort

 

[Forum Boss]

Read this:

http://www.accurateshooter.com/technical-articles/eye-protection-for-shooters/

ESS, Pyramex, UVEX are all safety rated.

UVEX should be available in New Zealand and they should be very cheap. These are perfectly acceptable shooting eyewear -- better than some of the name shooting brands. Just keep them in a holder so the lenses don't get scratched. I recommend you get one clear set and a second yellow or brownish rose for bright days.

UVEX glasses meet ANSI Z87.1-2003, CSA Z94.3 and MIL-STD-662 standards. Uvex safety eyewear products are the world’s top-selling protective eyewear brand.

You'll have to pay a bunch more money to get something optically superior to the UVEX or ESS -- Something with custom-made Trivex lenses.

AVOID polarized lenses. The kill too much light -- you'll lose as much as 50% of the incoming light.

 

[Rem06]

will often push the glasses off slightly and I think this in turn affects my shooting as looking through the edges of the glasses distorts the picture...as does waiting for the fogging to clear as the wind has usually changed by then

i'm with you there! HEAT(set them in the sun) the glasses before your forehead does. or wear them for awhile before your relay so they have time to adjust for the temp. I don't there is anything made or material to prevent the fogging you are talking about?
with your ear muffs on. if you use range muffs you will still be able to talk to your friends.

 

[TonyR]

The swim goggle anti fog worked pretty well with my prescription WileyX Z87 rated glasses. I just got some Nike polycarbonate glasses that wrap around but don't fit as close to my face as the Wileys did. I am amazed at the number of shooters I see without glasses of any kind on the line.

 

[JFMorgan]

Most safety glasses manufacturers offer them with an antifog coating . 3M, Pyramex, N-Specs, Jackson, Smith & Wesson, Sperian, Uvex, Crews, Radians. All these are ANSI Z 87-1 impact rated. Most offer different colored lenses. A lot of manufacturers offer small frames which fit the smaller faces better. Northern Safety & Industrial has all these at good prices. 1-800-631-1246.

I do not work for this company, I buy from them as safety manager for a large sawmill company.

Jim

 

[Minesweeper3433]

Also on the UVEX and the ESS and the Oakleys they are all made for military wich means they all meat 787+ and they can all accept perscription inserts that are made for them. And they are all made for extreme conditions and for shooting in those conditions.

 

[JRS]

UVEX is probably the best made for our application. Another big plus is that they are made right here in the USA 8) I wonder how much additional money CHINA has added to our tab for supplying the OAKLEY glasses to our military :-[

 

[queen_stick]

Good subject...

I tried glasses, and just cannot get comfortable with them. The primary issue I run into is the same that the op posted... how the glasses interfere with your muffs. I like my electronic muffs, and can't stand plugs. I like my eyes, and would like to wear some glasses for protection, but it just doesn't work.

I also do not wear glasses... wearing glasses is foreign to me, and to be honest they give me headache within 20 minutes of putting them on. I don't wear sunglasses for the same reason, even when driving. I have one pair of sunglasses that don't mess with my eyes and cause the headache, but they are not safety rated, and I think I paid $9 for them.

 

[JRS]

Good subject...

I tried glasses, and just cannot get comfortable with them. The primary issue I run into is the same that the op posted... how the glasses interfere with your muffs. I like my electronic muffs, and can't stand plugs. I like my eyes, and would like to wear some glasses for protection, but it just doesn't work.

I also do not wear glasses... wearing glasses is foreign to me, and to be honest they give me headache within 20 minutes of putting them on. I don't wear sunglasses for the same reason, even when driving. I have one pair of sunglasses that don't mess with my eyes and cause the headache, but they are not safety rated, and I think I paid $9 for them.

You will retain the ability to shoot, even if you are deaf, (speaking from experience) but not so if you lose your eyesight. Good foam plugs are always better than muffs due to the fit. Sometimes it takes a while to get use to them, but, it's a choice each individual has to make.

 

[Forum Boss]

to QueenStick:

You really need eye protection... there's no compelling reason not to... given the product choices that are available today.

Look for eyewear with thinner, more flexible frames in the ear section.

There are also safety glasses with a foam or soft rubber insert at the temples for comfort.

 

[queen_stick]

understood... I'll make the change. Just have to go somewhere that has a selection and try some on.

Thanks guys!

 

[DaveWhite]

+1++ on the concerns with the Knoblochs and Champions, as in most cases the competitve shooter only uses one lens! It has always amazed me that this was permitted to qualify as a "safety glasses" in NRA-sanctioned competition.

That said, it depends on the application, but there is a definite risk. I work in EHS (environmental, health and safety) and have my pick of a dozen or more brands of OSHA-appproved eyewear from work. I'f I'm not wearing my Knobloch's, I'm wearing the Uvex brand without the temple bar, I just like them best of those I have tried. You can get them on-line, or try equipment rental stores. I also have some with bifocals built in, as do some of my polarized fishing glasses. I like them while standing still, but do not like them while walking...

My old rifle coach use to tape his glasses to his forehead so that he would be looking through the optical center of the glass when shooting smallbore competition. Always looked funny to me, but he spent 70 years on the range with two unharmed eyes...

 

[6BRinNZ]

Awesome feed back - thank you, funnily enough I had been reading up on the ESS brand at the time of the post - I will have a good look at the Uvex now as well.

Its off season over here (F-Class) so I have a bit of time to play around and get something that works for me.

 

[JRS]

If you can't find what you are looking for in the UVEX, I would be happy to send you a couple of them. I would however ask you to cover postage. We use them during the de-fueling/re-fueling at outage time in the nuke plants. We have found them to be the safest and most comfortable made.