Anonymous Poll: Do You Wear Safety Glasses Inside?

[IsaacT]

I've always said people around here overuse the "use goggles all the time" thing. Glad to know I was right and most people were just hypocritical.

Here's what I do:
-With <100mW I never use goggles, unless it's a 405nm and I want to see stuff fluoresce.
-With <500mW I only use goggles when burning.
-With class 4 I use goggles when burning and most of the time when pointing them around inside the house. I'll admit I have looked at the dot of my 3W from about 3m away on a white wall but it's so bright it isn't even fun. I do have the habit of pointing high power lasers at the ceiling and looking at the colored walls with interference dots, but that's perfectly safe

This is why I made this. The whole crusade is somewhat bothersome to me as I cannot see many people if any walking their walk.

 

[Atomicrox]

I'd +rep you if I could.

 

[deltawars]

I chose Only when Inside. Outside doesn't pose much danger.

With my 3W laser I can feel the light hurting my eyes, even if I aim the laser behind me, the reflected light is just to much and I don't want to damage my eyes as its mostly retina damage which is permanent, so there is NEVER a time when I don't ware my goggles indoors.

However if I am outside I usually shine my laser at the trees or the moon and because it is so far away it poses no risk, I will only ware laser goggles outside is i am aiming the laser close to me.

 

[Mattronium]

I said "Only if I am burning stuff. Otherwise I am careful."
It is kinda hard for me to answer that. Except for my 500mW 532nm all my laser are "low" power (≤100mW) so for those I just make sure I'm careful. For any type of burning I use safety goggles. With my 500mW 532nm since I don't have safety goggles that work for 532nm & IR I only use it outside or the few times I used it inside I used it so that it was Impossible to get any reflections towards me.

 

[trencheel303]

This is why I made this. The whole crusade is somewhat bothersome to me as I cannot see many people if any walking their walk.

From what I gather most people in this thread are true to what they say. But while I'm happy to shine a 445 around the room without goggles I'd not advise someone new to the hobby to do so, just as you wouldn't advise someone new to motorbikes to go hell for leather on a litre bike.

I'd like to think my advice is proportionate to who is getting it, if anyone ever thinks otherwise... let me know.

 

[hwang21]

Very true^ I'd rather a new member have laser goggles always on rather than always off, just in case

 

[styropyro]

The closest option to how I use goggles is "Only when Inside. Outside doesn't pose much danger."

If I'm using a laser indoors, I nearly always use goggles if the laser is over ~30mW. The only time I don't use goggles is when I'm shooting a laser way across the yard. Although as the lasers get deeper into the class IV, I become hesitant to use them outside as I'm scared a bug will fly into the beam close to my face.

In fact if I'll be using multiple lasers or will be running a very strong laser for a long time, I'll place electrical tape on the edges of my goggles so I don't take a stray beam from an odd angle. As I wasn't born with great vision, I am paranoid about my eyes.

 

[Alaskan]

I use them when working with IR.

 

[Ears and Eggs]

I am not the most safety conscious person in general and I used to be a lot more cavalier about goggles tbh. Reading about Xoul's accident really scared me into being a lot more careful though. Before that I'd rarely use them with lasers under 100mW or so unless they were IR or I was doing very close burning.

Now I am a lot more careful and use them most of the time indoors.

 

[Devil_Master]

Here's what I do:
- If I am using a laser or I am in the same room with someone using a laser, I use goggles.
- Otherwise, I don't.
My view on lasers and safety goggles is summarized by this post.

 

[nikooo777]

I actually "voted Inside, Outside, Summer, Winter, Day & Night"
and I'll explain you why.

I have this ~2W 445 nm handheld laser and I know that one single reflection or direct hit will burn my retina. Therefore when I operate such a powerful laser I make sure to ALWAYS wear goggles when pushing the tailcap button. However, if the laser is steady and I know the dot is far enough and won't reflect into my eye, then I'll remove the goggles to enjoy the color and the beam.

Same applies for my 300mW 650 nm laser.

I think that safety should always be on top of everything.

 

[LtKernelPanic]

Glad this got bumped since I missed it before.

Like most people here for me it depends on the laser(s), their power, location, and what I'm doing.

Examples when I would wear glasses:


- Burning anything.

- When photographing, or working close to the beam like in most of the photos in this thread I posted you can bet your ass I was wearing them because there was a fairly good chance I could inadvertently put my face in the beam. (Fairly sure I did at least once too)

-Working around reflective objects.


When I wouldn't:

- Just about any laser under 50mw without reflective surfaces around.

- When I have my argons setup for their maintenance since you'd have to be a moron or try really hard to get hit in the eye even when they're at full power.

- When I have my HeNe lasers setup. With one exception they all are under 4mW so again you'd have to try really hard to get eye damage. Even with my 1145P which is rated at 20+ mW you'd still have to try hard or again be a complete moron.

- When photographing higher power lasers that are SECURED in place and from an off axis position from the beams at a safe distance where accidental exposure isn't going to happen. An example of this would be my Lasers in the Night thread. I did wear them when I was shooting down the beam of the argon but otherwise I didn't.



It may be a bit hypocritical to say goggles are a must and should be worn at all times then not do it myself but I still think for all new owners of high powered lasers this is a must until they know what they're doing. Once you know proper laser safety and how to properly setup and use your lasers there are many times where you can enjoy using your lasers without them. Until then it's better to be safe than sorry. Let xoul's experience be a warning and lesson to all of us, 'noobs' and 'vets' alike of what can happen when things go wrong and what can happen in literally less than a link of the eye.

 

[hakzaw1]

.. I started to just quote 'Paul' then read another good one so it was then a 'multi-quote' BUT as i read on- everybody that has posted here has given sound advice very worthy of anyone new to lasers to read and heed.

I will say this with all honesty ..I was surprized to see few using eye protection at the 4 SELEM events and other LEMs i have attended- BUT I learned that most have been around lasers so much and so long they like many who have posted here have develped a 'second' sense about when they are needed..

I think this is just an easy- 'test'..
IF what you are viewing be it direct or reflected , leaves after images that do NOT go away fairly quickly -- you have taken in more laser light than one would really want.
In extreme exposures i have read of people seeing these for days-

My home lasershow partres are small I have enough eye-ware for quite a few and once that are aware of the 'safe zones' they are free to just wear them around the neck until they need to move about.

good thread +5 to ther OP

should be required reading for newcomers

 

[IsaacT]

.. I started to just quote 'Paul' then read another good one so it was then a 'multi-quote' BUT as i read on- everybody that has posted here has given sound advice very worthy of anyone new to lasers to read and heed.

I will say this with all honesty ..I was surprized to see few using eye protection at the 4 SELEM events and other LEMs i have attended- BUT I learned that most have been around lasers so much and so long they like many who have posted here have develped a 'second' sense about when they are needed..

I think this is just an easy- 'test'..
IF what you are viewing be it direct or reflected , leaves after images that do NOT go away fairly quickly -- you have taken in more laser light than one would really want.
In extreme exposures i have read of people seeing these for days-

My home lasershow partres are small I have enough eye-ware for quite a few and once that are aware of the 'safe zones' they are free to just wear them around the neck until they need to move about.

good thread +5 to ther OP

should be required reading for newcomers

Haha you probably can't +5 me again at the moment but I'll hold you to the rain check :beer:

 

[TomD]

All I've got is a 2W 405 though but whenever I'm just about to place the battery in, I put the glasses on, wherever I am. If there's anyone with me, I lend them another pair. Of course since I also do some photography, I temporarily free my eyes to look into the viewfinder.

Slightly off-topic though. I also wear the glasses (blue blocking) about an hour before sleeping. It makes me sleep better at night.

 

[IsaacT]

Very interesting Tom. I may have to try that out. It is a well known fact that blue light can keep your mind alert and awake. Many online sites recommend cutting out electronic screens before bed for exactly that reason.