Protecting Your Eyes

Protecting Your Eyes

Every year, approximately 1,000,000 people suffer serious eye injuries. Approximately 30,000 are considered firearms-related. Mechanical malfunctions with your firearm, flying debris, or ricochets can change your life forever. You should protect your eyes by wearing quality shooting glasses that meet industry standards every time you go shooting. To do anything less will put your eyes at risk.

Who Decides The Standards?

Impact resistance ratings come from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OHSA), and the U.S. Military. Each provides minimum standards and build upon each other.

What Are The Standards?

OHSA Safety Standard 1910.133 requires impact resistant lens and eye protection that provides side protection when there is a hazard from flying objects. OSHA also adopts and promotes ANSI standards. Standards for impact resistance are outlined in ANSI articles Z87.1 and Z87.3. ANSI standards are workplace specific and include several different types.  On the other hand, military standards (MIL-PRF-31013) involves testing that that has seven times more impact energy than the ANSI Z87 standard. Obviously, the military standard is higher and should be considered whenever possible.

Best Option

Any eyewear that satisfies both ANSI and the military tests is your best option of all. You will have to look for the certifications either on the frames themselves or by reading manufacturer’s documentation. ANSI marking will have some type of Z87 number on the frames. There are no standard markings for the military grade, however. At a minimum, you should look for shooting glasses that have an ANSI Z87.1 + rating. You can find ANSI.1+ certified shooting glasses for under ten dollars.

If you’d like more information or have any questions, feel free to email me at Murgado.a@livefreearmory.com. Please remember that Live Free Armory is here to help you whether you choose to buy from us or not.  We believe that obtaining the right information should always be your first step.