BluBlocker Vipers vs Uvex Goggles

[TheDukeAnumber1]

Ok here is my quick and dirty review of the BluBlocker Vipers, the common Uvex goggles, and their use as 445nm protection.

Side by side comparison. The Vipers are much more stylish.

One of my 445nm's. It's a M140 at 1.25amps, 9mm stock lens. Got my name laser engraved on it

White wall no goggles.

Picture taken with the Vipers.

Picture taken with the Uvex.

Their performance seems identical. The benefit of the Vipers being I'm not against wearing them in public, making it easy to carry a 445nm and safety goggles/sunglasses.

There you have it, happy lasing.​

 

[Livinloud]

are these the vipers you are referencing? BluBlocker Viper

 

[TheDukeAnumber1]

Correct, those are the shades I was referring too.

 

[Livinloud]

interesting, they claim "The amber Malenium® lenses block 100% of the UV light but also 100% of the blue light." i'd be interested in what others have to say about these.

 

[ARG]

They can't block 100% of the light, unless they are not transparent :crackup:

 

[TheDukeAnumber1]

interesting, they claim "The amber Malenium® lenses block 100% of the UV light but also 100% of the blue light." i'd be interested in what others have to say about these.

My limited research leads me to believe that "malenium" is just a trademarked advertising gimmick. And yes not 100% is blocked. I shined a 300mw 445nm through the lens and some visibly blue light came through. Despite this I've been impressed and very happy with my Vipers.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Malenium is pure bs marketing.

Personally I wasn't too thrilled with the results from these goggles: StarShield BluBlocker? - 2355K | BluBlocker Sunglasses: A major vision breakthrough

They do work well enough, but pass through a bit too much for comfort.

I like blueblockers, but purely for use while driving.

Edit: The Uvex I tested in my signature, with at 2.3W laser, did not pass through anything, for over a minute. The lens started to burn/char, and I think that actually helped it absorb/stop. One of these days I'll see how long it takes to actually burn through, but if you're not already blind, there is just no way you would miss having your goggles hit with a 1W+ laser.

 

[ApexProxy]

I use the Uvex SCT orange goggles for everything(405-532nm). Pointing a 445nm through them at 3W results with no dot at all for me as well. I have 8 pairs atm so maybe in the next couple days I will do a little torture of my own. For my tests I will use my 3W 445 and see how well they hold up.

I just hit one just now for a mini test and with 3W they only distort slightly and smoke but don't burn until after about 3-4 seconds of direct hit at 6 inches. Taking into account that if you are hit by a beam it will likely be moving and assuming you aren't hitting them with perfect focus I cannot see them ever burning through(you would notice and move out of the way before that) with anything we can attain with a single current market 445nm diode.

UPDATE:
Just hit a 532nm at about 300mW and they let what appears to be less than 1mW through. On a side note: I just found out that my Skylaser HL532 passes about 40mW of IR...

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

UPDATE:
Just hit a 532nm at about 300mW and they let what appears to be less than 1mW through. On a side note: I just found out that my Skylaser HL532 passes about 40mW of IR...

Well that sucks.

About the goggles, I do find the Eagle Pair, and the OEM ones work better in dealing with the diffuse reflection, but I do also use Uvex ones all the time, and feel perfectly comfortable with them.