When shooting, vision is key and for this reason, it’s important to protect your eyes with some sort of protective glasses. There are many different types of shooting glasses available and a number of different variables come into play when selecting the protective lenses that are right for you, such as: lens material, impact resistance, UV protection and lens color.
First and foremost, lens material is the most important, because different materials have different strengths and weaknesses. There are three main materials most commonly used in today's shooting glasses: crown glass, CR39 plastic, and polycarbonate. Of these, polycarbonate is by far the best. It offers the highest available impact rating and provides excellent UV protection. Polycarbonate is a type of lexan plexiglass, which is a thermoplastic made by General Electric. In fact, it's the same material that bullet resistant glass in cars is made out of. |
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| The president’s limo has layers of bullet-proof lexan in its windows. Polycarbonate is so hard in fact that a special diamond tipped saw must be used to cut it. To form the lens, molten polycarbonate is injection-molded and then left to cool. Polycarbonate lenses are lighter, more durable, more impact and scratch resistant than any other material on the market today. When looking for shooting glasses, don’t be fooled by cheap knock-offs with vague terms like "impact resistant" or "protective glasses". Look for glasses with lenses that are made out of polycarbonate,which is just one-third the weight of acrylic, or one-sixth as heavy as glass, and the only drawback is that it is more expensive than either. |
There are a few things you should consider when it comes to tint. Smoke, gray, and gray-green are the most common type of shooting lens, as they block glare without changing color perception while gray is neutral, allowing the wearer to see all colors as they truly are. Amber or brown tinted lenses are especially good at blocking the type of blue light you may see on a cloudy day and it can also improve your depth perception and contrast. Yellow or orange lenses can also improve contrast and give you a heightened sense of visual sharpness. When it comes to yellow lenses, the brighter the yellow, the better it is for night use. Orangish-red or vermilion lenses are good for enhancing the orangeness of a target and make an orange target really stand out against a dark background, like the shadows of tall trees.
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| If you enjoy shooting, it's important to keep all of these variables in mind and be sure to find a set of protective lenses that are right for you. |