WL Arctic LaserShields Transmittance Scan

So I was curious as to what these goggles actually were, protection-wise. Below are averages of scans made on the WL Arctic Lasershields using a spectrophotometer. The machine has recently been calibrated and was zeroed using spectralon reflectance standards and internal attenuators directly before taking measurement. Unfortunately, the machine's precision starts to dwindle around OD 5 detections but the good news (actually bad news) is that the WL glasses aren't that good! ... oh wait...

No intensity resistance testing was done because I don't have an LPM... but anyone with an LPM can test how many seconds the goggles can withstand a direct collimated beam without degradation. Also, I skipped reflectance versus absorbance testing because there wasn't an easy way to mount the glasses without mutilation in that test setup... but mostly I don't really care where the beam goes as long as lasers stay out of my eyes :shhh:.

The Full Spectrum measurement is a single scan using 5nm intervals.
In the Visible HiRes measurement, the range was cut down to 350-1050nm with a 1nm interval.
The HiRes graph is an average of several separate scans.

The bad news is that WL Lasers Lied. They are not near the rated as I tested them.
The good news is that they are still decent (almost OD 2 for 445nm and OD 2.5 for 405nm)
This means that an 800mW Arctic beam would be cut down to ~8mW. Better than nothing. :undecided:
However, they are nearly worthless for green.

L B:

Thanks for doing this Awesome Job!!! This is a HUGE wake up call to everyone using WL shades

Coherent:

Thank you for running the detailed test and providing the info. Seems to validate a post I read that someone got 9mw thru the shades.

I'm happy with the 445 result. Not what they claim but ~8mw seems much safer than the cheap 50mw pens that a lot of people use without any protection.

Any chance you might test out the china cheap glasses?

What are the china cheap glasses? Maybe, maybe not.
Depends on how busy I am and who else needs the machine for real work.

The only other glasses I have are OEM Laser Systems certified YLW glasses.
No need to test those... there is ZERO blue/violet getting through those.

Although I do want to try out some of those AO yellow safety glasses @ Home Depot/Lowes.
They seem like an off the shelf $10 that might beat the WL Shields (LOL).

Hmm.

Well this is certainly interesting. Thanks for doing the test Lazybeam. Do you mind if I put this in my sig so more people are aware of the lower than advertised OD?

Thanks
Rob

Here are some pics below. I bought a set a bit ago almost zero blue light form my 870ma 445 gets through them.

I am talking about these ebay ones



Wicked also sells the same thing

robjdixon said:

Hmm.

Well this is certainly interesting. Thanks for doing the test Lazybeam. Do you mind if I put this in my sig so more people are aware of the lower than advertised OD?

Thanks
Rob

Click to expand...

I don't care.
I'd post up raw data files but someone's eyeballs might explode.

^ if you don't have a set I could probably order some and send you them in a week or 2 after they come from china.

Those cheap red ones really are good. I got mine from focalprice. Shined my ~850mW 445 on them for over a minute and no light got through
While it did melt, still, no light got through. The only way I did get through them was when focused

ppctx said:

Thank you for running the detailed test and providing the info. Seems to validate a post I read that someone got 9mw thru the shades.

I'm happy with the 445 result. Not what they claim but ~8mw seems much safer than the cheap 50mw pens that a lot of people use without any protection.

Click to expand...

That was me. Here's the thread.
http://laserpointerforums.com/f65/wl-safety-goggles-vs-780mw-445-a-52105.html

If i'm understanding the formula right, then (10^(-.75))(50) = about 9mw of a 50mw green can get through too. Lame. As a test of quality control, does the dot in my video in the other thread look like a about 9mw? (I'm bad at judging).

I'm no fan of WL at all, but I'm a bit skeptical about your results there. Assuming WL went on the cheap and just sent out their normal green laser shades--which are just red laser enhancement goggles you can get for $10--and assuming they're no worse than the cheap-ass laser enhancement goggles I've got, at the very least the goggles should be blocking 532nm green at protection better than OD2.5.

These laser enhancement goggles reduce the power of my green laser far more than my pair of certified ML7 goggles, which are certified at OD2.5+ for 532nm. I would expect nothing less from WL's branded laser shades unless WL went out of their way to source even less effective goggles, which I doubt.

I think the graph is correct as far as the relative levels go, but not the absolute OD rating. It looks very close to the AL3 filters on OEM's site. Also the VLT is quite high, at 66% compared to the normal 19%. 66% is pretty close to the YLW's 73% VLT, and that is like looking through bright ski goggles. Something is amiss.

Bionic-Badger said:

I'm no fan of WL at all, but I'm a bit skeptical about your results there. Assuming WL went on the cheap and just sent out their normal green laser shades--which are just red laser enhancement goggles you can get for $10--and assuming they're no worse than the cheap-ass laser enhancement goggles I've got, at the very least the goggles should be blocking 532nm green at protection better than OD2.5.

These laser enhancement goggles reduce the power of my green laser far more than my pair of certified ML7 goggles, which are certified at OD2.5+ for 532nm. I would expect nothing less from WL's branded laser shades unless WL went out of their way to source even less effective goggles, which I doubt.

I think the graph is correct as far as the relative levels go, but not the absolute OD rating. It looks very close to the AL3 filters on OEM's site. Also the VLT is quite high, at 66% compared to the normal 19%. 66% is pretty close to the YLW's 73% VLT, and that is like looking through bright ski goggles. Something is amiss.

Click to expand...

Bionic:

Take a look at this video.
YouTube - ‪ARCTIC OWNERS BEWARE! Wicked Lasers Arctic Safety Glasses "OD 6" VS Little Pointer‬‎

Coherent:

Bionic-Badger said:

I'm no fan of WL at all, but I'm a bit skeptical about your results there. Assuming WL went on the cheap and just sent out their normal green laser shades--which are just red laser enhancement goggles you can get for $10--and assuming they're no worse than the cheap-ass laser enhancement goggles I've got, at the very least the goggles should be blocking 532nm green at protection better than OD2.5.

These laser enhancement goggles reduce the power of my green laser far more than my pair of certified ML7 goggles, which are certified at OD2.5+ for 532nm. I would expect nothing less from WL's branded laser shades unless WL went out of their way to source even less effective goggles, which I doubt.

I think the graph is correct as far as the relative levels go, but not the absolute OD rating. It looks very close to the AL3 filters on OEM's site. Also the VLT is quite high, at 66% compared to the normal 19%. 66% is pretty close to the YLW's 73% VLT, and that is like looking through bright ski goggles. Something is amiss.

Click to expand...

My "VLT" takes into account 700-1050nm and not just "visible light"... the goggles let >90% of near-IR light through so that will certainly skew my posted VLT. The VLT for my test from 400nm-700nm (actual visible light) is around 45.4%

I actually drove 1/2hr to work wearing these goggles today... trees and grass looked as green as ever.
It dulled up green traffic & street signs but they were still very identifiable as green.
There's no way these goggles are blocking green.

Remember, these "Arctic Lasershades" are not the same as the red-tinted "532 Lasershades".
Arctic glasses have a distinct red/orange tint to them. Very likely a different filter than old style WL 532 goggles.

Below: Unfiltered Arctic versus WL "OD5+ goggles" versus REAL OD6 goggles
Does that blue dot look like the filters could be OD5+ tuned for blue?!?
Yes, the WL Arctic shades help and they're actually not too shabby... but OD5+? ... no. just no.

Your last picture looks like my china red glasses