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Safety glasses keep dirt and other debris from entering your eyes while you’re performing home improvement tasks, such as drilling holes or cutting hedges. They often have special coatings that protect against UV rays, fog, glare, and scratches so that your view isn’t distorted during use.
Because there are thousands of options on the market, the This Old House Reviews Team conducted research for you, scouring Amazon for the best safety glasses. Here are our top five picks.
Top 5 Safety Glasses
- Best Standard Glasses: Magid Y50BKAFC Iconic Y50 Design Series Safety Glasses
- Best Value: TRUST OPTICS Safety Glasses
- Best Adjustability: NoCry Safety Glasses
- Best Side Protection: Gateway Safety 6980 Cover2 Safety Glasses
- Best Bifocal Glasses: DEWALT DPG59-120C Reinforcer Performance Protective Safety Glasses
Best Standard Glasses: Magid Y50BKAFC Iconic Y50 Design Series Safety Glasses
These safety glasses from Magid look like your standard prescription glasses, except they have flaps on the sides to extend protection. This makes them both stylish and functional. These glasses are also designed for long-term use with padding.
Key Features
- One pair
- Polycarbonate lenses
- Anti-fog, scratch-resistant coating
- ANSI Z87.1 specification
- Several color and quantity options
What Customers Are Saying
Reviewers said that these glasses fit a variety of head sizes. Even customers with larger heads found these glasses comfortable to wear for long periods of time. However, reviewers who weren’t satisfied with these safety goggles claimed that the lenses fogged up despite being advertised as anti-fog.
Best Value: TRUST OPTICS Safety Glasses
This pack provides you with 12 pairs of safety glasses for the price of just one of the other products in this review. This gives you enough pairs for a team of people or extra pairs if some break.
Key Features
- 12 pairs
- Glass lenses
- Scratch-resistant coating
- ANSI Z87+ specification
- Several color options
What Customers Are Saying
Many customers who were skeptical of these glasses’ effectiveness did their own home tests before using them during a real project. Their home tests proved that the glasses protected against everything from nail guns to Nerf darts. However, some customers tested the glasses under a blue light machine and found that they didn’t block out all light.
Best Adjustability: NoCry Safety Glasses
This pair of safety glasses from NoCry has adjustable side pieces that can be lengthened and shortened and adjustable nose pieces that can be turned to fit the face and nose of the user. It’s also one of the only items on our list that includes a limited lifetime warranty. The company will send you a new pair if you aren’t satisfied with your purchase.
Key Features
- One pair
- Polycarbonate lenses
- Anti-fog, scratch-resistant coating
- Several color options
What Customers Are Saying
Customers who loved these safety glasses were particularly impressed with the glasses’ lenses. Reviewers agreed that the double coating on the lenses prevented fogging. Customers who were unsatisfied with these glasses claimed that they were uncomfortable to wear because of the thin plastic near the ear tips. Some customers also claimed that the lenses scratched easily.
Best Side Protection: Gateway Safety 6980 Cover2 Safety Glasses
These safety glasses have protection all the way around the sides, making them look more like goggles than glasses. Their two-inch height is also large enough to fit over most pairs of prescription glasses.
Key Features
- One pair
- Polycarbonate lenses
- ANSI Z87.1+ specification
- Several color and quantity options
What Customers Are Saying
Amazon users raved about how they wore these safety goggles through long work shifts without them fogging up or slipping off. However, customers who weren’t satisfied complained that the sides of the glasses were too loose, causing them to move around if they were worn over smaller prescription glasses.
Best Bifocal Glasses: DEWALT DPG59-120C Reinforcer Performance Protective Safety Glasses
These safety glasses from DEWALT combine protection with visibility by offering bifocal options in different strengths. This allows them to double as reading and safety glasses. The magnifying diopter built into the lenses also reduces distortion to improve your visibility.
Key Features
- One pair
- Polycarbonate lenses
- Scratch-resistant coating
- ANSI Z87.1+ specification
What Customers Are Saying
Customers complimented the composition of these safety goggles, which they found to be both sturdy and scratch-resistant. However, some customers said that these safety goggles were uncomfortable to wear for extended periods of time.
Buyer’s Guide
Before purchasing a pair of safety glasses from lens material to impact resistance, there are a few factors to consider. Keep reading to learn more about these factors.
Impact Resistance
The main purpose of safety glasses is to protect your eyes from debris and other objects. If you want the most protection possible, look for glasses that are ANSI-certified—this certification means that the glasses have undergone a few tests to prove their protection.
For example, glasses with standard protection, or ANSI Z87.1, were undamaged after a one-inch steel ball was dropped on them from 50 inches off the ground. Glasses with high protection, or ANSI Z87.1+, survived a 0.25-inch steel ball being fired at them at 150 feet per second.
Lens Material
The lenses on your safety glasses will be made of polycarbonate, Trivex, or glass.
- Polycarbonate: Polycarbonate is lightweight, tough, and easy to mold. It also provides protection from UV rays. However, this material scratches easily and requires a protective coating.
- Trivex: Trivex is fairly new, but it has similar characteristics to polycarbonate in that it’s lightweight, tough, and UV-resistant. Lenses made of Trivex are a little easier to see through than lenses made of polycarbonate, but they’re prone to scratches.
- Glass: Glass is heavy and not as impact-resistant as polycarbonate or Trivex. However, it’s more scratch-resistant and can be made into prescription lenses at a cheaper price.
Lens Color
Different-colored lenses can assist in different lighting conditions. Here are a few of the most common lens colors:
- Plain mirror: This lets in all sunlight, but it reduces glare.
- Gold mirror: This color reduces glare and direct sunlight exposure.
- Gray: Gray reduces glare and brightness.
- Amber: Amber produces better contrast, making it best for use in poorly lit areas.
Lens Coating
In addition to lens color, you can find lenses that have different coatings. For example, an anti-static coating will prevent dirt and other debris from sticking to the lenses, and an anti-fog or anti-mist coating will keep the lenses clear in humid conditions.
Adjustability
Some safety glasses allow you to adjust the angle of the nose pieces and the length of the side pieces. This is especially useful for communal glasses that several people will wear because it allows users to adjust them to their liking.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are ANSI safety standards for safety glasses?
The American National Standards Institute (ANSI) is a nonprofit organization that creates safety standards for products. ANSI publishes criteria on how safety glasses can minimize eye and face injury every five years. The most recent addition is ANSI/ISEA Z87.1-2020. Safety glasses that meet these ANSI standards are trusted because they have undergone rigorous testing to prove their protection.
When should I use safety goggles instead of safety glasses?
Safety goggles suction directly to your face, so they’re better for environments where you’ll be exposed to harmful liquids or gases.
Can prescription glasses protect my eyes?
Prescription glasses don’t provide the same amount of protection as safety glasses. If you have prescription glasses, consider purchasing safety glasses that fit your regular glasses or finding a pair of safety glasses with a prescription. You can also look for bifocal, progressive, or photochromic lenses if you’re going the prescription route.
Why Trust The This Old House Reviews Team
This Old House has empowered homeowners for more than four decades with top-notch home improvement content in the form of television programs, print media, and digital content on its website and social media platforms. The This Old House Reviews Team focuses on creating in-depth product and service review content to help inform your purchasing decision for just about any item or resource that you might need for your home. The This Old House Reviews Team has written over 1,000 reviews on products in the home space, from cordless drills to kitchen trash cans, lawn mowers, and dining room decorations.
We recommend products in each review using an intensive research process, spending hours combing through the best available models on Amazon. For a product to make our list of top picks, it must hold a solid sales record on Amazon, have consistently positive customer reviews, and offer unique features, among other factors. After narrowing down our list of recommendations, we conduct additional research and sometimes in-person testing to ensure that the products meet our standards. Once we conclude the research phase, we craft a well-rounded, user-friendly article that includes our recommended products and additional information to help homeowners like you make the right purchase.
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