Why the importance of paintball approved goggles anyway...

[six4]

Well I will tell you why. Saturday afternoon in the heat of a battle on the Bigfoot field Dirtbag fired a simple burst ( p90 fps of 365 with m/t .25's )into an enemy that actualy cracked the first lens layer on a set of JT thermal lens goggles. JT products are one of the highest standards of eyewear protection so this goes to show the importance of "approved" eye protection. Bleeders heal......eyes do not.

[Shirley]

365 FPS with .25g is alot of power..
Heavier the BBs, the more damage.
So the P90 shot aroun 400 FPS with .20g.

[Donster]

i dont see the problem. the goggles did what they were supposed to do. sucky that a new lens has to be bought, but at least the guy is able to fight another day.

[heikis]

i dont think paintball goggles should be used in airsoft

[Scarecrow]

What do you propose we use? I often play with AOS Safety glasses at private fields, however, they don't offer the same coverage protection paintball goggles do. I happen to be lucky with the shape of my face that they cover all angles, but I often see people play with gaps under or around their eyes with safety glasses.

[heikis]

Originally Posted by Scarecrow

What do you propose we use? I often play with AOS Safety glasses at private fields, however, they don't offer the same coverage protection paintball goggles do. I happen to be lucky with the shape of my face that they cover all angles, but I often see people play with gaps under or around their eyes with safety glasses.

why not anything that has ANSI Z87.1 requirements? ESS and many others have a fine line of goggles.

[Scarecrow]

ESS often get used, but again at private fields. One of the main reasons you see paintball goggles at fields, particularly commercial paintball fields that allow airsoft, is that their insurance dictates the nature of the eye protection, and paintball goggles are an established standard the industry recognizes.

ANSI Z87.1 is an excellent standard and I agree with you in that regard, however, there are issues such as fitment and method of securing the protection to the head that are also important that are unaddressed in ANSI Z87.1.

Paintball goggles inherently protect around the edges and angular shots and they are secured using an elastic fabric to prevent them from moving once they're secured to the head and face. While some ESS models do this to an extent, there are also lines of safety goggles that attach only through the traditional frames of glasses, which makes them hazardous as they can move or be dislodged, particular if the player becomes very physical during a game (diving/rolling etc.).

[Scarecrow]

Incidently how were these goggles stored? I often see people put their goggles on their dashboards or leave them in a gearbag in a car. Radiant thermal heating and cooling at extreme ranges (car dashes can get up to 130 degrees in the sun on a summer day, and freeze in the winter) can compromise the material the lens is made of (expansion and contraction).

[wildcard]

Originally Posted by Scarecrow

Incidently how were these goggles stored? I often see people put their goggles on their dashboards or leave them in a gearbag in a car. Radiant thermal heating and cooling at extreme ranges (car dashes can get up to 130 degrees in the sun on a summer day, and freeze in the winter) can compromise the material the lens is made of (expansion and contraction).

this is so true, recently i get to try a new toy so i happen to have an old JT goggles that haven't been cared for for years, a few burst of .20 from a stock galil cracked the first layer of lenses. another shot with a madbull 204 with 750psi penetrated the goggles with ease. So take care of those goggles no matter what makes.

[Danke]

Change your lenses every couple of years (or more if you get shot in the face often).

[Scavenger]

I dont have my goggle's manual on hand, but after owning a few pairs, i recall at least one manual recommend you replace the lens after a direct shot, regardless if there is visible damage or not. This, in most cases, would seem a bit overkill, however from what ive seen goggles wise (and safety) are generally not the main thing on people's list when it comes to buying gear for airsoft.

Due to the nature of the plastics used in paintball goggles lens, most manufacturers suggest specific types of cleaning solutions, as to not weaken it... including a suggestion to replace the lens every 6 months to a year. This is also why i generally have more than one pair of goggles on me at a time... or at least a replacement lens minimum.

If you play at paintball fields often, you are required by them to use paintball-approved goggles. This is simply something you cannot avoid. I would suggest getting a decent pair of paintball goggles that you can easily replace the lens. A simple lens replacement for the pair i happen to have goes for $20 which is cheap.

[georgehutchison]

retirering googles after certain use seems like a great idea to me. As a rock and ice climber I have a ton of gear that has been retired. I will spend $300 on a rope and replace it after only 10-15 decent falls. If i drop a $25 caribeaner onto a rock even from 5 feet i will retire it to another use.

Safety is very important and as stated we only have 2 eyes. In general there are many injurys i have seen over the years playing airsoft but luckily eye damage has never been one of them.

I am very happy to see the majority of players being very safe when it comes to thier eyes.

[RockinShaun]

I'm worried more about the set of "eye protection" that doesn't do what it is designed to do then the set that does.

[SubbieDoo]

I too use JTs from experience in my early paintball years and have different other goggles depending on what loadout I have (got a Flakjak, Desert Locust, a UVEX thats got a 4mm thick lense and now Daisy Military shooting specs) ... but a good goggle should not crack like that ... how old is the goggle? the lense should have gone "dimple" rather than crack like that unless it has gone brittle ...

[ThunderCactus]

Originally Posted by DONSTER 125

i dont see the problem. the goggles did what they were supposed to do. sucky that a new lens has to be bought, but at least the guy is able to fight another day.

The fact the lenses cracked means the lens is underrated for what we`re doing, what would have happened if all the bbs hit the lens in the same spot??
The lens could have broken, or the lens could have fucking splintered off pieces on the inside(and I`ve seen it happen testing a 4mm thick gas mask lens).
Dont ever take eye protection lightly, you only get one pair
IMO, everyone should be using Z87.1+ glasses/goggles with 100% UVA/UVB protection