Eye wear safety issue

[Beethoven]

Hi all,

I have just taken up airsoft and am safety conscious, so I want some advice about eye ware. I wear glasses, so goggles or a mask are my preferred options.

I have bought Bolle safety goggles from Screwfix, with a maximum ballistic impact of 397ft per second. I calculate that this might be strong enough for most guns, but I am toying with getting Bolle x1000 Rex, which have a maximum ballistic impact of 721ft per second. The latter are much more expensive, but I wonder if the first option would be adequate.

All replies appreciated

 

[GeneralKimbo]

i would say go for the ones rated to stop the faster projectile. i say this as some players on your sight may be using sniper rifles and they tend to shoot around 450 to 500 fps.

 

[Beethoven]

Thank you General for your prompt and helpful reply. You make a very good point about sniper rifles. I agree that there is no point in economising on safety, as one unlucky shot could spell disaster. The Bolle x1000 are 5 times the price of the Bolle safety goggles, but well worth it if they stop my eyes from getting damaged.

 

[jcheeseright]

What you're after is something ANSI z87.1 or BS EN166f

 

[Beethoven]

Thank you jcheese for the technical specs regarding eyewear. I like the look of the Bolle rx goggles, but wonder if you have any recommendations

 

[Sacarathe]

i would say go for the ones rated to stop the faster projectile. i say this as some players on your sight may be using sniper rifles and they tend to shoot around 450 to 500 fps.

Projectile velocity in testing and rating is irrelevant without the other information (weight/projectile composition/density, and whether gravity was acting on the test surface and how the test surface was braced*).

*eg a few months back there was a guy on here saying the gropro skeleton case was too weak for an airsoft BB, but he had tested it without the hard surfaced of the camera behind it and as such had massively weakened the contact surface he was testing rendering his test entirely wasted.

For example, though we have no choice, the rating jcheese refers to above are be the best we have, but they don't take into account rapidity of impact nor that many products rated as such must be discarded if they 'survive the rated impact' during use.

Best thing you can do is try to get contact lenses.

 

[MrMcG]

Simple rule for me

Buy the best you can skimp in other areas not on your eye safety

You can buy mil spec glasses/goggles for sensible cash

 

[jcheeseright]

I personally wear ESS Crossbow glasses with prescription lens inserts, solves the problem of contact lenses being uncomfortable and also having to wear glasses. Not cheap, but then I'm on my last set of eyes so it's worth protecting them!

The prescription insert is removable too so when I play CQB I transfer it to a set of ESS Profile goggles which I have attached a face protector too so I get to stay pretty.

Anything made by ESS, Oakley, Smith Optics, Revision or WileyX will massively exceed the impact requirements of airsoft, which really is what you want. They'll be subject to impact forces many many times so you want something so tough repeated impacts won't make a difference.

 

[Beethoven]

Thanks everyone for their helpful comments, which are much appreciated.

As I don't like contact lenses and it would take time to get prescription lenses, I think I will go for the Bolle x1000rx for now.. It is STANAG 2920 standard, with ballistic impact protection up to 212 metres per second, which should be enough for anything on an airsoft site. I don't think other brands cater for glasses, I.e. to wear goggles over them, at least I have not found any.

I also wear lower face protection, which I also think is important, as I value my teeth as well as my eyes. It may not look cool, but I will always give priority to safety over looks.

 

[BrightCandle]

You might not like contacts, I don't either but unless you already know that you don't sweat enough to cause fogging with inserts in goggles here is the best bit of advice I can give. Don't get inserts and don't wear glasses under your goggles. Use contacts because fogging is the number 1 issue with full seal goggles already and when you add a set of glasses in there its much much worse. You can't play this sport if you can't see and contacts are just the best solution for sports wear.

I would recommend a pair of goggles with a fan those are the best solution I know of that are full seal. Everything else fogged too much to be useful for me. I tried glasses, I tried inserts and it was all a waste of money, contacts and the desert locusts is what finally worked and keeps working.

 

[PT247]

Projectile velocity in testing and rating is irrelevant without the other information (weight/projectile composition/density, and whether gravity was acting on the test surface and how the test surface was braced*).

*eg a few months back there was a guy on here saying the gropro skeleton case was too weak for an airsoft BB, but he had tested it without the hard surfaced of the camera behind it and as such had massively weakened the contact surface he was testing rendering his test entirely wasted.

For example, though we have no choice, the rating jcheese refers to above are be the best we have, but they don't take into account rapidity of impact nor that many products rated as such must be discarded if they 'survive the rated impact' during use.

Best thing you can do is try to get contact lenses.

I remember that post and agreed with your pov at the time. Since then however I believe Bodgeups or one of the other airsoft YouTubers had the lens get shot out from range on their GoPro case with a camera fitted.

 

[Sacarathe]

I remember that post and agreed with your pov at the time. Since then however I believe Bodgeups or one of the other airsoft YouTubers had the lens get shot out from range on their GoPro case with a camera fitted.

I've lost the LCD on my own gopro...

It's unclear to me from your text what part of the camera you're referring to being broken. At the time of the post I was referring to, my point was not that the skeleton case was BB proof but rather that whether or not the camera would take damage was dependant on more factors than just the skeleton case. Whether the shot retained the energy to [push through the skeleton lens and into the camera so as to] damage the gopro camera could not be tested without a hard surface (such as a gopro) behind the skeleton lens.

I'm confident that airsoft BBs can break the skeleton case lens with a camera inside, i've seen 5+ youtube vids confirming this - but not one of those caused noted damage to the camera.

 

[PT247]

ahh, I think his camera was ok, but the lens cover was shattered. Did mean he had no GoPro for the rest of the day though!

 

[Beethoven]

Thank everyone for their advice, which is much appreciated.

I ended up buying the Bolle x1000 rx and so far am very pleased with them. It took me a little while to learn how to manoeuvre my specs onto the goggles into a comfortable position, but now I know how to do it, they fit fine.

I was also a little worried about fogging, but so far this has not been an issue. I have played for over two hours on a warm sunny day and have not noticed any fogging.