All You Need to Know About Buying Sports Safety Eyewear

Guide to Buying Sports Safety Eyewear

Below are the most frequent questions we are asked:

Why do I need safety eyewear?

When playing contact sports such as football or squash you need towear protection that has been designed to do that job. Ordinaryspectacles and contact lenses do not protect the eye adequately fromimpact or projectiles, and on occasions, can be more dangerous if theglass or contact lens shatters or is impacted. Fortunately there hasbeen a great deal of research and technology gone into making sportseyewear that is safe, durable and lightweight.

What type of eyewear do I need?

Look for safety frames that include the following:

• Impact resistant padding and anti-slip properties such as anti-slip temples and nose pieces.
• Extra nose padding to create an air gap below the frame or air vents to prevent fogging and provide impact protection.
• Curved polycarbonate lenses for much better impact resistance and periphery vision compared to normal glasses.
• Meet European safety standards to protect the eyes from high impact.

Click on the images below for links to all sports safety glasses and sports protective goggles:

TIP: When you click on the option above with templearms, even though many of the images do not show a headband, they allinclude them.

What size of frame should I order?

Measure the width of your existing glasses from the screw hole in one arm to the other and choose a frame that would match this width. Wemeasure our frames in this way and round up to the nearest 5mm. 

Should we choose glasses or goggles?

Either goggles or the sports wrap glasses shown will be ideal formost impact sports as both versions include head straps to hold themfirmly on your head. Most people choose glasses as they look similar tosunglasses and look better for use with other sports.

I need a prescription, which type of lenses should I order?

For impact sports, you must choose'Sports Lenses', or'Super Sports lenses'. These are polycarbonate and NXT lenses materials respectively that will not break on impact. When you have selected your frame, just click on the 'Prescription available' icon below the product image and then click on the 'Poly'/NXT icon for all polycarbonate/NXT prescription packages. If you have a high prescription you might want to consider the 'Sports Performance Lenses' package. In addition to being polycarbonate they are also aspheric. This will make the lenses thinner and lighter for those with high power lenses. 

Should I include a tint with my prescription?

In countries such as the UK, incorporating a tint can be problematical in that the chosen tint might not be suitable for the light conditions. However, a light category 1 yellow tint can be advantageous for sports such as football and hockey. It is a contrast tint that will help to highlight the ball against thebackground enhancing dynamic vision but also clear enough to use inovercast or floodlit conditions.

For those requiring sports prescription safety frames for moreprolonged periods during the day such as for motor biking or mountainbiking, photochromic lenses are ideal. They will adjust the tint density of the lens to the lightcondition enabling you to use them throughout the day in any condition.