The state of eye pro 2024 edition

[awp_101]

In @GJM's thread about his wife's KB at the range, actual eye pro vs prescription glasses was brought up. I figure this is as good a time as any to see what the state of eye pro is going into 2024.

My everyday glasses are prescription progressive polycarbonate lenses. I'm due for new glasses soon. What would I need to know in order to find out the ANSI rating, or if they even have an ANSI rating? Should I be wearing side shields as well?

I know it's possible to bring your pistol (or at least the slide) to some eye doctors and have shooting specific glasses made. I don't have one of those docs. There's also places you can send your prescription to and they will make them. Who are the go-to's for that nowadays? Which ones are reasonably priced? Which ones are the best value (even if they aren't the cheapest)?

Same questions for those don't require prescription shooting glasses (ah yes, I remember those days well )?

[RJ]

Following.

I currently wear prescription glasses as well as eye protection. My correction is like 20/1400 or something wild like that. In February I go in for a consultation on cataract surgery. The Doc claimed at my check up last year that it was possible I would not need glasses, at all, after they took my cloudy lenses out and popped in the new bionic ones. I'll still wear eye pro, of course.

This is what I have now. They are about the only Z87+ rated eye pro that fit over my (fairly large) prescription glasses I have been able to find.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...e?ie=UTF8&th=1

[vcdgrips]

Ramble follows, edge of my lane

My starting point is the army’s approved eyepro list. Many of the options have the ability to have a “carrier” with Rx lens. Additionally/alternatively, you can go the contacts route.

https://www.peosoldier.army.mil/Equi...d-Eyewear-QPL/

I need a distance correction and I have some astigmatism. For iron sighted shooting, historically, I had come to under correct my dominate shooting eye a bit to get a fairly sharp front sight focus with a good distance correction as well. Some folks have had great success with not correcting their dominant eye and only correcting their other “mono correction.” If you are running contacts, this opens the whole list above.

As I have moved to RDS Pistols, I am using an older Rx set of ESS Frames that were ground by the ESS “in house” shop. This was several years ago. ( my Rx has stayed within .25 diopter forever. I am told that such a variation is in the realm of reasonableness given the interface between the patient, the dr, the equipment, time of day, lighting etc.)

In short, I am using my standard distance optimized correction with no issues with an RDS pistol. I therefore could conceivably use some type of over the street glasses piece but have not to date.


I was told by the optician (who was doing work for both Oakley and ESS before they were acquired by Luxotica) that my ESS Rx lenses he used (for both my clear shooting glasses and a set of 1st gen CDI sunglasses) were mil spec and far exceeded basic ANSI ratings but they could not be advertised as such because neither my glasses themselves nor a sample of my lens material had been tested to that spec in contrast to the non Rx versions. I took him at his word.

Clear as mud?

[awp_101]

I currently wear prescription glasses as well as eye protection. My correction is like 20/1400 or something wild like that. In February I go in for a consultation on cataract surgery. The Doc claimed at my check up last year that it was possible I would not need glasses, at all, after they took my cloudy lenses out and popped in the new bionic ones. I'll still wear eye pro, of course.

My wife and SiL had cataract surgery this year. SiL was Mar-Apr time frame IIRC, my wife Oct-Nov. SiL has had a film develop which is normal and will have to be removed and it's just starting for my wife. Be prepared for your eyes to fluctuate longer than any time frame the doc provides. My wife's correction wasn't as drastic as yours but she ended up at 20/20 and 20/25 and needs readers depending on lighting, eye fatigue, etc.

My starting point is the army’s approved eyepro list. Many of the options have the ability to have a “carrier” with Rx lens. Additionally/alternatively, you can go the contacts route.

https://www.peosoldier.army.mil/Equi...d-Eyewear-QPL/

We've recently been told about a program at work where they will provide prescription safety glasses and IIRC some of the choices look a lot like the ones in that link. I'll have to go back and find the link we were sent to verify, but if there's any crossover I'll post about it here.

[BillSWPA]

For those with presbyopia as well as being nearsighted, Varilux X lenses work very well as shooting glasses. If I recall correctly GJM has also had success with this lens design. Each lens includes hexagonal sections throughout, with each section correcting for distance, close reading, or something in between. The corrections are distributed througout the lens. This design places multiple images on your retina, and your brain picks the correct image.

I always get my glasses and prescription sunglasses with polycarbonate lenses so that they provide some eye protection. Polycarbonate is a very common lens material, and sometimes seems to be the default choice.

I wouud be interested in shooting glasses which fit over glasses without any risk of scratching the glasses.

[whomever]

... I wouud be interested in shooting glasses which fit over glasses without any risk of scratching the glasses.

We've been happy with these (or similar, ours are a couple of years old):

https://www.amazon.com/DEWALT-Safety.../dp/B094LWVDJZ


============
Re a different post:
For the 'my eye doc wouldn't be happy with me bringing in a pistol' concern, could you bring in just a slide? Or just tell them you really, really need glasses that let you focus on your thumb held at arm's length, because reasons? Maybe you just need a crisp view of a computer screen at that distance, or you like to read fine print books held at arms length, or whatever...

[JCN]

In @GJM's thread about his wife's KB at the range, actual eye pro vs prescription glasses was brought up. I figure this is as good a time as any to see what the state of eye pro is going into 2024.

My everyday glasses are prescription progressive polycarbonate lenses. I'm due for new glasses soon. What would I need to know in order to find out the ANSI rating, or if they even have an ANSI rating? Should I be wearing side shields as well?

I know it's possible to bring your pistol (or at least the slide) to some eye doctors and have shooting specific glasses made. I don't have one of those docs. There's also places you can send your prescription to and they will make them. Who are the go-to's for that nowadays? Which ones are reasonably priced? Which ones are the best value (even if they aren't the cheapest)?

Same questions for those don't require prescription shooting glasses (ah yes, I remember those days well )?

Hunters Gold HD has Rx + ANSI safety rating.

[JSGlock34]

Ramble follows, edge of my lane

My starting point is the army’s approved eyepro list. Many of the options have the ability to have a “carrier” with Rx lens. Additionally/alternatively, you can go the contacts route.

https://www.peosoldier.army.mil/Equi...d-Eyewear-QPL/

Lots of glasses meet ANSI Z87 but few meet MIL-PRF-32432A. The Army APEL (Authorized Protective Eyewhere List) is a good resource. There are a few articles out there on the differences between the ANSI and military standards - notably MIL-PRF testing produces approximately 7 times the impact energy used in the ANSI test.

Oakley and ESS are owned by the same parent company and some components interchange. I have a set of ESS prescription inserts that fit into the Oakley M Frame 3.0 - for ballistic eye protection you're not going to get much better, though they look somewhat odd. These aren't my usual range wear, but I use them from time to time.

This is a stock photo of the ESS inserts in an ESS shield.



Note that for glasses to meet ANSI standards, both the lens and the frame have to pass testing. ANSI and MIL-PRF also have standards for coverage - lenses may meet impact standards but still fail the coverage requirement (which is why wrap around designs are prevalent). For example, Oakley's plutonium lenses used across their product lines exceed ANSI standards for impact, but few are actually ANSI certified. Obviously, Oakley's ballistic lineup as listed on the APEL passes the higher MIL-PRF standards.

[JSGlock34]

Hunters Gold HD has Rx + ANSI safety rating.

Just for comparison to illustrate MIL-PRF-32432 vs. ANSI testing...

Ballistic fragmentation protection after MIL-PRF-32432 is done with a projectile of 0.15 caliber and 5.85 grain for spectacles at the velocity of 640–660 fps (195–201 ms). The lens shall not be completely perforated, shattered, cracked or fractured. The frame shall stay attached to the lens during this test.

[Mirolynmonbro]

Hunters Gold HD has Rx + ANSI safety rating.

I came here to suggest hunters gold