Cheap Safety Glasses - TESTED

[tsteele93]

Amazon.com: Uvex S1933X Skyper Safety Eyewear, Black Frame, SCT-Orange UV Extreme Anti-Fog Lens: Home Improvement

I decided to put this in its own thread since the other discussions had gotten forked and cluttered.

Here is what I did tonight.

I don't have enough room on my iPhone for video, nor time to do it. I took snapshots instead...

First, an RHD 12x blu ray build which cranked out 658mW with my newly added G-1


Untitled by tsteele93, on Flickr

Now let's shoot that beam through the UVEX SCT-Orange goggles...


Untitled by tsteele93, on Flickr

ZERO mW on the other side. There is no dot to even focus on the thermopile.

Moving up in the spectrum, another RHD build, this is a single mode 445 @ 150mW according to him, let's see how it does...


Untitled by tsteele93, on Flickr

RHD is a man of his word and it goes 150mW. I need to put a G-1 on it and see what I get!

Now through the goggles...


Untitled by tsteele93, on Flickr

Nothing gets through.

Let's step it up a notch, here is my ~1.25 Watt Survival Laser build...


1.24 Watts of 445 nm laser! by tsteele93, on Flickr

Nice... Now through the UVEX glasses...


Untitled by tsteele93, on Flickr

Zero, zilch, nada. It DOES begin to melt little sections of the lens, not all the way through, but a little spot of wavy plastic where it was going through the goggles. They still let nothing through...

Now for 532nm, this is where it gets complicated. We know most greens are bleeding Infra-Red and these glasses don't stop IR.

But I think that I have a possible test for that at the end... First let's start with my O-like Crown, 400mW model that has been peaking at 300mW for me. Today I got some AW-IMR quality 18650's in to the house and what a difference that makes! Check this bad boy out!


Untitled by tsteele93, on Flickr

How is that for cooking? Now let's run it through the goggles...


Untitled by tsteele93, on Flickr

31 mW... But how much of that is green and how much is IR. I don't have any IR filters YET. Once I get some from o-like, I plan to install one and test. If it makes a difference then I will leave it installed and be good.

BUT, I did think of something that might answer the question for us. I recently acquired an Optotronics RPL-165 that was metered at the factory with 178mW AVG power.

I haven't found documentation stating that the RPL series has IR filtering, but they do say that their laser pointers have IR filtering so it seems logical that the RPL series might have IR filtering as well. Let's see what we get...


Optotronics RPL-165 by tsteele93, on Flickr

Without a doubt, the best QUALITY laser I own!

So the RPL-165 is putting out about 200mW, let's see what it does through the goggles...


Untitled by tsteele93, on Flickr

5mW coming through the glasses. This makes me think that the RPL does have IR filtering, unlike the O-Like Crown model, and the glasses are letting 2.5%'of the 532nm light to pass through.

That means a 400mW IR filtered laser would be a 10mW laser with these glasses.

Until I get some IR filters to check, I can only speculate but it seems very reasonable and logical to believe that the cheaper quality greens are pumping IR and the RPL is not.

The good thing is that very few people are running around with >500mW of green right now, and I think these glasses are as good as I need with the way I use green. I rarely, if ever, try to burn with green because my focusable 405 and 445 are such great burners, even my 250mW red is a better burner than my greens.

Anyway, that is the test I conducted on the <$9 UVEX goggles that I use for violet/blue/green laser handling.

Amazon.com: Uvex S1933X Skyper Safety Eyewear, Black Frame, SCT-Orange UV Extreme Anti-Fog Lens: Home Improvement

 

[Lotus_Darkrose]

Thanks for doing this!

 

[LSRFAQ]

Thanks for doing this!

A slight problem:

The problem is UVEX can change their dye mix at any time.
There is NO guarentee of consistancy or even part numbers staying the same.

Get real, certified laser goggles.

Steve

 

[Lotus_Darkrose]

He still took the time to test them out...

Yes there's a very slight possibility they could "change their dye mix at any time", but with shit o-like glasses and whatnot, these already seem a hell of a lot better.

 

[tsteele93]

A slight problem:

The problem is UVEX can change their dye mix at any time.
There is NO guarentee of consistancy or even part numbers staying the same.

Get real, certified laser goggles.

Steve

They have been using the SCT-OrNge since at least 2008 and the 2010 catalog is the same.

This is Honeywell USA... They aren't going to change the dye mix or anything like that without updating the spec sheets.

Meanwhile you are trusting your eyes to the same people that spiked all kinds of stuff (including baby formula, toothpaste, mouthwash and more) with melamine resulting in deaths. I could find an easy Dozen or so stories of China fudging the paperwork on all sorts of products. Their culture is different than ours. I don't know why,MIT just is...

Meanwhile, I trust these USA made goggles with a spec sheet that says they are good for my intended purpose.

Suggesting that UVEX is not a reliable source is absurd compared to where most of your laser goggles are coming from.

What do you use Steve?

 

[saypat]

appreciate your post very much, thank you...

 

[Ghostchrome]

Very good work. Thanks!

 

[HaloBlu]

Compared to any chinese goggles (eagle pair, dragon etc) I would place more trust in these not to change dyes. Obviously they don't come close to the guarentee you have with certified goggles but a lot of members don't seem to be using certified.

LSRFAQ is comparing uvex to certified goggles not chinese. Quite a few members have certified goggles, no reason to think he uses non-certified.

 

[tsteele93]

Compared to any chinese goggles (eagle pair, dragon etc) I would place more trust in these not to change dyes. Obviously they don't come close to the guarentee you have with certified goggles but a lot of members don't seem to be using certified.

LSRFAQ is comparing uvex to certified goggles not chinese. Quite a few members have certified goggles, no reason to think he uses non-certified.

I wasn't suggesting that he doesn't have certified goggles. EDIT: I guess I did say something that could be interpreted that way. But I was genuinely curious as to what he uses.

That said, I wonder how many users here have enough pairs to fit all the people they use the lasers around?

I find myself needing more sometimes even when I have 4 of each wavelength!

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

They have been using the SCT-OrNge since at least 2008 and the 2010 catalog is the same.

This is Honeywell USA... They aren't going to change the dye mix or anything like that without updating the spec sheets.

Meanwhile you are trusting your eyes to the same people that spiked all kinds of stuff (including baby formula, toothpaste, mouthwash and more) with melamine resulting in deaths. I could find an easy Dozen or so stories of China fudging the paperwork on all sorts of products. Their culture is different than ours. I don't know why,MIT just is...

Meanwhile, I trust these USA made goggles with a spec sheet that says they are good for my intended purpose.

Suggesting that UVEX is not a reliable source is absurd compared to where most of your laser goggles are coming from.

US Companies NEVER lie? That's new, when did that happen?

Are you sure these are manufactured consistently?

Are you sure they are manufactured in the US?

You asked in another thread why I trust and recommend Eagle Pair. Actually I don't and always recommend OEM, and only Eagle Pair, and lastly the ones from Radiant.

The reason I trust them a bit is that I'm not the only one who tested them. I can think of at least a half a dozen vets off hand who use them, after testing them.

I owned three pairs, now down to two, and tested every single one of them in the same way as you tested yours, PRIOR to use WHILE wearing OEM certified goggles.

One random sample is great... repeat it a few dozen times and maybe we have something here.

Until then I'll stick to certified goggles.

Some hobbies aren't cheap, and going cheap on safety measures is just asking for problems.

My $0.02.

 

[tsteele93]

US Companies NEVER lie? That's new, when did that happen?

We are talking about a large DOD contractor with way too much at stake to be fudging numbers on safety goggles.

About Honeywell

Are you sure these are manufactured consistently?

Are you sure they are manufactured in the US?

Yes...

UVEX SCT-ORANGE PRODUCT PAGE


"Product Description

No matter what your protective eyewear needs are, the Uvex Skyper family has you covered. Features include wrap-around uni-lens design, molded-in nosebridge, sideshields and browguard, adjustable temple lengths, ratcheting lens inclination and simple lens replacement. Made in the USA. Meets ANSI Z87.1-2003 and CSA Z94.3 standards."

And here: Uvex Skyper

You asked in another thread why I trust and recommend Eagle Pair. Actually I don't and always recommend OEM, and only Eagle Pair, and lastly the ones from Radiant.

What do you mean by OEM? Are you saying something that comes with the laser - for instance O-like goggles?

One random sample is great... repeat it a few dozen times and maybe we have something here.

Until then I'll stick to certified goggles.

No one is trying to get you to change goggles. This is something that I'm doing because I think a lot of the people who come here are young kids who won't buy safety goggles if they see them as too expensive.

I believe (and the documentations says) that these are an excellent, inexpensive way to protect your eyes from violet, blue and green lasers. There is definitely some valid concern about how much IR might be in a green, and these glasses do not protect from that, but they do protect from wavelengths up to 540nm very well.

When we start seeing 1W greens on a regular basis then I will revise my recommendations to use these for only violet and blue, but I think for now these are a great, inexpensive alternative to glasses that are available.

:beer:

 

[SnyderPA]

Very impressive findings, nice work. I'd like to see an objective test of certified vs non and even non certified vs non certified to find the best of the cheap glasses... perhaps I should get my self a power meter.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

We are talking about a large DOD contractor with way too much at stake to be fudging numbers on safety goggles.

About Honeywell

I'm a consultant to 20+ DOD contractors, on an ongoing basis, for the last two plus year.

Trust me they make mistakes, and often times screw around because the reality is it's often still more profitable to pay fines, and deal with returns.

I hate it, and try to prevent it when I can, but it's the nature of the business.

Do not place your trust in companies simply because they deal with the government.

That they are US made is good.

What do you mean by OEM? Are you saying something that comes with the laser - for instance O-like goggles?

No by OEM I'm referring to OEM Laser systems.

No one is trying to get you to change goggles. This is something that I'm doing because I think a lot of the people who come here are young kids who won't buy safety goggles if they see them as too expensive.

I believe (and the documentations says) that these are an excellent, inexpensive way to protect your eyes from violet, blue and green lasers. There is definitely some valid concern about how much IR might be in a green, and these glasses do not protect from that, but they do protect from wavelengths up to 540nm very well.

When we start seeing 1W greens on a regular basis then I will revise my recommendations to use these for only violet and blue, but I think for now these are a great, inexpensive alternative to glasses that are available.

:beer:

Lol, I won't be changing my goggle preferences anytime soon.

I think the point of contention here for me is that I would rather people save up for good certified goggles. If that means they have to wait a few months to save up, or decide not to get any safety equipment it's their folly as far as I'm concerned.

Tell you what, next time I order from amazon, I'll add these to the cart to do a little testing too. If they are a good alternative, great... but I'll still prefer and recommend saving and buying certified goggles.

 

[DrSid]

For basic tests you don't even need LPM. Good goggles simply won't let the beam through. There should be no dot on the wall after the goggles. Also color of the laser should not be discernible when looking at the dot through the goggles. Good goggles should also block the full power focused beam for some time. Any plastic goggles will eventually melt under 1W laser .. but usually you will notice direct hit and do something about it.
Goggles should also be robust, not fall of easily, not fall apart easily, and should block view from all directions.
Cheap non certified goggles, if they work, are for sure better then certified goggles I won't buy, because I find them too expansive.
But LPM for sure helps things. More such tests !

 

[tsteele93]

I think the point of contention here for me is that I would rather people save up for good certified goggles. If that means they have to wait a few months to save up, or decide not to get any safety equipment it's their folly as far as I'm concerned.

Tell you what, next time I order from amazon, I'll add these to the cart to do a little testing too. If they are a good alternative, great... but I'll still prefer and recommend saving and buying certified goggles.

I agree, if they are getting real, certified glasses that is great. I don't know how old you are, but I am in my 40s and still remember being 18 and not caring a bit about stupid stuff like safety issues.

I just like the idea that for $8 shipped, I can point them towards a goggle that will absolutely make their laser safer for them.

The spec sheet is there to read, it is a reputable company and they are made in the USA, plus I've even done my informal testing (to satisfy me) that they do what they say.

For what it is worth, they make laser pointer safety glasses, but I haven't been able to find them for sale yet...

Sperian Laser Eyewear - Sperian Milan

 

[tsteele93]

You asked in another thread why I trust and recommend Eagle Pair. Actually I don't and always recommend OEM, and only Eagle Pair, and lastly the ones from Radiant.

A question, which of these goggles do you recommend?


UV - Visible Laser Protective Filters

I can't find anything that seems like it would cover even all of blue and green, it seems like you might need three different sets of goggles at >$100 each and then if you need some for friends and family, it could add up to a LOT of money. Am I overlooking a pair that covers a broad spectrum.

I guess for ultimate safety we should wear these...

Patient Stainless Steel Laser Eye Shields [NR-ISHIELD] - $111.00

:crackup: