Prescription safety glasses

[Matthew Curtis]

Now that I am older and needing to wear glasses, I am wondering what those of you who wear glasses use for eye safety?

Do you use goggles, glasses that go over your current ones or a prescription safety pair of glasses?

Where is a cheap place to get prescription safety glasses?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

All I wear is my prescription safety glasses.

[Roger Nair]

For years I have used face shields either screen or clear plastic while wearing normal glasses. For the most part, I prefer screens.

[Ronald Blue]

My first thought is do you want to trust your eyesight to "cheap" safety glasses? I do think there are lower cost options that will give you eye protection. I am fortunate because my work supplies my prescription safety glasses. Check with your eye care provider. Almost all will have samples to show and fit you with. If they want to break the bank you can also order online. Your optometrist has to give you your eye prescription although they might try to make you feel like a heel for asking. Keep in mind that you will still need goggles or a face shield for some tasks. I have a Trend Airshield Pro for those times. Here is a link to a company that appears to be offering safety glasses at a fair price. I can't vouch for them and have no specific knowledge about them. I just googled "low cost safety glasses".

vseyewear.com/store-pres/prescription-safety-glasses.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwzcbWBRDmARIsAM6uChWf23W p1o1AjDL7-h5pORNQBWiIW4cYDMbRhs65Mllx78TYtsrrTpIaArfPEALw_wc B

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Robert,

I paid $700 for my safety glasses. I don't consider that cheap.

[Andrew Hughes]

I also just wear my prescription glasses with the safety squint. That's two layers of protection

[johnny means]

Cheap safety glass are pretty much a shop staple and are absolutely up to the task. Really, what do they need to do to be safe?

[Jamie Buxton]

I wear prescription safety glasses in the shop. I like the wrap-around style. I got mine from rx-safety.com , and I was quite happy with them.

I was skeptical about getting a good fit online. The solution is to buy several candidates in the "frame-only" version. Decide which one fits you best, then return them all, with your prescription. Tell rx-safety which one you want, and tell them to use the return money into putting the corrective lenses in your chosen frame. Rx-safety has a 100% return policy for thirty days, which neatly supports this process.

I didn't invent this process. When I bought the glasses, rx-safety made a fairly big deal about it. The current web site doesn't make as big a deal about it. But the "frame-only" option still exists, and the return policy still exists, so you can still use the process.

[Jacques Gagnon]

Matthew,

Your options will be somewhat dictated by your prescription. I have used various approaches over time, ranging from safety glasses with lenses in the bottom portion; drugstore reading glasses behind a face shield; more recently industrial quality frames with safety lenses (probably similar to what Ken mentioned) as a result of a more complicated prescription than before. Optical performance of various products will vary - you may need to try a few products.

[Jim Morgan]

Since our daughter turned 26 and is no longer on our health insurance, we don't dip into our FSA as much as we used to. At the beginning of March, we still had $200-odd in the account - had to use it by March 15 or lose it. Got some safety frames with wrap-around wings and single-vision prescription lenses with a scratch-resistant Crizal coating. Came to about $420 altogether (~$200 out of this year's FSA), worth it for the peace of mind.

[Wayne Lomman]

I use prescription safety glasses all the time unless grinding or welding. I use the appropriate face shield then. Grinding sparks and plastic lenses don't mix. For me I have to make sure the lenses are solvent resistant. Some aren't but I can never remember which plastic is best until I'm at the optometrist. Cheers

[Alex Zeller]

I was lucky enough to have my work pay for a set. I had to ask for glass lenses. If you are only going to use them occasionally the poly lenses would be fine but I was worried about the lenses getting scratched). I do believe mine are 3M brand (I keep them at work so they aren't handy to verify). I have to believe that any of the discount on-line places selling them as long as they meet the ANSI standard they are going to protect as well as can be expected. They may not have as nice of a protective coating on the lenses to prevent scratching.

[Jamie Buxton]

James' mention of cost reminds me that online glasses are much less expensive than buying from a bricks-and-mortar store. Online prescription safety glasses -- ANSI specs and all -- can be found for less than a hundred bucks.

If you're going for bifocals or progressives, the fitting process at a bricks-and-mortar store is nearly impossible to replicate online. But if you're just getting single-correction lenses, online is much more cost-effective.

[Thomas Canfield]

After cataract surgery 10+ years back all I need is readers except I still need trifocals for shop work. Prescription is clear, +1, and +2. I had a pair of safety glasses made that allow use of side shields and wear them when doing any type of work in shop, mowing, etc. Walmart has been the best price when checking lately to get replacement glasses, but old still work. I do have some of the cheap plastic bifocal safety glasses but the bifocal area is so small that it is only useful for doing limited reading. Side shields on safety glasses to me a requirement learned from 40+ years of having tem required in work area.

[Jim Becker]

While I don't require prescription lenses for this kind of work, I do need "cheaters" that have reading accommodation in the lower half of the lens. I'm easily able to buy that from Safety Glasses USA in styles I like...and I happen to prefer styles that have a wider reading area, rather than just a narrow window.