Do you guys recommend mesh?

[Ouzx]

Recently bought a full face mask with the hard plastic protection, and mesh eye part as I sweat loads and with glasses it's just a struggle and effort with fogging etc.. But I keep reading a lot of bad things about mesh like BB's chipping and going into your eye, and even the BB's just going straight through the mask. So what's your opinions? Thanks.

 

[Tariq]

I've only ever heard of it in person once. Was a cheap set of mesh and it actually hit the frame and knocked the frame out, causing the bb to hit him.

I've been shot many times in my mesh glasses and they've all bounced off. It probably is possible to get a shot to break up, although the mesh would usually deform to reduce the impact. Would mean a new set of glasses but they've just protected you.

Only seen BBs break up when at point blank range or a hot gun... i.e. 500fps sniper shooting at a land rover wheel arch we're all standing next to while waiting to start game.

 

[rexfan10]

I think having bb's go straight through is pretty rare, however i have heard that on ocasion fragments of bb's making there way through ( but thats probabaly only with poor quality bb's or coming from a high power gun ), and seeing as you say you are wearing glasses anyway, it should be fine. Plus there are plenty of people on this forum that wear mesh goggles/glasses anyway so i think your good. If you are really worried you could buy another mask that is the same and shoot it point blank a couple times with your AEG untill your satisfyed.

 

[rexfan10]

haha, beat me to it Tariq! xD

 

[Tariq]

Biggest non-safety issue is glare. If you look into the direction of the sun, especially as it sets/rises you get it bouncing off every hole in the mesh. Still able to see, just everything looks a little more yellow.

Miles ahead of fogging up though.

 

[rexfan10]

I have always used big science labortatory type goggles that my Dad picked up from Highland Industrial supplies for £2. I got them because they were 1. cheap 2. fit over my glasses and 3. didnt steam up. I had only purchased them for when my mates and I had small skirmishes on our croft with low power springers, but now we are buying more and more poweful bolt action rifles so i decided to test my lab goggles. ( i just did this just now, and we have gone over our internet usage again so i cant upload pictures atm ) But basically i stood 50 feet away ( our usual MED ) and fired a few shots with my 430 fps B.A.R and there was literally the smallest little indentations on the plastic that were hardly noticeable, so i just went straight point blank and was happy to find that it left a very, very small mark. I also shot the rubber sides to see if it would stop a bb coming in from the side, and again, there was a tiny mark. I am pretty satisfyed considering they cost 2 or 3 quid I might get another pair and test them to destruction, but i can imagine it would take 100's of shots XD , Rex.

 

[Airsoft Related Nickname]

I'm scared of mesh

I am very squeamish when it comes to eyes so I stick with lensed(?) goggles.

I wear glasses too so even getting goggles that create a good full seal can be tricky. I use Bolle X500s that I have modified slightly. I have removed the foam inserts around the side of the frame and replaced it with a mesh. I also wear a mesh lower face mask and a M88 helmet. I do get some fogging but Fogtech helps.

So mesh might well be fine with only minimum risk but it's not a risk I'm going to take.

 

[padraigthesniper]

i would say mesh is good but if you want proper goggles its going to cost more i like revision as they are less prone to fog and if they are good enough for the military they are good enough for me to play airsoft

 

[Tariq]

I was pretty sceptical at first. Its pretty much all i wear now though.

Only use clear glasses for pistol shooting now.

 

[Hibernator]

Mesh user here too. If you are going for mesh, make sure you get good quality. I'd recommend either Heroshark in the UK or Bitter End in the US (reasonable shipping costs!)

 

[two_zero]

Do you guys recommend mesh?

if you want to have your eye shot out.

I use it for lower face, that risk I am prepare to take. Also having a two piece mask means I can remove the lower in between games.

you might want something that seals around the eyes, my last game a bb came while my head was slight bent down, past my goggles and glasses and hit my eyebrow. that freaks you out a bit!

 

[Tariq]

Well don't go cheap china stuff

Agree with the 2nd mask, that has happened to one of our masks where it breaks away eventually.

However who receives full auto at point blank straight into the glasses??? I've been to some bad sites but never found a time where that would happen. Plus its a US store, where AEGs are around 400fps.

 

[two_zero]

those dont look like cheap china, even id they where.. worth the risk? I've been fired at point blank (2 inch aprox) to the face, ok never a 30round auto but never the less, things happen. and I would never wear any protection if I knew it would only just do 1j.

again, if you think its worth the risk, atleast its not like with lasers where you cant make your own decision.

the other thing people seem to have noted is if they get hit paint fragment can fly of and would get straight into your eyes.

 

[Hibernator]

450fps, point blank, full auto! Not a very realistic test, and even after the first bursts they didn't fail, but deformed. Any goggle that takes hits like that should be replaced immediately regardless - the lenses have done their job and protected your eye, but will now be a lot weaker. It's the same principle as cycle helmets etc... If you come off hard and it saves your head, you should replace it because the impact will have weakened it.

I see lots of people wearing those exact mesh goggles, but I prefer to stick to higher quality ones. I mainly wear ESS NVGs because I find mesh a bit dark to look through, but when I get too hot/sweaty I will happily swap to my Bitter End mesh goggles to prevent the fogging.

I would imagine that most sites would ban mesh goggles if they were as dangerous as is often made out. Yet every site I have ever played at that does hire kit only uses mesh goggles for the rentals, so they must be fine from the insurers point of view.

 

[magicaldr]

450fps, point blank, full auto! Not a very realistic test, and even after the first bursts they didn't fail, but deformed. Any goggle that takes hits like that should be replaced immediately regardless - the lenses have done their job and protected your eye, but will now be a lot weaker. It's the same principle as cycle helmets etc... If you come off hard and it saves your head, you should replace it because the impact will have weakened it.

I see lots of people wearing those exact mesh goggles, but I prefer to stick to higher quality ones. I mainly wear ESS NVGs because I find mesh a bit dark to look through, but when I get too hot/sweaty I will happily swap to my Bitter End mesh goggles to prevent the fogging.

I would imagine that most sites would ban mesh goggles if they were as dangerous as is often made out. Yet every site I have ever played at that does hire kit only uses mesh goggles for the rentals, so they must be fine from the insurers point of view.

I have blasted my mesh goggles to destruction (I had a few pairs). Full power point blank single shot dented them. On fully auto continuous it did break away from the frame and the goggles died. However to me this is still not a failure, worst case you will get some prat blind fire full auto point blank. However in the real world, you would move, or he would see you, or you would grab the barrel and move it.

As long as it can withstand a few seconds of full auto to me its ok. As with above the issues I have seen are not so much in the mesh, as in poorly put together goggles that fall apart. So if its well made, mesh will work. Although there are different mesh 'hole' sizes as well, mine are quite fine holes in a solid metal finish so I dont see a risk of bits making it through with any energy left.

Other downsides to mesh is making everything darker and screwing up red dot sights. Upsides they never mist and while I tend to switch around, I normally end up back in mesh at some point of any days play.

One day I will get a decent fan that's silent and just works with my Bolle goggles, then they will win over the mesh

 

[bigshep]

I wear heroshark mesh goggles, always have, still on my first set after 4 years, never had a problem with them.

 

[QuadMachine]

I'm a mesh user, and the mask I use is identical to the second mask featured in that video. I did some digging around and wikipedia makes points out in a broad study there have been no recorded loss of site across the sport. The document it references is here:

http://www.airsoftsafetyfoundation.org/downloads/SB_798_Press_Release_June_17_2011.pdf

Hibernators point about insurers is also a good one. No one does more research to protect their money than insurance companies.

 

[Ouzx]

Thanks for the advice guys. Still 50/50 I see though haha, I've just bought a 'Dye i4' mask I know they're for paintball and heard they work for airsoft and they are perfect for me and no mesh!

 

[Dan's Ark]

if you want to have your eye shot out.

I wear a full face mesh mask and goggles, couple of other guys at my site have mesh goggles and the hire masks have mesh eyepieces. That test means absolutely NOTHING. Our site doesn't enforce the surrender rule, but if you're as close to someone as the guy was in the video and you shoot them directly in their goggles, it's you who is in the wrong, not them for wearing mesh.

 

[Airsoft-Ed]

I've used the same set of mesh goggles like the ones tested in the above video, for 3 years.

I have on one occasion had a BB shatter through and hit me in the eye, it was just like having sand flicked in my eye. Shut the eye, run to the safe zone, sort it out. Done.

It was a 500fps sniper on the very cusp of the MED, around 17m away. I'm glad it hit me in the eye, if it'd hit my face I'd have probably been permanently scarred.

But I've never heard of anyone losing their sight and the site insurance point is a good one. A lot of sites use mesh masks for hire gunners.

In my opinion, wearing proper lenses will offer better eye protection -that's just a given fact- but I'd argue that if I fog up and impale myself on a branch or run into a boulder that I can't see because my goggles have fogged up, and break my leg, that's worse than a bit of BB fragment hitting me in the eye that I can just rub out in the safe zone.