You’ve probably seen enough tragic pictures of eye injuries to scare you into wearing your safety glasses. But, at the same time, glasses that are uncomfortable usually spend more time riding the pine (aka sitting on your workbench) than they do protecting your eyes. Not to mention, wearing them usually gives you a strong, middle school chemistry lab look.
The struggle to find protective, comfortable, and aesthetically pleasing safety eyewear is real. The team at Stoggles has your back. We’ll cover why eye protection is essential, the basics every pair of safety glasses should have, and what will keep them supremely comfortable.
As a bonus, we’ll fill you in on amazing eyewear that won’t give you the same style vibes as your high school woodworking teacher.
Why You Need Safety Glasses
You don’t need convincing that your eyes are important, but you might need convincing that you need to protect them during certain activities, even if they feel very routine and safe.
Most eye injuries (we’re talking 90%) are completely preventable by wearing safety goggles or safety glasses. Of the 800,000 eye injuries that happen each year on the job, about 36,000 of them require time off from work (read: missed pay).
More than half of all reported eye injuries happen at home. Activities like:
- Cleaning with chemicals
- Yard work
- Home improvement
- Sports and recreation activities
- When your toddler throws a wooden block at you
These can all pose a threat to your vision, especially if you aren’t wearing safety glasses.
You might think wearing your regular prescription glasses or sunglasses will do the trick, but it can actually make a potential injury worse. Your regular glasses aren’t designed with shatter-resistant lenses, so if you were to get a scrape or a strike from flying debris, your glasses could shatter and fragment into your eyes.
You know that really uncomfortable feeling of having a stray hair in your eye? Imagine that, but with a shard of glass or hot metal. That’s a definite possibility if you decide to wear your regular eyeglasses or forgo eye protection altogether.
What’s the Safety Standard?
So you want to wear safety glasses, but you don’t know what you actually need in terms of protection. We’ve got you covered. At Stoggles, we know safety, and we know what it takes to make superior eyewear to complete your personal protective equipment ensemble.
The gold standard for safety is developed by the American National Standards Institute or ANSI. ANSI tests, develops, and works with agencies (like OSHA) to implement safety standards for protective gear, like safety glasses.
ANSI Z87.1-2020 Certification
In 2020, ANSI updated its certifications and specs for protective eyewear. New technologies and developments in the protective glasses industry prompted the new guidelines.
Safety eyewear that bears the 2020 seal has been tested and conforms to these new guidelines and comes with virtual superpowers that resist shattering or breaking. Specifically, two tests are performed on the glasses to ensure their shatter resistance.
- Weight test. Using a head form (and not a real person), a weighted ball bearing is dropped from a specified height onto the glasses to determine if they break or shatter. If they do, it’s back to the drawing board for the manufacturer.
- High velocity test. While the glasses rest on a head form, a ball bearing is fired at the lenses at a specific speed (the speed with which projectile debris might strike the glasses) to determine if they shatter or break.
Glasses that want the coveted ANSI Z87.1-2020 seal can’t break, bend, shatter, or otherwise come apart during these tests. Just so you know, all Stoggles come preloaded with this amazing superpower certification.
What About Ballistics Ratings?
Of course, you want ballistic-rated glasses because then you can say you have ballistics-rated glasses. The only problem is: ballistics-rated glasses are a military-only rating. The military rates their glasses using a different testing system. This system is similar to ANSI but more arduous for military standards.
If you routinely find yourself surrounded by hidden missiles, explosives, or as a target to enemy fire, you can benefit from ballistics-rated glasses. Otherwise, you don’t need it, even for target practice or your backyard Independence Day fireworks show.
The Most Comfortable Safety Glasses
Safety eyewear that is truly comfortable is protective, effortless to wear, and something you want to have on your face. Here, we give you the rundown on what the most comfortable safety glasses need to protect your eyes, comfort, and style.
UV Protection
Both UVA and UVB rays can damage your eyes, causing them to age at a rate much faster than your eyes would normally experience aging. UV rays can penetrate your eye and reach your retina, causing damage to the macula and exposing your eyes to risks ranging from irritating conditions like photokeratitis to macular damage (where your central vision begins to decline).
For the ultimate in UV protection, you need clear lenses that offer UV blocking technology. Stoggles, for instance, are made from polycarbonate material, which naturally blocks UV light to keep your eyes safe and your vision crystal clear.
- A note about polarized lenses. Polarized lenses aren’t necessarily UV protectant, although you’ll usually find polarized filters on sunglasses. Polarized lenses filter out horizontal light (from snow, ice, sand, or the surface of water) to prevent glare. Unless you’re working on one of these surfaces, you don’t necessarily need this technology.
If you do work both indoors and outdoors, consider two pairs of safety glasses, one that has clear UV protection and a pair that offers darkened lenses when you need them.
Anti-Fog Coating
Fogging glasses are incredibly unsafe. Read that again. The glasses that drive you crazy by fogging aren’t just annoying; they’re putting your eyes at risk.
When your glasses fog, two unsafe events occur simultaneously:
- You remove your glasses. If you don’t have anti-fog lenses, you must remove your glasses to wipe them down. This puts your eyes at risk of the hazard the glasses were protecting them from.
- You’re immediately taken off-task. Stopping your work or project to clean your glasses can cause an accident, especially if you aren’t focused on what you’re doing. No one wants to risk their fingers (or face) to a lathe or soldering tool, but that’s just the scenario that can occur when your glasses fog.
Clear anti-fog lenses are essential for keeping your glasses firmly affixed to your face and protecting your eyes (and the eyes of those around you) so that you can keep working without stopping to clean your glasses. Your five-minute break should be spent eating breakroom snacks, not tracking down some shaving cream to fight the fog on your lenses.
If you wear a face mask, anti-fog lenses are incredibly important. Never underestimate the power of your own hot breath escaping the top of your face mask and creating coffee-scented condensation on your safety glasses.
Lightweight Frames
Ever tried to use over-glasses types of eye protection? Not only is it incredibly uncomfortable, but it’s also seriously heavy. For comfort (and style), these get a 0 out of 10 stars.
Instead, opt for impact-resistant polycarbonate lenses and frames, like the kind we use at Stoggles. Polycarbonate is ultra-lightweight, offers the industry standard for impact protection, and has a comfortable fit most wearers find virtually weightless.
Unlike headband-style PPE glasses that fit over, polycarbonate isn’t tight or uncomfortable on the temples, so you never have to worry about developing a tension headache from the pressure of ill-fitting safety glasses. Or your hair turning into unpleasant bird’s nests from an elastic band.
Side and Top Shield Design
Safety glasses offer protection that regular eyeglasses and sunglasses don’t. While regular glasses leave your eyes vulnerable at the top near your eyebrows and on the sides near your temples, safety glasses are designed with features that protect your eyes in these areas.
Let’s talk about side-eye. Not the shade-throwing phrase from 2017, but side-eye protection. Side shield protection is a must-have. You never know what’s coming, from flying sawdust to your kids trying to sneak out of the house — your peripheral vision must be unobstructed.
Another critical feature is top shields. Some safety glasses don’t offer this feature, but all Stoggles come standard with these small shields that prevent splashes, debris, and other hazards from entering your eyes from the top of your glasses. (You’re welcome.)
Blue Light Blockers
Most of us own a smartphone these days, and if we’re honest, we use it a lot. How else can you check scores, your bank account, and order a hoagie all at the same time? Modern technology is fantastic, but it also exposes us to blue light.
Blue light can cause eye strain, fatigue, and even headaches. Not to mention, it might even cause permanent eye damage. All Stoggles come standard with blue light blocking technology to keep your eyes safe while you scroll.
Prescription Lenses
Wearing prescription glasses can mean you’re forced into wearing safety glasses over your regular eyeglasses. Comfortable? No way. What about wraparound lenses? Sadly, this streamlined design doesn’t usually play nice with prescriptions. The curved side shields can distort your Rx, making you wonder why you wear glasses in the first place.
Instead, opt for high-quality prescription safety glasses, like the kind we offer at Stoggles. We take care of all your prescriptions in-house, saving you time, money, and the hassle of hearing “Hey Six Eyes” ever again.
Scratch Resistance
The best safety glasses are ones you don’t have to replace after every project. If you’re regularly and routinely wearing your safety specs, there’s a chance they could get scratched.
Thankfully, you purchased anti-scratch polycarbonate lenses, right? If you didn’t, that’s okay. Just grab a pair of Stoggles. All our eyewear has scratch-resistant lenses made of durable polycarbonate.
Style
At Stoggles, we believe comfort and style are equal to safety. Because if you don’t like your glasses, you aren’t going to wear them. If you don’t wear them, they aren’t safe.
When you buy Stoggles, you won’t find unsavory bits like nose pads, adjustable nose bridges, or strange lens shapes. We let you pick between several on-trend lens shapes, numerous colors, and different sizes so you can get a completely customizable look.
No more chemistry lab look, and no need to hit up Amazon to buy jean shorts and 924 New Balances (although we wouldn’t judge) to complete your dad drip. With Stoggles, you get protection that is comfortable and cool. Kinda like the Terminator or Wolverine of safety eyewear.
Future’s So Comfortable You Need Shades
Whether you need safety eyewear for DIY projects at home or for your day-to-day on-the-job activities, Stoggles is the solution. We keep you comfortable and safe, so you can worry less about your eyes and more about getting the perfect edge on your sidewalk. That yard of the month award is in sight, and we’re rooting for you.
Sources:
800,000 Eye Injuries Occur Annually, 90% are Preventable | EHS Today
ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2020: Current Standard for Safety Glasses | ANSI
Authorized Protective Eyewear List | Program Executive Office Soldier
What Are Polarized Lenses For? | American Academy of Ophthalmology
