Ballistic safety glasses are a must-have accessory for any shooting activity. After all, you only have one pair of eyes, and wearing an eyepatch doesn't exactly seem appealing.
Before you go out and get all those tactical weapon attachments and other great equipment, make sure you have a good pair of ballistic safety glasses. In this blog, we will discuss what you need to look for in protective eyewear. Let's get started.
What Exactly Are Ballistic or Safety Eyewear?
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Any sort of glasses or goggles designed to protect you against bullets, fragments, and other threats you might encounter in a tactical situation is known as ballistic eyewear.
Tactical eyewear includes all eyeglasses that can withstand the severe surroundings and demanding standards of military and range use. To put it another way, these glasses are built to last.
Reasons To Consider Getting Ballistic Eyewear
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1) Keeping Your Eyes Safe From the Unforeseeable
Anything may happen when you're out in the woods or on the range, and not all hunting and shooting injuries are caused by guns. Shooters are thrown from tree stands, caught off guard by branches snapping back at them as they stroll through the woods, and exposed to a variety of other dangers. When hunting or on the range, ballistics glasses can be worn in place of ordinary eyeglasses to keep the eyes safe from unanticipated risks at all times.
2) Protecting Yourself From the Sun
Anyone who spends a lot of time outside, such as farmers, hunters, and fishermen, is at risk of acquiring UV-related eye growths, which can cause vision loss. Excessive sun exposure can cause not only the development of dangerous eye growths, but it can also lead to more serious conditions in the future.
Diseases like cataracts and eye cancers can take years to develop, but each time we expose ourselves to the sun without protection, we may be causing harm to our eyes, increasing our chances of developing these terrible conditions. For this reason, babies and children must wear caps and sunglasses. When out in the open, people of all ages should take care. Ballistic glasses can help protect you from these dangers.
3) Clarity
Another incentive to use ballistic glasses if you want to improve your shooting skills is clarity. Images are magnified by those gas station sunglasses (and most regular lenses). Ballistic glasses provide clearer vision throughout the whole field of view.
You can be confident in your AOR because of this clarity. Never again will you have to second-guess what you're seeing. This isn't only a visual advantage; it's also a tactical advantage when you're on the field.
Ballistic Glasses VS Ballistic Goggles
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Both ballistic safety glasses and goggles have benefits and drawbacks. The distinction between the two is rather obvious.
Goggles are completely sealed and provide 360° protection for your eyes from dirt, debris, and projectiles coming from all sides. They are generally heavier and bulkier in design due to their high level of protection.
Glasses, on the other hand, do not offer the same level of protection as goggles but are lighter and more comfortable. Remind yourself that whether you can wear them for lengthy periods of time in the field or on the range depends on how comfortable they are. When choosing your glasses, keep in mind that some come with wraparound styles to provide maximum protection from the sides.
When it comes to fog, goggles have a higher probability than glasses. This is due to their complete seal. Fogging glasses, on the other hand, vary from person to person and are influenced by environmental factors.
Factors To Consider When Choosing Ballistic Eye Protection
Here are some features to look for when choosing ballistic protection for your eyes:
1) Ballistic Rating
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Ballistic glasses are required to protect you from the impact of ricochets. When purchasing a pair of shooting glasses, look for two ratings. The ANSI Z87.1 is the first. Most safety eyewear you'll see in factories and industrial settings is classified using this rating. Although these glasses protect your eyes from light hits, they are only a minimal spec, and you should not rely on them to keep your eyes safe when shooting.
MIL-PRF-31013, often known as MILSPEC, is the second rating. When choosing a pair of shooting glasses, seek this rating because it means the glasses have to undergo far more rigorous testing than the ANSI grade.
Over the ANSI level, the MILSPEC glasses will provide about 6 times the impact protection.
MILSPEC glasses are more expensive than ANSI-rated glasses, which makes sense because they provide more protection.
2) Scratch-Resistant Coatings
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Ballistic eyewear lenses are often constructed of polycarbonate (a thermoplastic polymer) rather than glass to prevent shattering. Polycarbonate is far more easily scratched than glass, and scratches can impair visibility in critical situations. Anti-scratch coatings do not prevent the chance of scratched lenses, but they do harden the polycarbonate and boost its overall scratch resistance.
3) Dimensions and Fit
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It's vital to remember that if you're going to use your ballistic safety glasses with ear pads or headsets, the frame of your eyewear must be thin enough. This is to ensure a good seal. Earpads with relief cuts are another alternative.
Also, keep in mind that everyone's face is different when choosing glasses! This means that eyewear that is ideal for one of your friends may not be suitable for you.
4) UV Shielding
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Everyone is aware of the dangers that UVA, UVB, and UVC rays can pose to your skin. Long-term exposure to these rays has a negative impact on your eyes. If you spend a lot of time outside in the sun, invest in a set of UV-protective tactical sunglasses or goggles.
5) Consider Vision Requirements
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When it comes to choosing the correct protective eyewear, features like an adjustable nose piece and compatibility with prescription inserts might be beneficial.
Prescription eyewear also requires the use of frames that can accommodate prescription lenses or a matching insert. Particularly in spectacles or goggles with a wraparound fit, measurements like pupillary distance may make a difference in terms of preventing distortion.
Clear or Tinted Lenses?
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The color spectrum offered in ballistic eyewear, as well as the scenarios in which they're most suited and the quantity of visible light transmission they allow, are shown below.
Clear Lenses:
Clear lenses are ideal in temperate areas or while working with optics. They work well in low-light and clear situations. Clear lenses don't provide much in terms of visual benefits other than a degree of ballistic protection.
Purple/Blue Lenses:
If you're shooting at a range with gorgeous trees in the background, you'll want to choose a purple or blue lens tint. These hues help to improve contrast, especially when compared to greens (trees/grass) and oranges (the target), allowing you to keep your eyes on the target and only the target.
Brown Lenses:
Brown lenses are preferred by some hunters and target shooters because they boost the contrast of orange-colored targets. They work well in open places, such as fields or parks, and direct sunlight. Brown glasses are "soothing" to many hunters, reducing eye strain and keeping them alert.
Orange and Yellow Lenses:
Safety glasses with an orange or yellow tint tend to block off "blue light," and highlight the orange color of a practice target. These colors improve accuracy by increasing contrast and depth perception.
Amber Lenses:
Amber lenses for shooting glasses are a popular choice. They also block blue light and are best used on gloomy days with low light. Even on rainy days, the amber tint creates a great contrast between colors, making the target's orange pop out.
Lenses with Polarization:
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Reflected light and glares are very aggravating to the eyes. Polarized lenses eliminate glare by blocking off reflected light with a unique chemical coating. However, when picking polarized lenses, keep in mind that they have benefits as well as drawbacks.
Polarized lenses can provide much-needed glare shielding in marine or winter situations. However, because polarised lenses are narrow, their level of ballistic protection may be compromised. They can also cause LED displays to become distorted or even disappear entirely at certain angles.
Summary
When driving a car, you use a seat belt to keep yourself safe. When riding a motorcycle or a bike, you wear a helmet. Why wouldn't you do everything in your power to safeguard your vision? Ballistic eyewear is a little investment in something extremely valuable: your vision.
It all boils down to what works best for you when it comes to ballistic eyewear. Make sure that the glasses you get are on the authorized protective eyewear list. If you're a civilian shooter, ANSI Z87-rated goggles and eyewear will keep you safe from harm. If you're in the military, make sure you follow the MIL-PRF and MIL-DTL protection regulations. From there, you may choose from a variety of safety measures and options to safeguard your eyes and keep yourself safe, as indicated above.
We hope that you found this article useful. Be sure to share it with other gun enthusiasts like yourself!