Cheap Safety Glasses - TESTED

[vk2fro]

THIS SO MUCH

I had no idea I was gonna have to dish out $150+ to get a laser that simply could burn, and now I'm looking at needing goggles too. I'd expect it to be a bit of plastic (almost free) in a mold (a little cost there) and some dye or film (most expensive part, but still dirt-cheap). Overall, I'd expect them to cost no more than $5-10 to produce, and after brand-name markups and packaging and such I wasn't expecting to have to pay more than $15-20 for goggles.

Then I see something about "the best goggles for under $100" in someone's signature. WFT?!?! I'm already paying an outrageous amount for a laser, and I have to get a special battery, and a special charger, and now you want me to pay another ~$100?? SERIOUSLY??

/rant

Anyways that's how I feel about it. Having something is better than nothing, and just because I'm cutting, say, 90% of costs in this particular aspect of safety doesn't mean I'm cutting 90% of the safety. Common sense doesn't come with the goggles, they are merely a tool to apply common sense. And, common sense is free, and advice is (usually) free as well.

- - - - - - - - - - -

On that note, I will definitely buy a pair of these if I get a burning laser.

Sensible. You only get one set of eyes.

Lets look at it another way. I'm building a projector. Now besides being probably the most dangerous laser toy to be near with the top open and the lasers going, I'll be getting some of these for others nearby, but myself I'll get the more expensive ones I know I can trust when I've got my head down close to adjust it.

I understand goggles may seem expensive. I think its dear too, but its eye safety. Like a shooters hearing protection, or a welders face sheild, it only take one time not wearing them, and the accident happens and then your deaf/blind/burned in the face.

Now what DOES crap me off is the cost of decent dacs for a projector. The dac is what draws all the beams and graphics from the computer connected to it. The good one is $600 (quick show). Now that *IS* expensive. Its just a black box and software. It doesn't protect your eyes, it doesnt burn stuff, and I dont think it even has blinky lights. However without it, unless you have a crappy internal show card, your laser projector is about as useful as tits on a bull.

You can build the soundcard dac but it has issues on windows 7. Then theres the riya and etherdreams (and other dacs... hell I already have a frame streamer). But the box is worth about $60. Its the software features I want. So I gotta pay for them.

Back to eye saftey: A pair of goggles recommended here is better than none. OEM laser goggles are the top dog in protection, but they come at a stupidly high price (about $130 for certain pairs). The glasses mentioned here are a blessing - not only do they protect your eyes from stray lasers, they also dont burn a big hole in your wallet (unless you do it with your laser)

 

[Stryker295]

Like a shooter's hearing protection, or a welder's face shield, it only takes one time not wearing them, and the accident happens and then you're deaf/blind/burned in the face. [. . .] OEM laser goggles are the top dog in protection, but they come at a stupidly high price (about $130 for certain pairs). The glasses mentioned here are a blessing - not only do they protect your eyes from stray lasers, they also don't burn a big hole in your wallet (unless you do it with your laser)

XD so true.

 

[grin]

Someone mentioned the Shade 5.0's earlier. Looking at the data sheet it seems that they would be pretty decent at 800-1064nm range for IR protection. In addition they transmit about 5% at 532nm. The sct-orange are definitely better at green but these look like they would be very good at multi-wavelength protection.

Is there any reason why these wouldn't be good for IR or wide range protection?

 

[ryansoh3]

Someone mentioned the Shade 5.0's earlier. Looking at the data sheet it seems that they would be pretty decent at 800-1064nm range for IR protection. In addition they transmit about 5% at 532nm. The sct-orange are definitely better at green but these look like they would be very good at multi-wavelength protection.

Is there any reason why these wouldn't be good for IR or wide range protection?

Uh... just wondering, what can you possibly see through that pair when most of the transmission is 0% across the wavelength spectrum?

Does it come with a light transmission percentage? Would work as nice sunglasses through. Maybe would be too dark. :thinking:

Cheers! :beer:

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Maybe there are meant for staring at the sun?

That's part of the reason I like eagle pair, and certified goggles... in addition to OD ratings, they provide a VLT... anything below 20% is very dark IMO.

 

[grin]

As per the transmission data, the only thing I can see through these is green light.

 

[grin]

The Uvex data sheet says these have VLT of 2% UV 99.5% IR 97.5%, the shade 3.0 is VLT 14% UV 99.5% IR 91%, and 2.0 with VLT 35% UV 99.5% IR 85%

 

[grin]

Its definitely interesting looking through these.

 

[ryansoh3]

Wow, that's intriguing. I thought it would be much darker!

Could you take a shot of the glasses itself please?

I'm curious how dark the lenses are.

Thanks!

 

[grin]

Here ya go.

You can definitely see pretty well outside. Probably because of the human eye's sensitivity to green light. I have no real measuring devices but this matches decently to the data sheet.

 

[ryansoh3]

Wow, thank you! +1 for you sir. Didn't realize the lenses would be that clear.

Sorry for replying to your original question so late, but I think it would be okay for a general laser protection all around including IR except for the 532nm green region.

However, don't quote me on this because you should test these out with a LPM to see if they're really safe.

Cheers! :beer:

 

[grin]

I'd have to find someone around here with that equipment. Don't have one myself.

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

Interesting. Shade 5.0 might be an interesting options for reds, or might not.

Lowest price I could find for these, to fit over glasses, was ~$20.

Based on pictures thought, it definitely looks like VLT is well above 30%.

 

[grin]

These say they fit over glasses.

Amazon.com: Uvex S2509 Astrospec OTG 3001 Safety Eyewear, Black Frame, Shade 5.0 Infra-Dura Ultra-Dura Hardcoat Lens: Home Improvement

 

[InfinitusEquitas]

^^^Too ugly, and I have other pairs of goggles, with that same design... they don't fit well over my glasses at all.

 

[kaunak]

Bought a pair because they were cheap enough and for blue they work perfect but they are probably not enough if your using more than 100mw of 532. They also don't fit over glasses at all. Still at $8 their great for a standard 1w blue IMO