It’s usually a fairly popular, and known fact that safety glasses and sports goggles aren’t always the most fashionable of eyewear. Of course, style is not their number one function as both sports goggle and safety glasses have a job to do – along with correcting one’s vision problems. In fact, it used to be the case that protective eyewear didn’t even come with a slot to insert corrective lenses; therefore they were only used for safety reasons! They are still a rather new invention, created less than one-hundred and fifty years ago. With this said, there is certainly a lot of attributes to safety glasses that we don’t always know about.
Both safety glasses and goggles fall under the eyewear category of Personal Protective Equipment (or PPE’s). In the United States specifically, there is a regulation by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for specific requirements on any pair of personal protective equipment. After the latest standards testing in 2010, the most up-to-date need according to the ANSI is Z87.1. This means that they can withstand high impact protections. With this current industry standard, you will know whether the safety glasses you are purchasing are regulated, and of course, strong enough! This value however, is only the beginning. There are many jobs, for instance, that may require something stronger even.
There are many reasons for needing protective eyewear – besides what we would normally, automatically think of. They could be used for a number of different reasons, such as: dust, strong impact, glare, chemical splashes, heat, or optical radiation. When selecting the perfect safety glasses for you, you must determine your actual needs. Furthermore however, if you’re able to be sure that your new safety goggles can encompass and defend against all possible threats [listed above], that of course, is always best. While the immense lack of style and comfort are the two main reasons that people often choose to go without their PPE’s, that choice is typically frowned upon. Particularly in recent years, manufacturers have taken notice of just how unfashionable the frames are, and started producing more user-friendly styles. Furthermore, comfort isn’t just superficial – like the problem of style. If safety glasses aren’t comfortable, they not only won’t be worn, they shouldn’t be! Therefore, laboratories and test facilities have definitely started to make comfort an important attribute to their safety goggles and glasses.
Safety glasses, unlike regular prescription glasses are typically made of either glasses, or polycarbonate lenses. Polycarbonate is a very tough, high-grade plastic lens that can be made for prescription glasses at a higher price; however glass lenses are simply not used anymore for regular eyeglasses. They both are great for resistance to scratches and chemical exposure, however even for safety glasses, eyeglass lenses are usually not chosen over their competitor. polycarbonate lenses are favored because of their ability to withstand any blemish – or exterior problems.
Elea Kalin is a fashion stylist – turned optical specialist. Her focus is on accessories and statement pieces – like prescription eyeglasses. She is currently working for eyeglassespro.com – the easiest way to buy glasses online, which now offers free shipping all over the US, with the code FreeShip10.