Over Glasses Safety Glasses
I got new glasses the other day and while trying on 200 different pairs, I made a comment about glasses having polycarbonate lenses like safety glasses, so my regular glasses should be adequate protection. Au Contraire! The associate helping me find the proper fitting specks informed me that… While polycarbonate lenses in regular glasses may not shatter, if they come out of the frames, they pop IN towards your face. The lenses inside safety glasses pop out. SO I learned that I need Over Glasses Safety Glasses to be truly protected!
In short, regular glasses do not offer the same protection as safety glasses! SOOooo, ASAP I started looking at options. I looked at prescription safety glasses first. But I decided it would be a pain to switch glasses constantly. I thought it would be easier to find safety glasses to go over the top of my regular glasses.
I have pretty big frames (’cause I like the current nerdy style) so I had to look- very- hard to find over glasses safety glasses that would fit! I found three pairs to try out. These were under $10 each from Amazon.
Over Glasses Safety Glasses
First up we have Crews ($6.98). These are my favorite of the three because they fit over my glasses the best. These are the most comfortable to me…except when I take them off. They have a grippy “hybrid black temple sleeve” that pulls my hair – every time!
(This probably wouldn’t be an issue for short hair but for long hair that is pulled up in a pony or bun, it’s a B! And, long hair should always be pulled back when working with power tools!)
No worries! The temple sleeves can be easily pulled out. Then a couple little pokey nubs will be exposed. These can be sanded off. I used 80 grit sandpaper to sand them down, then 220 to smooth out the scratches made by the course 80. Then I buffed the stems silky smooth with some 600.
Now they’re perfect!
Next, we have Global Vision ($6.16). These glasses are…a statement to say the least! The lens part is not as tall as the previous ones and my glasses don’t fit inside these quite as well. They still work and are a close second. The great thing about these is there is no grippy rubber anywhere on them so the stems slide in and out of my pulled back hair with no problems at all!
Next up are Gateway ($3.99) safety glasses. These fit really well over my large frame regular glasses too. Just as well as the first pair. The downside to these is the whole stem is grippy and I can’t see a remedy. They’re just long hair pullers. I’ll keep them as back up.
I now have a pair sitting at my table saw and another at the station where I use most of my portable tools for quick access to proper eye protection over my glasses.
‘Cause I only got one pair of these baby blues and I don’t want to lose them!
Are your eyes protected? Here’s the lineup again if you’re interested in getting one or more of the same.
Check out my other “Safety Tips”
I think I have those same DeWalt ones. The giant goggles with an elastic band? I do like when I’m drilling above my head because they are completely sealed but they are just tooooo much for slipping on while I make a cut on the table saw etc.
I’ve always had trouble finding good, over-the-glasses safety glasses. Like you, I buy the poly carbonite lenses. They actually saved an eye once when a drill bit carved a trench through a lense. Still, I wear safety glasses now.
I’m going to check these three out. They look much better than the big old pair I use that look like a clear version of glaucoma sunglasses. Don’t even get me started on the old-school goober goggles with the elastic headband.
One thing you didn’t mention, that I’ve struggled with in the past was clearance between the lenses. Over time, I’ve had them rub and scratch my new (expensive) glasses. Any thoughts on this from the ones you tried?
What a perfect timing! I was just thinking about it yesterday. I have all sort of personal protection, including goggles and a face mask for working with chemicals. Unfortunately I am getting old and now need reading glasses.
Yesterday, while assembling a piece of furniture, suddenly realized that not only I can’t read the instructions with naked eyes but can’t see whether the screws are philips or pozi. And my regular glasses kept falling off if I bent too low. Very annoying 🙁 It made me think what I am supposed to do if the job requires safety glasses. Was going to post a question on the local DIY forum 🙂
You crazy. 🙂
Thanks for these reviews Sandra. As a glasses wearer I have been looking for some for a while too. I ended up with some heavy looking Dewalt ones but think I will give some of these a try too!