What Lens Color is Right for My Prescription Safety Glasses?

The correct choice of a lens color for your prescription safety glasses is critical to their effectiveness. Let’s find out why…

Choosing the Right Lens Color for Your Prescription Safety Glasses

Prescription safety glasses are used in a huge variety of industries, from construction workers pouring concrete to motorcycle riders to fishermen. If you are in the market for prescription safety glasses, one of the things you should consider is what lens color is best for what you’re using them for. Are you going to only use them outside during the day? Are you going to be using a lot of electronic equipment while wearing them? Will you mostly wear them in front of a computer? Each of these things requires a completely different colored lens.

Here are some important things to consider when shopping for lens colors:

• Polarization can have an effect on LCD screens and certain other types of digital screens. If you are going to be using an LCD screen or looking at a cell phone a lot with the glasses on, it is not a good idea to get polarized glasses.
• Polarized lenses are great for bright sunlight conditions and blocking glare. They block a lot of reflected and scattered light, which makes them very popular for any type of water or snow use: they block some of the light reflected from the surface below you. They are the darkest lenses available.
• Gray 3 and brown 3 tints are perfect for bright sunlight conditions when you don’t want polarization. They’re dark and don’t affect your viewing of LCD screens.
• Gray 1 tinted lenses are lighter than gray 3 and are great for people who don’t need dark sunglasses in bright sunlight. They are light enough to be used indoors in good lighting and dark enough to give ample protection from the sun for most conditions.
• Yellow tinting is great for increasing visual acuity. The yellow is most often used for driving, shooting, and offroad biking because it enhances contrast and sharpens your vision.
• Transitions and photochromic lenses are great for most purposes. They turn gray or brown in the sun and clear out of the sun. The two things to remember about these are: they do not get as dark as gray 3 sunglasses, and they do not work well behind the windshield of a car (because most are UV treated).
• Clear lenses are great for indoor use and night use, or for places where you are required to wear clear lenses.
• Anti-reflective (AR) coating is great for glasses that you’ll be wearing while operating a computer most of the time. The coating reduces eye fatigue from computer monitors.

If you are still unsure about which lens color is right for you, it’s a good idea to give us a call and we’ll give you a recommendation based upon what you’re using the glasses for. The most important thing to remember is: are you going to be safe in all conditions you will come across with the lens color you choose? If not, it’s a good idea to reconsider your lens color. The lens color should aid you in whatever you’re doing, not impede you.

More than anything else, safety must come first when shopping for safety glasses. What are your prescription safety glasses needs? Tell us in the comments below and we’ll find the right lens color for you.