Week 06 – Ballistic Eyewear
Eyewear goes ballistic
High-tech shades do more than keep you from squinting on the battlefield
By Chris Lawson
They’ve got a Terminator vibe, but there’s a lot more to them than just a badass look. In a little more than a decade, ballistic eyewear has become an essential part of a warrior’s combat kit. The simple reason: The high-tech glasses are cheap — and save hundreds of American eyeballs each year.
A study published in the Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection and Critical Care in April 2009 reviewed 3,276 casualties, finding that use of ballistic eye protection during current combat operations “resulted in significantly fewer and less severe ocular injuries.”
An Army Public Health Command briefing from the same year found that 94 percent of service members used eye protection on convoys and missions outside of forward operating bases.
The reason: It’s effective. In that same 2009 survey, 34 percent of service members said eye protection had saved their eye from an injury.
Revision Eyewear’s Desert Locust and Sawfly lenses can withstand a 48-pellet blast fired from a Mossberg M500 shotgun at a distance of 16 feet — with no penetration to the lenses, said Jonathan Blanshay, Revision’s president.
Revision is one of only a handful of manufacturers — along with ESS, Wiley X, Oakley and Sperian, among others — that produce military-approved ballistic eye protection. Through rapid fielding initiatives, military organizations and units now buy as many as two pairs of spectacles and one set of goggles for each deploying soldier, sailor, airman or Marine.
It hasn’t always been that way. During World War II, Korea and Vietnam, troops generally had eye protection only to help ward off environmental effects of the sun, wind and dust. Protection from flying fragments of anything from improvised explosive devices and grenades to tree bark was virtually nonexistent.
That all changed after the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Blanshay said, when officials began to recognize the potential ballistic battlefield threats — and the modern opportunities to prevent them.
Like others, Revision got its start in 2001 after the military had spent the better part of a decade developing the requirements and standards for high performance ballistic eyewear.
When Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom kicked off — along with the challenges of unconventional warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan — the push for military-focused eye protection ramped up exponentially.
Early on, the military bought commercial, off-the-shelf, industrial- or sporting-focused eyewear. Although that gear offered some level of protection, it wasn’t ideal for a ground-pounder in a Kevlar helmet who also needed to sight in a Taliban fighter with his M16.
That’s where the new generation of ballistic eyewear filled a pressing need.
Using state-of-the-art optics and framing materials, today’s manufacturers build glasses and goggles that meet strict military requirements. They also provide a fit, function and comfort that gunslingers beg for, require and appreciate.
Since Revision produced the popular Sawfly line of specs in 2004, Blanshay said, 15 improvements have been made, including such troop-driven requests as better abrasion resistance, flame retardants and low-profile designs that are compatible with hearing protection as well as gas masks and night-vision goggles.
“The Army pays $45 a set for a piece of eyewear that lasts a year or more and can stop 90 percent of potential injuries just by wearing it,” Blanshay said. “We think it’s here to stay.”
Chris Lawson is a former Army Times managing editor who now works as a civilian strategic communications specialist for the Army.
Latest Comments
It should be noted that ANSI Z87.1 marking does not mean that the item meets the military requirements for ballistics fragmentation protection. ANSI is the industry standard for optical quality and low level amounts of impact that you might see working in a lab or shop type environement. Only items that are on the Authorized Protective Eyewear List (APEL) https://peosoldier.army.mil/pmseq/eyewear.asp should be used by Soldiers as these items are tested and qualified to meet the military requirements.
Sorry second link was supposed to be for ESS
http://www.esseyepro.com/ussi?utm_source=ussi&utm_medium=banner-post-login&utm_campaign=affiliate
Currently the Army issues ESS Ice – not the greatest style or cheapest price, but not bad protection either. Most people that buy their own use either US Standard (a Oakley web site for Military and Law Enforcement) or the Military ESS Site. Both sites you have to register and provide your Military ID in order to see prices or order.
https://secure.usstandardissue.com/Index.cfm?Logout=1
https://secure.usstandardissue.com/Index.cfm?Logout=1
I totally agree with John. Looking good in combat has always been a cultural thing with US officers. I saw this in Nam; the saying was “looking good,” and next you were good and dead. There is no substitution for the proper equipment.
The universal designator for ballistic eye wear is “Z87″. If your eye wear is stamped Z87 anywhere on the frame, then it meets the minimum standard for ballistic eye protection… and anyone can purchase them. Although some glasses probably out-perform others by a slight margin, there is no gradient within the Z87 standard to show this. They either do, or do not, meet the standard. “Normal” sunglass stores do not carry Z87 sunglasses because it’s quite specialized and nobody would buy them, but any police officer supply store, clothing sales, or even the BX/PX, will have some (there are many out there.)
The best glasses are the ones that are most comfortable for you and ones that you will wear. I prefer the Wilex-X Airrage because they have a bronze lens (rare) vs. the standard gray/smoke that bothers my eyes, but of course, everyone is different. They also seal better around the eyes, and fit really well with a kevlar helmet. Unfortunately, they aren’t issued so you have to buy them on your own. The best place I’ve found them is on Amazon; $80.
There are many manufacturers who make ballistic rated eyewear and safety glasses. Revision, Wiley-X, Oakley, and ESS are well-known in military and law enforcement circles, but there are plenty of other brands to choose from. Plus you don’t always have to spend premium money to get military grade protection.
The key statistic is making sure the eyewear you choose meets ANSI Z87.1-2003 and either MIL-PRF-31013 or MIL-V-43511C testing standards. You can browse a large selection of Ballistic Eyewear at http://www.safetyglassesusa.com/ballistic.html
I think that many officers are purchasing Oakley eyewear because they think it is cool but experience tells you that the Sawfly is the better product. Personally I like having my eyesight more than I like looking cool.
Are these glasses available to be purchased by retired military 30 year E-7 U.S.A.F. VET. RETIRED 1996. ???
I was just wondering, what are some good Ballistic Eyewear to buy?
In other words, what brand of eyewear are our troops using in combat?
I heard marines use oakleys
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Anyone have any success getting a good (as in tactically usable) set of corrective lense inserts in wrap-around ballistic eyewear? I love my ESS and Revision wrap-arounds – wore them in heliocopters in AFG, and now wear them all the time biking and hiking at home, but due to the angle induced in the lenses by wraping them around the face, my vision is distorted. Not enough to be a problem for normal outdoor activity, but reading is difficult and clearly seeing the front sight of a rifle is very difficult.