Eye Protection

Something that we all take for granted (until its gone) is our hearing and precious eyesight. That is why it is so imperative to protect those senses. One of Shellshock Protection’s mantras are to “protect your senses,” and that is exactly what their Eye and Ear Combo packages aim to do. From beginner combos to more elaborate ones for seasoned shooters, they are now offering a bit of everything.

Gatorz Eyewear, the creators of high-performing and stylish ballistically rated glasses, is all set to amaze its buyers with another potential hit. Gatorz has announced the introduction of a new eyewear model named “The Havok.” The release is slated for March, offering a six-SKU lineup, further expanding their stylish and functional portfolio.

Industry-leading eyewear manufacturer, Bolle, has recently unveiled its new Gunfire 2.0 protective eyewear system. Engineered with the needs of shooters in mind, the system offers swappable lenses and temples. This state-of-the-art eyewear allows users to easily alter their glasses’ tint to match varying light conditions – be it indoors or outdoors.

Having just gotten back from my first-ever Tactical Games event, I wanted to put together a write-up on all of the gear I used down at the GTI in South Carolina. I will also be including the prices of all of the gear that I utilized as I feel like I spent a lot of money just to compete at this event. Also, please keep in mind that this was my first event, and I will be doing a follow-up article on lessons learned and how I would tackle my second go around at the GTI Tactical Games. Also, all prices will be MSRP aside from the pistol and ear pro.

Bollé Safety is continuing to add to its already extensive ANSI-rated eyewear collection with the announcement that two new lifestyle-oriented pairs will be coming soon- the new ALTUS and KNOX sunglasses. These new pairs of Z87.1-rated sunglasses are meant to be lightweight and comfortable, but still suitable for range use or other tasks and jobs that require protective eyewear.

GATORZ Eyewear is most well-known for producing aluminum-framed ballistic-rated eyewear for shooters. While they fetch a pretty high asking price, they also give back a lot of that investment in their durability and smart design choices. GATORZ spends a lot of time, research, and resources developing each new set of eyewear that they come out with to make sure that it will not just stand the test of time, but also any impacts you might be unfortunate enough to encounter at the range. Today I’ve brought on Scott Melton of GATORZ Eyewear to tell us all the advantages behind GATORZ’s extensive line of both ballistic-rated and ANSI-rated protective eyewear, including a brand new offering that has been three years in the making and just released last week – Blastshield. Bastshield is a new shield-style pair of ballistic eyewear that gives you a near-unobstructed view downrange and also features zero optical shift despite the heavy curvature of the lens. Today Scott tells us all about the thought and reworking that went into this new pair of high-end safety glasses for shooters. Please welcome Scott from GATORZ Eyewear to the program!

I’m a huge fan of shield-style eyewear for the range. That’s why I’m excited to share the news that GATORZ Eyewear has just released its first pair of shield-style lenses dubbed “Blastshield.” The GATORZ Blastshield line will feature a brand new quick-change lens system via a centrally mounted hub, along with new flexible thin temples that fill easily fit under helmets, hats, and ear protection.

One of the biggest annoyances for me on the range when it comes to wearing safety glasses is fog. Most lenses out there will eventually fog even in optimal conditions but on extremely hot or humid days it can be even worse with your body’s heat doing its best to fog up the inside of your lenses. Bollé Safety has just announced a solution to that problem with the introduction of their new Platinum Technology equipped safety glasses which have been able to demonstrate in tests that they are capable of resisting the appearance of fog for 15 minutes above a source of steam which is a resistance equivalent to 100 times higher than the requirements defined by industry EN166 standard.

Ballistic eyewear is a pretty simple affair. All most people are looking for is a way to protect their eyes. Some people will even opt to use rose, amber, or smoke-tinted lenses to provide themselves with more contrast so that they have an easier time picking out targets on the flat range. Other than that, most manufacturers are content to produce ANSI-rated glasses that come in several different variations of stylized frames so that the shooter can keep their look fresh while they’re out on the range. Revision Military is setting out to engineer a better solution for ballistic eyewear that not only protects your eyes, but also reduces eye fatigue, and optimizes your eye’s performance for the environment you’re working in. Revision Military’s new I-Vis Lens Technology does just that and today we’ll explain how, and what my experiences with this new set of innovative ballistic eyewear have been so far.

Every year it is estimated that nearly half of all head injuries sustained in the United States are actually eye injuries. According to The Vision Council, 90 of these injuries that are sustained to the eyes are preventable. In the firearms world, it’s almost universally agreed upon that eye protection as well as hearing protection is a must for everyone when around firearms of any type. Bolle Safety has just announced the introduction of their new Gunfire Kit 2.0 wraparound eye protection featuring swappable ballistic lenses and meeting  STANAG 4296 standards for eye protection for the individual soldier.

If you are a fan of Jack Carr and his series The Terminal List on Amazon, you may have noticed those sleek black sunglasses worn by all of the SEALs. Those are GATORZ – hard-use eye protection in use by law enforcement and military special teams around the world. I have been using GATORZ for several years now and can attest to their durability in a variety of situations, including using my string trimmer as a weapon against tall grass. A job that is equally important as whacking terrorists hellbent on destroying America. As I left for a few weeks on and near the ocean, GATORZ was preparing the launch of their new GATORZ Marauder line of eye protection – including a variant with polarized lenses. Perfect timing for a quick review. Let’s take look.

Shooting eyewear is an essential part of any shooter’s list of minimum equipment. Bushnell introduced their new lineup of Performance Eyewear last summer and this year they’ve got a whole new lineup for spring and summer 2022 that will keep your eyes both protected and comfortable in the harsh summer light. Like previous offerings of Bushnell Performance eyewear, these new Spring/Summer 2022 offerings are made through a licensing agreement with the Italian sunglasses manufacturer Mirage Occhali.

Eye protection from high-powered lasers is a safety aspect a lot of people look over. While most of us aren’t getting blasted daily with unsafe wavelengths and intensities of light, law enforcement, military, industrial workers, and those who like to train with night vision sometimes are. Gatorz Eyewear wants to help fill the gap that exists within the eye protection world with their new Laser Defender Technology which will be made available first with their Magnum and Specter frames.

Gatorz is well known for making very durable and very high-quality aluminum-framed ballistic eyewear both with and without prescription lenses. As we approach our country’s Independence Day, Gatorz is introducing its new Battleworn Limited-Edition eyewear in honor of our country and those who protect it. These new limited-edition lines will be available in both their Specter and Magnum frames with Cerkote coatings and include ANSI Z87.1 and MILSPEC Ballistic rated lenses.

Cerakote is usually something that most of us associate with guns or gun parts. It is essentially really fancy ceramic spray paint that improves the wear resistance of any given material and can also be used to add a bit of extra color to any rifle or pistol. Gatorz Eyewear has just announced the addition of new Cerakote Coated aluminum frames to both their Magnum and Wraptor billet aluminum frames.

Gatorz eyewear has a longstanding history of being durable, and the MILSPEC Ballistic Magnum is certainly no exception.  Designed and used by shooters and operators the world over, the ballistic series pairs durability alongside ANSI 787.1 mil-spec safety requirements.  Gatorz was kind enough to send a pair over for me to review this past month.  Here’s what I found.

Keeping your eyes safe both in the sun and on the range, GATORZ is pleased to announce its new extension lineup of performance eyewear lens technology. GATORZ new High Contrast Shooting Lens lineup will still provide the industry-standard ANSI Z87.1 ballistic rating but will now also include new high-contrast lenses to help shooters who are training in both low-light and bright daylight conditions.

There are tons of options out there for protective eyewear when it comes to shooting sports. While I used to be in the camp of “whatever works for the cheapest price”, I’ve come to appreciate some of the more refined options out there on the market and today, the new Wraptor MILSPEC Ballistic rated safety eyewear from Gatorz caught my eye. The Wraptor frame is joining the same lineup of aluminum-framed impact-resistant eyewear that Gatorz’s Delta, Specter, and original Magnum frames are a part of – all highly reviewed by customers who use them.

Oakley Standard Issue has announced its new SI Kryptek collection which will feature five styles of sunglasses with the popular Highlander pattern. The Kryptek collection will include their Holbrook, Sylas, Gascan, Mainlink XL, and Flak 2.0 XL eyewear products, all of which feature impact resistance making them suitable for shooting sports and other situations where debris impact can be expected. The popular Kryptek Highlander camouflage pattern is perfect for blending in with a wide variety of terrain and environments.

Guns sure are great! But they’re also supremely dangerous and that’s why it’s important to always be properly trained and to have the correct safety gear available to you whenever possible. One of the best investments you can make for yourself or for a friend is with firearms training classes. Whether that means it’s your first basic pistol or carbine course or a more advanced counter-sniper course, training often pays back in dividends more than any other firearms-related purchase out there. Safety gear, like hearing protection is another area of purchasing that can both enhance your training and pay off further down the road (you know, when you still have your hearing). So if you don’t want to have your grandchildren screaming in your ear next year to tell you what they want from Santa for Christmas, maybe it’s time to invest in a new pair of hearing protection. Today we’ll be covering some basic training and safety gear to keep you on target and out of harm’s way. Just ask this guy how important training at home is (profanity warning):

If you don’t get the reference in the title, first of all, let me sincerely apologize to you for not having the pleasure of witnessing a true classic of American Christmas movies. Second, go watch the movie. Now that you’ve had a chance to understand where I’m coming from let’s talk about eye protection. There are a lot of arguments to be made on the merits of wearing eye protection all the time but I know there are many of us out there that feel that eye protection isn’t always necessary especially when it interferes with your vision and by extension your ability to see and shoot a target. However, I think there are a few times where everyone agrees it’s probably in your best interest to actually wear eye protection, most notably, when you’re shooting steel, or other hard targets or shooting with a suppressor mounted. In these cases, you can avoid some pretty uncomfortable or possibly debilitating injuries from bits of projectile or blowback coming towards your eyes which everyone knows are basically the groin of the head. Anyway, pick up some eye protection this Christmas so that you don’t wind up shooting your eye out, kid.

A new pair of durable and flexible eyewear has just hit the shooting market from Oakley Standard Issue. The new SI Ballistic HNBL eyewear from Oakley Standard Issue promises to be both high impact resistant and low profile enough to be used with the rest of your gear without issue. The new glasses feature Mil-Spec 32432A and ANSI Z87.1 impact standard and will have an MSRP of $166 putting them at about the same cost as other premium shooting eyewear currently on the market.

A few weeks back I had the opportunity to attend an event hosted by Vista Outdoors in which Bushnell Optics was featured. At the event, myself and other writers within the industry were treated to a first-hand look and experience of Bushnell’s new Performance Eyewear lineup that was accomplished through a partnership with Mirage Occhiali – an Italian sunglasses designer. While at the event, we had a chance to test out the new eyewear and see their entire lineup. The new Bushnell Performance Eyewear lineup is available now for those interested.

In this episode of TFBTV, James Reeves answers the 5 most-asked questions from his comments about his gun gear including holsters, eye protection, chest rigs, watches, and more. So what are a few of James’ favorite things? James gets a rare opportunity to talk about guns AND gear he likes instead of just guns in this episode of TFBTV.

Shooting requires protective equipment. Proper ear and eye protection are an absolute must anytime you’re going to a range day or other event that’s going to involve live fire. Too many shooters have learned the hard way that your senses are precious and damaging or losing them while enjoying the shooting sports is a tragedy that’s almost always preventable. When it comes to eye pro, there are plenty of quality, ballistic-rated options on the market from companies like Wiley X, Oakley, ESS, Magpul, and many more. Some of TFB’s prior coverage of shooting-related eye pro is listed for you below.

Wiley X, producer of protective eyewear has recently announced that they will be departing the State of California to move their headquarters to Frisco, Texas. Although the company has stated that the move is to improve shipping and distribution efficiency, I personally believe they’ll benefit in a couple other areas as well if they are transitioning from California to Texas.

There’s hardly a shooter anywhere who doesn’t know and love Magpul. From their wildly popular PMAG line of magazines, polymer stocks and other gun furniture, series of rifle slings and flip sights, and much more, they have spent their 21-year history becoming the first word in firearms accessories. One critical shooting accessory that sits on you rather than on your weapon is a quality set of eye protection. Your eyes are incredibly important organs and the shooting sports introduce inherent dangers to them. Good eye pro is an absolute must – and no, not just any old pair of sunglasses will do. They need to be ballistic rated so if you do experience some sort of spall or ricochet, the wayward fragment speeding toward your face at high speed won’t simply smash through your non-ballistic lens and shred your precious oculus anyway. You need the right face shield.

Gel cups can be a great accessory for hearing protection. Noisefighter was founded by Neal Brace, a U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. Made in the USA, Noisefighter produces some very unique gel cups that are a welcome addition to most major brands and models. Not only is the gel extremely comfortable, but the cutouts on top allow for better comfort and seal when worn with eye protection. However, it is helpful to understand the installation process. Initial models of the Noisefighters came model specific, allowing the user to simply pop out a plastic insert with the old pads and snap in the new ones. For this article, we installed Noisefighters on a set of Howard Leights.

The title image from Dallin Prisbrey will hopefully spur some self-reflection for those that still don’t wear eye protection when shooting. Fortunately, for Dallin, he was not injured to bring us this good reminder that eye protection is a necessary piece of equipment when shooting. Dallin had been shooting his Glock 19 at AR500 rated steel targets. He guessed he was about 10 to 15 yards away and said that the steel was hung at an angle with chains. Dallin said that a fragment ricocheted back and broke the lens of the Streamlight TLR-1HL mounted on his pistol. Having a fragment strike his light with enough force to break the lens gave Dallin pause to reflect on how just a slight change in trajectory could have directed the fragment to his eyes.

In this episode of TFBTV’s continued coverage of SHOT Show 2019, Brannon LeBouef talks with Andrew from Gatorz about their new ballistic eye protection in black and their new Cerekote frames. Brannon was lucky enough to have a set of these for range day to test out in some serious sandy winds in the Boulder City desert range. 100% American made aluminum frames with optional photo-chromatic lens.