Looking for goggles for 532nm 200mw and 405nm 700mw

At first, I was a bit skeptical about all the hubbub related to safety glasses. I figured it was being blown out of proportion a bit like those stickers that say you have to use safety glasses while using a bottle opener. After getting my 200mw 532nm laser, I quickly noticed that I would see those 'light streaks' (like the ones you get when you look at a light bulb) after simply looking at the laser dot. It was pretty easy to conclude that if just the reflection on a wall is that bright, an accidental direct shot into my seeing balls would give me some deep-fried retinas - especially with my 700mw 405nm that's in the mail. I don't really know much about laser goggles, so I'm definitely open to any recommendations on goggles that will specifically cover my 405nm, but would also be applicable for my 532nm.

The eagle pair glasses that can be found here at survival laser are recommended by almost everyone. Eagle Pair® 190-540nm Standard Laser Safety Goggles

They will cover your green and purple. (But not IR)

You can get an Eagle Pair that cover violet, green, blue and IR in the wavelengths DPSS has, but they have abysmal VLT (see my signature). Could come in useful for if you're ever aligning DPSS lasers or you're working with a laser that is known to leak godly amounts of IR.

How much are you willing to spend for protection? If you are willing to spend $85 or so, I would suggest buying some certified ARG goggles from AixiZ. They work great and cover all green, blue and violet wavelengths, while remaining easy to see through. The Eagle pair of goggles are not certified, but people have tested them and they seem good.

You can also buy cheap certified goggles on eBay such as this.

Also look at some of the deals in the forums for certified goggles like these ($60). The only problem with that particular pair is that it has a lower VLT (amount of light that is allowed) than the ARG or Eagle goggles above. However, they protect better for some infrared wavelengths.

DO NOT SETTLE FOR CHEAP-ASS GOGGLES LIKE THESE:



The above goggles SUCK. They're uncomfortable. They break really easily. The red color makes it a pain to see anything. It's even a pain to work with your laser. Their only benefit is that they're cheap -- but they're also expensive because you'll get such little use out of them because you'll never want to use them.

Buy a pair of goggles you want to use!

Bionic, how well do argon goggles block 445 and 405nm? I've never been able to find specs for those wavelengths which is why I've never pulled the trigger on any. With ARG you know you are getting protection for those WLs.

I can't say for sure as I haven't tested the specific goggles in question, but from what I've seen of various brands such as NOIR Lasershields (the "ARG"-filter goggles), Laser Gard, Glendale, etc., the Argon/KTP type goggles, even the "narrow spectrum", cover 190nm-532nm.

The above eBay goggles should be Laser Gard if I'm reading it correctly, which would probably indicate that the shorter wavelengths are also covered.

Professionally, I use Eagle Pair goggles. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to laser safety, so being cheap can have some pretty nasty concequences. Not only that, safety goggles only protect you if you're using the laser safely. Simply wearing goggles isn't 100% protection, and it certainly doesn't protect those around you.

That being said, for under $100 you can get a pair of goggles that will protect you reasonably well.

I figure since I'm a relatively young fellow, I should probably not skimp on quality when it comes to goggles. That being said, there's no reason to over-spend either. I just don't want under protect myself to save $50 and pay for it for the rest of my life. Are there any goggles out there that are clear and not tinted to a certain color?

In order for goggles to filter certain wavelengths they can't be absolutely clear (unless the wavelengths you're protecting against are already invisible to your eyes). What you can do is seek out goggles with higher VLT ratings. VLT is the "Visible Light Through" rating, and indicates what percentage of light you do get to see. Generally higher is better, assuming you have adequate protection.

For 532nm, 445nm and 405nm goggles, the ARG-filter goggles have a VLT of about 50%, which is really quite good considering that green is the color that is brightest to your eyes. Some goggles have VLT as low as 15%, which makes them hard to use. The filter color is orange, so it's not as irritating to look through as, say, red. If you're only protecting against 445nm or 405nm, you can get alternative yellow goggles with even higher VLT (~73% I think), but they're more expensive ($120 or so), and don't protect against green.

Your best bet would be to get some ARG-type filter goggles. The orange isn't bad and you only need one pair of goggles for three of the major visible wavelengths. They're also relatively inexpensive as far as the certified goggles are concerned, especially given the range of wavelengths they cover.