safety glasses worth their weight in GOLD

Daniel

Daniel

Carpal tunnel level member
Location
Suburban Philadelphia (Wayne)
I usually keep a few pairs of safety glasses somewhere in each truck, but got tired of looking around for them, so I bough a box of 12 a couple weeks ago. Last week I was prungin a large Norway Spruce from the bucket.. tipping it back hard off the driveway side. Some of the upper tips had gotten hung up on the tips of a limb I was about to cut, except I didn;t notice that the limb was so loaded becasue I was reaching down on the left side of the bucket, while the limbs were hung up on the rihgt side... I reached straight down to make the cut bending over the edge of the bucket.

As soon as the cut was made the stub came back up hard and smashed into my safety glasses, like I was getting hit with a golf club.. Even with the glasses taking 99% of the hit, I was still all teary and blurry for a minute or two... It would have definitely been a trip to the hospital otherwise and who knows what other nasty thing, like surgery or even losing the eye...

For years and years I never used to make mistakes like that.. I've been making a lot of small mistakes lately, like I need to get back to my top form.. little scary to be honest... At least good PPE will protect like that in many cases... THANK GOD!!!

This is the second hit I've taken to they eye in pretty much hte same way in two years of running this bucket.. I climbed trees for 15 years+ without glasses and never had a problem.. Thank God I changed my ways. That could have ended my career...
 
Good on ya for wearing the glasses.

As for the little frick-ups lately, perhaps you're trying too hard. Go back to the basics, and don't over think things.

(no copyright needed) ;)
 
Funny you should bring this up -- my judgment slipped recently while limbing up a blown over cedar. I shot a 3" spring pole directly into my eye so hard I was surprised to be still on my feet. My glasses were intact and without question they definitely saved some damage to my eye. I was praising the glasses to the other guys on the crew who I've never seen wearing eye pro (only shields). All those times I put up with the dreaded morning fog, or dust sneaking in behind. So worth it.
 
what glasses do you all find work the best in foggy conditions?

BugEyez are good, and I use them, however than are not impact protection rated from what I could tell. Also, they will not really help with a chemical splash, such as gasoline.


I try to work with the motto of 2 eyes, 2 ears, 1 back per lifetime.
 
I wear BUGZ all the time. Even worked with TCIA this year to try and get them ANSI approved (with no luck). They are still a good substitute in foggy and wet conditions.

As for getting slapped in the eyes, if more climbers would just wear a faceshield that wouldn't be a problem. The Husky Arborist helmet is a good one. No brim on it either, so it has less of a profile and doesn't snag branches as easy as a full brim.
 
At least YOU guys can take yours off when you're done working.

I wear glasses from the time I get up until it's time to go to bed.

Daniel, have you considered getting the face screen for your hardhat?
 
Glasses are so good to have around, that I just got another pair for hiking last week. About 6 weeks back, we were exiting a hillside of old salal just prior to sunset, on the shaded side of the mountain, and some dead stems were polking at our faces. The next hour as we got out on a horsetrail using flashlights, the idea came to mind to attach a safety glass holder to my daypack.
 
I'll say that I for sure recommend a face screen. I like the stihl hardhats with face screen and muffs for groundwork. The Rockman's look a little nicer as far as more fully wrapping around. Anyone know. Takes some getting used to, but I like it. I have the Peltor-muffs/mesh face screen/ rain visor on my Ecrin Roc helmet. I have trouble with it. Getting sometimes stuffed in the truck doesn't help it.

What are people liking for face shield climbing helmet combos, with muffs?

I'd say western red cedars and fruit tree suckers cause me the most near misses with eyes. Always something growing a funny way to try to sneak up under the glasses.
 
[ QUOTE ]
for face shield climbing helmet combos, with muffs?

I'd say western red cedars and fruit tree suckers cause me the most near misses with eyes. Always something growing a funny way to try to sneak up under the glasses.

[/ QUOTE ]

A long peg / thorn of a hawthorn almost went into my ear one year as I moved my head sideways near a main stem. Now I keep earplugs too for trees like hawthorn and a few others that have the pointed spurs.
 
Best thing is a "lanyard" for your glasses. Makes you look like an old-school librarian, but you are never without them, they dont fall off, or get set down and end up all scratched. Safest glasses are the ones that you are wearing.
 
i use classic safety glasses ..duno the brand but i melt the nose piece with a lighter and squeeze them so that they fit my face better. they stay on my neck when im not using them too. downside is they weaken them.
 
If fog up is a pain the most efective arb eye product i have used to date is the clear visor on the stien helmet!
keep safe & thanks for shearing story.
 
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