The thread about "real" goggles/glasses. . .

[GSS]

I wouldn't go with the blue lensed glasses for red lasers. Those seem to be the only cheap ones that don't work. They actually do "nothing" for red. Some say they work maby a tiny bit for 638nm red's but not the 650's or 660's. They won't even stop a dollar store cat toy. If you can get a pair for $1 or $2 dollars i would buy them just so you see how bad they are..
I don't believe the greens lenses do a thing for red laser and are rated 450nm max.
I won some bids on 4 cheapies for a $1 each and did do a destruction test. Surprisingly they did well with up to 5W.
It's a crap shoot though and should always test them from the side..

Edit: If I can I will try to upload some pic's of the blue lensed and a red laser.
Also Uvex makes some cheap priced orange glasses that work well with a 2W blue laser. They aren't made for laser safety though, they are industrial projectile glasses that just happen to work with blue lasers.

 

[GSS]

This is a red pen style laser doing about 100mw going right through the blue lensed..

 

[MajorLazor]

These should be fine for a Sanwu pocket 800mW 445nm laser?

Eagle Pair® 190-540nm & 900-1700nm Laser Safety Goggles

Eagle Pair brand protective laser safety goggles for combined 190-540nm & 900-1700nm wavelengths. These goggles have 30% visible light transmission, protect to a level of OD 4+ (reduce the intensity of 190-540nm and 900-1700nm laser light by a factor of 10,000 or more), and are CE certified...

www.survivallaserusa.com

(the reason I'm getting the IR band, too, is because I have a cheap, green 301 laser)

Also, regarding when to use the glasses, I'm still a little confused as to if they're needed when viewing the laser spot (like when burning). According to this safety sheet for class 4 lasers, it says:

EYE INJURY HAZARD - DIFFUSE REFLECTION
The scattered light from the laser "dot" as viewed on a surface, can be an eye hazard. Avoid looking directly at the laser dot for more than a few seconds. The light is too bright if you see a sustained afterimage, lasting more than about 10 seconds.

The more powerful the laser, and the closer your eye is to the laser dot, the greater the chance of injury. This can occur during certain actions, such as aligning the beam or trying to hold the laser dot on a fixed location in order to burn a material.

Some Laser Safety Facts labels will list the laser’s specific diffuse reflection hazard distance. If this is not listed, here are some example Class 4 lasers:

• Looking at the laser dot from a 1,000 milliwatt (1 Watt) Class 4 blue (445 nm) laser beam for more than 1 minute is an eye hazard within 1.5 ft (44 cm) of the laser.

So in theory, it's OK to glance a the dot briefly? In practice, though, it's always a good idea to be wearing the glasses when burning or using the laser, right?

 

[Encap]

Right.

Accidents are accidents/unintended and with lasers accidents happen so fast there is no possibility of making a correction while in progress.
Better to prevent the possibility of an eye damaging laser accident than be one looking for a place to happen.

Excellent choice of glasses. Eagle Pair are good quality laser safety glasses.

See: https://laserpointerforums.com/threads/hit-in-eye-with-1000mw-445nm-blue-laser.69469/

 

[paul1598419]

I look at diffused reflections from my lasers all the time without goggles. Not anywhere near as close as 1.5 feet, but from 10 to 12 feet and over many years of doing this I have experienced no injury to my eyes. And the tiny amount of IR from a 301 laser is negligible. It also follows the visible beam for the most part until it diverges which then makes it harmless.

 

[MajorLazor]

I look at diffused reflections from my lasers all the time without goggles. Not anywhere near as close as 1.5 feet, but from 10 to 12 feet and over many years of doing this I have experienced no injury to my eyes. And the tiny amount of IR from a 301 laser is negligible. It also follows the visible beam for the most part until it diverges which then makes it harmless.

Wondering if this is due to IR leakage? The first shot is in the visible range with the diffraction grating attached. The second one is the same thing, but shot with an IR-converted camera (850 nm). Since this filter should block out anything below 850 nm, I'm thinking there's definitely IR being emitted from my 301-style laser?

 

[paul1598419]

Sure, there is some IR leakage with those 532nm 301 pointers, but if the actual power is 80 mW, the total IR component is ~12 mW and it diverges faster than the visible light. Why be concerned about such a small amount when it follows the visible beam and, once it diverges enough to be able to hit your eye without the visible beam doing so, it is no longer more than a tiny fraction of a mW. If you are going to worry, do it about the green collimated light. The IR is inconsequencial.

 

[MajorLazor]

Thanks. Yeah, the IR doesn't seem like too big a deal. The intensity doesn't seem all that strong. FWIW, I have an IR flashlight, and if I shine that on the same wall and look with my IR camera, it looks brighter than the IR leakage from the laser.

 

[paul1598419]

I have a 1+ watt 808nm laser that I built some time ago. I use an IR camera to collimate the beam, though the dot is faintly visible as a dark red dot.

 

[Zone47]

I have some Eagle goggles and they are like 190-540nm OD6+ so not too worried about any purple blue or green. The only thing is most of those 532 nm greenies have the IR leakage and you never know how strong it is pen to pen. I don't want to take any chances so I ordered some IR blocking filters to install in the lens cap. I'm hoping that eliminates most of the 808. I don't think it's going to catch anything 1000nm or higher ... still researching it.

Too bad if being outside you can't get away with pointing a laser down a field or totally away into the cloudy sky to see all the glory of the color. It's tempting but man, not worth any chance of reflection or other blunder.

I don't mess with any high powered red lasers but need to get some glasses for the low powered pens that I play with indoors because most of them are well over 5 mW which is enough to hose things up if they reflect back to me. Anyone know of cheap but effective glasses in the orange and red band?

 

[Encap]

Survival Lasers Eagle Pairs are the lowest cost actually effective and certified laser good glasses/goggles.

Cheaper are a crap shoot as to whether they work effectively at all.

 

[Sebastian]

All right, I've read through the threads we have going regarding protective eyewear for 445nM, and found myself less than satisfied.

I just want to know where I can get some good, trustworthy protection, preferably shipped from inside the USA. It doesn't need to be cheap; I've already dropped > $200 on this laser I'm going to build, and that much more to keep my eyeballs from melting out of my head doesn't seem unreasonable. Price should be commiserate with quality though, of course.

Oh, and I already wear glasses, so I need something that can go over them without being hideously uncomfortable. Or, I need to get some contacts.

Thanks in advance!

Hi, I personally like the eagle pair goggles. You can choose the optical density depending on the laser you're building. I don't know if they will fit over existing glasses but wearing glasses near Powerful laser beams can amplify eye damage. The glasses cost around $50

 

[Dundee]

I have a couple 3-Watt blue 450nm and a couple half Watt green 520nm and the LPS glasses for them wipe out the beams completely and reduce the dots to minimal. I'm no expert on glasses but at 8 bones they seem to do the job although they are cheap plastic. Anyone else try them out?

 

[Rosalita Gata]

I bought these from Survival Laser. $50 + $5 shipping. I will use them with my 3W 445nm Sanwu Challenger II. They fit comfortably over my glasses. What does $150 get that these don't have? Are they glass and more scratch resistant? There appears to be no upper limit on price. I've seen prices over $1000.

 

[Rosalita Gata]

I have a couple 3-Watt blue 450nm and a couple half Watt green 520nm and the LPS glasses for them wipe out the beams completely and reduce the dots to minimal. I'm no expert on glasses but at 8 bones they seem to do the job although they are cheap plastic. Anyone else try them out?

I got those included with my Sanwu Pocket 445nm 500 mW. They work well, but I suspect they will scratch easily. I lend them to my spectators.