Welding is a dangerous profession that exposes welders to quite a bit of risk. Fortunately, there are pieces of welding equipment that exist to mitigate the risks – assuming you follow protocol. Having the best welding glasses possible will cause your welding career to be prolonged immensely.
The Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) states that roughly 200 US workers receive medical treatment every day due to eye-related injuries that occur on the job. This is why it’s essential for welders to wear proper eye protection that protects them from flying metal fragments, glare, heat, UV rays, etc.
Below are the welding glasses to be reviewed.
| Product Name | Customer Reviews | Editor Rating |
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4.4 /5 Stars | |
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4.3 / 5 Stars | |
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4.5 /5 Stars | |
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3.8 /5 Stars |
How do you choose welding glasses or goggles?
There is nothing worse than thinking you did a good job of protecting yourself, only to find out you ended up with sub-par equipment. Our goal is to minimize the chance of that.
Top 3 Important Questions To Ask:
- Do the goggles fit well?
- Are they impact resistant?
- Do they provide maximum UV protection?
More details…
Sizing & Fit
You obviously need to make sure your eye protection is sturdy, comfortable, and fits around your head and eyes properly. Another very important thing to be aware of is that you should aim to purchase glasses with side protection (one reason welding goggles are popular over glasses).
Dangerous particles rarely come at you directly, instead, they float into the air and are pushed by wind or a breeze into your eye area from the peripheral side. Make sure you have side shields or wrap-around framed eyewear.
You also want to make sure that the fitting is not too tight around your head. This could create pressure and stress which in turn creates headaches and reduces your working efficiency and quality.
Impact Resistance
The American National Standards Institute z87.1-1989 states that clear polycarbonate lenses are the standard for industrial impact resistance. Essentially this means that your lenses can handle a shard of something flying off and hitting them and that they won’t weaken or crack due to it. This is all about keeping your eyes safe.
UV Protection
Welding gives off a very high volume of light that is capable of producing severe eye damage if you do not use proper protection. Welding also gives off potent UV rays, so make sure you purchase eye protection with proper shading and filters for the job. Auto-darkening welding glasses and goggles are becoming more and more popular specifically for this reason.
Dust Protection
Dust protection can potentially be remedied when ensuring a proper fit. Foam liners are a great way to protect from dust while still providing comfort.
Anti-Fog Coating
This is specifically key if you are in a high humidity area or a place where condensation can form. The welding safety glasses are typically labeled if they use this coating.
Welding Goggle Reviews
Each of these items will be checked for their ability to follow the guidelines listed above as well as for their overall functionality.
Miller Electric Shade 5.0 Welding Glasses
If you’re looking for an inexpensive option that will provide adequate protection for your eyes with ease, a possible purchasing option would likely be the Miller Electric Shade Glasses. These may look like basic welding goggles but, they have features that directly transfer over to the welding practice. Of these, a few very important ones to make note of would likely be the UV protection, Electric lens, and the polarized lens featured in the item.
As we all know, welding is an activity that exposes one to the harmful level of UV rays. These rays can deal an immense blow to one’s skin health and overall well-being if not properly checked. Let’s also not forget the fact that they can easily cause damage to one’s eyesight as well. This is where the ArcArmor UV protection comes in handy – it provides one with the coverage that one would need for their eyes to be fully protected which results in the individual prolonging the overall health of their eyes. Also, if scratching was an issue with your other glasses, or you simply don’t want to deal with the trouble of buying an item that will likely scratch up easily after being used for a period of time.
The price of the Miller Electric Shade 5.0 is reasonable – if not cheap. It can be found in various places for well under 50$; for a pair of welding glasses, this is a steal. These would be a great option if what you’re looking for are cheap welding glasses.
Jackson Safety V30 Nemesis Safety Glasses
The Jackson Safety V30 Nemesis is a great option for an individual who likes to make sure that they have coverage in case anything happens. These glasses come in a pack of 12 which basically means that if something happens to a single pair, you have 11 more of them left over. The great thing about the high count of the item is that Jackson still made sure to place care into their production. They come with a standard mirror coating which aids in providing protection for the pupils and preserving one’s overall eye-health. Also, make note of the fact that they have a design that is up to the standards of the ANSI (American National Standards Institute).
For those price conscious individuals, the Jackson Safety V30 Nemesis Safety Goggles will definitely make sure to provide one with a level of value. A package of 12 of these glasses sells for just under 50$; meaning that each pair costs roughly 4.17$.
Servore Auto Shade Darkening Goggle Arc-513
The Servore Auto Shade Darkening Welding Goggles are chock-full of useful features. While they may not have the simplicity to be utilized in the way that one would like, they do have a design that allows them to be used in a wide variety of circumstances though. For instance, for those individuals who wear prescription glasses, the Servore Auto-Darkening glasses have a frame that can have prescription lenses fit into it. They may not have an auto-powering feature but, their design does have a power button included into it that can easily be switched on. Not to mention that they have auto-darkening features that can easily be utilized to their maximum potential with a quick perusal of their instructions.
These items have a price that is actually well-justified by the features included in the item itself. They can be found on various different sites as well as in various different stores for less than 160$.
Miller Electric Welding Goggles
This is definitely an item that “comes with it all”. It features a dual-lensed design made up of both an outer and inner lens. The outer lens provides UV protection as well as an extra layer for prevention against flying pieces of material from popping into one’s eyes. They also feature a full-facial covering that allows the item to provide one with a more protection from stray materials – something that isn’t afforded by more minimal welding covers. This protection is one of the things that qualifies these Miller Electric goggles as one of the best welding goggles on the market currently.
The glass ABS frame material also ensures that the item provides full-coverage for one’s facial features during the activity. The goggles also have an adjustability feature for sensitivity, which can be helpful for protecting more sensitive eyes from welding activities that give off violent light or radiant energy.
For the functionality, one should fully expect to pay a low price for an item that provides full facial coverage for welding activities. With that being said, for the features, the price range of below 180$ is definitely nowhere near where it should be listed – it has more value than that.
Welding Glasses & Goggles Wrap-Up
It isn’t always the easiest thing to find welding goggles/ glasses that effectively protect the eyes while also having functional qualities added to their design. Many of the goggles on this list have auto-dimming or visual coverage properties that basically allow the item to protect not only the outer area of the eye but the actual site of the user as well – this is incredibly helpful simply because of the fact that the eye is an essential tool for welding. It’s suggested that you view the items on this list as sort of basic to exceptional tools(starting from the bottom up).
