Whether you’re aiming to order a brand new pair of glasses or just want to get your old ones replaced, choosing lens material is a crucial decision that could make or break the visual experience offered by your eyewear in 2024. You’ll find a huge array of choices available to shop from while thinking about your needs. Every lens material has its benefits & drawbacks but one should always pick one that checks all the right boxes of their requirements. To help you with this, here’s a quick rundown on what lens material you ought to select when it comes to buying lenses for prescription safety eyewear.
Glass
Most eyeglasses you’ll see are made out of glass and for a very good reason. The best thing about glass is that it offers razor-sharp optical clarity, which is why it is the most preferred option by people who wear vision correction lenses. Another great thing about this material is the ability to withstand scratches without the need for a supporting lens solution as an anti-scratch that comes with 3M Safety Glasses that come with polycarbonate lenses.
On the other hand, glass is not a recommended option for those who spend the majority of their time outdoors or lead active lifestyles. On the whole, If you’re someone who doesn’t face hazards that could shatter your lenses, you don’t need to change your lenses to any other material.
Polycarbonate
This is the go-to option if you want to experience shatterproof durability. More so, all PPE for eyes that are ANSI Z87.1 rated makes use of polycarbonate lenses. Most sports safety sunglasses use polycarbonate lenses & for a very good reason. The most obvious advantage it offers is high impact resistance & being lightweight, which is ideal for people who have a high prescription index. One downside is that polycarbonate material doesn’t offer the same optical clarity as glass as it is prone to get scratched early on if not protected with a suitable lens coating such as anti-scratch.
Trivex
Although pricey, Trivex lens material gives you the best of both high-grade optical clarity & higher impact resistance as compared to polycarbonate material. The only con associated with it is that it could be problematic for people who wear thick lenses as the material itself is already thicker. You could use it for rimless safety glasses as the material has less tendency to get crazed if any holes are dug into it.
There’s No One-Size-Fits-All Solution
No matter what material you finalize, no single material is a panacea to your eye safety woes. There exists a common fallacy that glass is the only mainstream material that would keep their eyes protected. However, the truth couldn’t be any further. Rather, many branded eyewear, such as Wiley X Safety Glasses, are made out of polycarbonate material which is bound to provide a sufficient level of safety assurance required in most companies or workplaces. Moreover, the majority of companies that offer sunglasses don’t use glass at all. You certainly won’t find cheaters made out of glass material as much as in the past.
