FYI - Cheap 532nm Goggles

Man that 5% difference sure is alot when i use my DX laser! A painful bright dot turns into something more like a 60W light bulb.. But I never thought it was letting so much light through! You can atleast agree that its better than nothin, even if only slightly better ?/

Yes, I will agree that it will offer 5% protection....BUT after spending 12 bucks on them - spend a bit more, and get ones designed for lasers - yeah, I know I am preachin...but seriously....do it !

Really now, how much are your eyes worth to you? $20? $40? I should hope that when it comes to eye safety people would value their retinas higher than a nice steak dinner. Eating steak is great, but being able to see what's on your plate is even better. Whatever supplier you go with, make sure you're getting REAL laser safety eyewear. The seller should always know the total wavelength coverage and the OD rating for all wavelengths. Would you replace your car's brake pads with something that sorta, kinda worked like brake pads? Of course not.

Justin - excellent analogy ! I thank you for posting that

My eyes are worth alot...but ya get two for a reason! but dammmm I woulda got a nicer laser If i thought I'd spend half as much as the laser on laser saftey. I never used the cheap glasses alot so thanks to you guys I can avoid any permanent damage! Thx for answing my ?'s What I would really like to know is how a red lens can reflect/diffuse/block so much of the brightness as to make the light easily viewable.. but still let all that power through ?

david7700 said:

My eyes are worth alot...but ya get two for a reason!

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So that's like saying it's OK to lose one or damage one permanently? When I was 7 years old I put one of my eyes completely out due to an accident with a knife, and it had to be removed. I have been stuck with an artificial eye for life. I admit I am used to it and there are few times it bothers me. I wish I could experience depth perception and 3d stuff, but can not and never will be able to. I would listen to what people are suggesting and take it seriously. Put one of your hands over one of your eyes and walk around for awhile. I don't mean to get on your case, I am telling it like it is. Using goggles not made for laser safety can result in eye damage. I am not saying it will, but I will be damned if I ever take such risks.

You definately have a point, I should be more careful to protect my peepers. Atleast I have avoided doing anything very harmful by following the tips here.. but I am lucky so I know those special glasses are necessary to see the laser indoors, burning, etc..

Thanks for sharing your story, I didn't mean to put eye saftey lightly--just trying to add some levity to the serious subject matter.

Gazoo - that is truly tragic I had a best bud lose an eye to a home made crossbow bolt in 7th grade...I lost my love of archery shortly after that...he hand carved a bolt, and when he fired, it snagged, and slammed back - 2 more millimeters, and he would have lost more than his eye - I never thought he was lucky until I heard that part...now I consider him the luckiest guy alive. Partly due to that is why I value my eyesight so much, and part of hte reason I bought these shades to prove or disprove the theory that they are any good. I see many threads on CPF where folks tout the $10 toolshed glasses as being better, etc...not for me, man.

Thanks SenKat. I am completely over it, but I wouldn't want it to happen to anyone else. Sorry about your friend. I was lucky too. Had the knife went in much further it could have caused brain damage or even death. It's kind of sucks how childhood experiences can effect the rest of our lives, and I have had a few I will never forget. But life goes on and we make the best of it. And we warn others in the hopes it doesn't happen to them.

I will be honest, I was kinda scared to get into the laser hobby. But I read tons about safety and decided as long as I am cautious, I will be able to handle it. I have no regrets. I love this hobby. The problem is I have too many hobbies..ha..ha.

the only cheap goggles i'd recommend are these for $10 +ship http://www.toolbarn.com/product/dewalt/DW0714/


they are better than od6, the only downside is they block it almost too well it's very hard to see the dot. They are also kinda dark, so the VLT is low. they are slightly darker than my lasershieled od6 goggles, designed for 532nm.

http://www.candlepowerforums.com/vb...1d09b6b6758c54a8bdf3eb&p=1905003&postcount=55
I did a mini review here

Those cheap goggles will kill your eyes - they were designed to enhance the red beam, not block the green - sorry, but check them out with an opthamologist to be sure, but I have tested them, and I have tested the Wicked goggles - you are putting your eyesight on the line for the price of $40 extra bucks. Not wise, man - not wise.

SenKat said:

Those cheap goggles will kill your eyes - they were designed to enhance the red beam, not block the green - sorry, but check them out with an opthamologist to be sure, but I have tested them, and I have tested the Wicked goggles - you are putting your eyesight on the line for the price of $40 extra bucks. Not wise, man - not wise.

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i've checked them with a spectrometer, they are better than od6 @ 532nm.. not enough to make a od7 ( another order of magnitude difference ) rating though. they measue the same as my od6 lasershields on the spectromter, but the VLT ( visible light ) is lower by ~5%. the vlt on my lasershilds is 28% these are 22% and some change. anything below 25% is bad becuase unless the room is brightly lit your pupil will dialte, and if you have leaking IR, then you risk invisible damage.

boy ya know I wouldn't even risk that. Yes, they are designed for enhancing red and not green. They are by default going to block green light as red is the photonic negative of green. take a look at a red apple in green light and it's BLACK. Do the same thing with a green apple in red light and it's WHITE. It's just like the other one's we were looking at at the top of the subject. $10 investment is just too cheap. I wouldn't feel safe wearing something that didn't SPECIFICALLY STATE THEY WERE DESIGNED TO BLOCK LASER RADIATION. The gamble with your eyesight is just not worth the risk. My father lost his eye while doing his taxes when he got a blood clot in his eye. (goes to show how evil taxes are!) and hasn't been the same since. He had to quit his job working high steel and just be a normal carpenter as a result. I've tried the walk around with one eye thing and it sucks. BAD! I've misguaged distances, lost my depth perception got splitting headaches from trying to adjust. I was blessed with perfect vision. I see others who have to wear glasses or poke thier fingers and contact lenses into thier eyes just to be able to SEE. BILLIONS OF DOLLARS ARE SPENT ANNUALLY ON CORRECTIVE LENSES OF ONE SORT OR ANOTHER just to be able to see. Your vision is PRICELESS.

SenKat said:

Those cheap goggles will kill your eyes - they were designed to enhance the red beam, not block the green - sorry, but check them out with an opthamologist to be sure, but I have tested them, and I have tested the Wicked goggles - you are putting your eyesight on the line for the price of $40 extra bucks. Not wise, man - not wise.

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Greg I have tested the ones sold by toolbarn which are the DeWalt DW0714 and I can barely get a reading on the meter through them. I have seen a few videos and can't remember at the moment the link to the video but their findings were the same too. The fact that they are sold to enhance red beams has little to do with it, they could easily double their price and have the marketing boys slap a sticker on them and say they are to Block 532nm, wouldn't change the product one bit; because they already do that. You can also take the WL goggles for 532nm and market them to Enhance a red beam, there is little difference here, except price and style. Just because something cost more is not always a measurement of value or quality. In most cases it is just slick advertising.

Not trying to start a long, drawn out argument over this - I will spend the extra $20 for good insurance that my eyes are safe - and I WILL be reading posts on here for a long time. Do what you will, but I will never recommend gogles that do not have an OD rating, and are not specifically designed to block out certain wavelengths. No amount of argument, etc will make me change my mind - I bought a pair of the ones listed in the first couple of posts, and they are garbage - not worth the plastic they are made of to block out the harmful radiation. If you are happy with the toolbarn secials, go right on and buy them up - your eyes not mine. I am certain I can get some mirrored sunglasses that would give ytou the same readings - best of luck with the white cane, and hte pencil sales later on in life.

Sounds like this is all based on price or brand then, Yes my eyes are worth more than $20.00 and they are certainly worth more than $40 - $50.00 that WL is charging, in-fact to the guy that lost his sight, poor sole; I think he would put a MUCH higher value on retaining his sight than what WL is even charging. If you think giving WL an extra $20.00 will save your eyesight best of luck; start saving for the white cane, and the pencil sales later on in life. I go by real world measurements, not slick ads; I'm always willing to listen to factual info though. I have been using Laser a very very long time, I used to live down the street from one of my favorite places Edmund Scientific; been going in there for 25+ years or more. The equipment they sell and the light shows they put on are great. So I have been around Lasers a very long time, don't let membership in a forum fool you. It would be like if I just joined a Boat Forum, they would probably say I'm a newbie, Yet I have owned boats over half my life and can't count the number I've had, or hours in them. Anyway I'll be visiting family up there soon and can't wait to visit their superstore again. They have a surplus section that is fantastic....it's just a shame they don't put their surplus section on the web, can only find those bargains in person. For gins I'll being the DeWalts with me, and see if my Techs buddies will care to give them a go over for me.....probably will, since half the people in my old neighborhood works there. Peace.