As a gun shop owner, I always explain to my clients that they must wear quality shooting glasses to protect from any discharge or debris. Here's my hands-on ranking.
FYI, prices and ratings are accurate as of time of writing.
1. HTS HUNTERSKY - Ballistic Military-Grade Shooting Glasses
Highlight: Impressive impact resistance and great fog-free ability.
Helpful review: Like most shooters worldwide, I use company-issued safety glasses for range duty. Of course, we all take them back to work and use them for the job; we are not thieves; we like safety and are sure of the glasses issued to us. This was my train of thought for many years until I got tired of safety eyewear getting more and more crappy and looked to Amazon to find some glasses for the range and to take to work to save my ears from the wear and tear of crappy frames.
I found the HTS brand and appreciate how the polarization works and how it keeps my eyes safe and comfortable while shooting all day. These range glasses work so well that I could use them to drive, and my brother-in-law just wore his home that day. I wear corrective lenses, so I need sunglasses that fit over my prescription. I have bought prescription sunglasses before, and they are always in the other car or left at home, so I gave up on that expensive option.
The frame of these glasses can expand almost two inches in width. They do this by using a locking mechanism at the hinge. I had never seen this until I got my hands on these. The nose pieces will also move to adjust and fit each wearer more comfortably.
This maker is one of the few in men's, women's, and child sizes. These frames and lenses are not just small and work for a kid, but most likely not. They are sized and made to fit the face and head of the child or others. Most of the time, when looking at safety and shooting glasses, they are one size and a prayer. HTS made these to fit specific types of faces and improve the shooter's comfort.
The lenses are smoked, so the targets are shaded grey, not black or green like some lenses. The safety rating is very seriously tested by shooting them with a shotgun. Yes, that is an actual fact. They blast the lenses to make sure the quality and manufacture are at the highest level.
Get it from Amazon now: $39.99 & FREE Returns
2. Smith & Wesson M&P - Half-Frame Interchangeable Shooting Glasses
Highlight: Good-looking styling and interchangeable lenses.
Helpful review: The Smith and Wesson shooting glasses are very good-looking and work well with uniforms to make them look like they are issued with the turnout gear. The kit comes with four lenses to fit any situation, indoor or outdoor. Even in some hunting situations, these lenses will fit the bill.
The M&P shooting glasses use the Harrier Half Frame. For everyone like myself, I had to ask, what the hell is a Harrier Half Frame in shooting glasses? When I read that, I honestly thought they were like the reading glasses I can get from Walmart; that is not the case. The Harrier Half Frame means that the top of the glasses has a frame, and the bottom of the lenses is open or unframed. This frame is the same as my prescription, and for these shooting glasses, it makes them look very sharp. This allows the safety lens to sit closer to my cheeks to keep hot brass and stuff from coming up from the bottom and into my eyeballs. The only hang-up is the top is open like sunglasses, so the safety component on the top side is lacking.
The comfort level of these glasses is high. They are very lightweight and fit like sunglasses or prescription glasses. Changing the style or color of lenses makes them work everywhere if I have the case with the extra lenses. For the price they are asking, I can put a couple of sets of these in every car so anyone getting in for a ride will have sunglasses available and can change lens colors for night driving.
The colored lenses are smoke, yellow, pink, and clear. When I go to the outdoor range, I use the smoke color; when I go to the indoor range, I use the clear lens. Some folks like to use the yellow lens alone for indoor range. I don't know where the pink lens will do its best work, but I am sure there is a place for them; I don't know what that is. When driving at night, some folks will use the yellow lens to make the headlights easier to deal with; maybe the pink lens works for that as well; I will have to check and see.
Get it from Amazon now: $37.99 & FREE Returns
3. Champion - Over-Spec Ballistic Glasses
Highlight: Fold Smart frames keep the lens safe from damage.
Helpful review: The Champion shooting glasses are a well-built set of safety glasses nearly all of us use at work if needed. They are like the safety glasses from the High School shop class—not very sexy, but tough, and that is what they are made to be.
There are many, or maybe the right word, differences between the three-dollar cheap and rugged glasses and the more expensive Champion safety glasses, mainly in the realm of comfort and wearability. The cheap glasses will dig into the top of my ears, so I check to see if the skin is broken, and the frames ride on my ears all day. The main problem with this is that everyone will take their glasses off, which violates safety, and not even realize it due to the uncomfortable situation. If safety is not comfortable, it needs to be short. If safety is comfortable, it can take all day, and no one will violate it.
This set of glasses has excellent clarity through the lens, unlike the cheapo sets. The cheap sets of glasses will look like I am wearing plastic wrap over my eyes, and they quickly get a milky film over them for some reason. The Champion glasses always stay clear, to the point that some guys will wear them to the break room and not remember to remove them. The comfort and clarity are so well done that workers forget they are on their faces until it is time to go home.
These glasses are made to wear over my prescription glasses, and the fit around my glasses is perfect. This allows me to save a ton of money on prescription safety glasses that are out of prescription in about a year or two. I can protect my expensive prescription and eyeballs by using these safety glasses, which provide shield protection from flying debris at work or on the range.
Get it from Amazon now: $21.99 & FREE Returns
4. Allen Company - Designed to Work with Prescription Glasses
Highlight: Wide frame arms to spread the pressure across my head to release pressure.
Helpful review: If anyone has ever looked at glasses with pilot earpieces, they do not hook over the ears; they have wide arms that grip the side of the head to stay in place. These glasses are built as a hybrid between glasses and goggles. They are remade to fit over prescription glasses and will fit over any eyewear I have seen in the range.
I went to the range a while back and did not take eye protection, as I wear prescription lenses. We were standing in the back of the line, behind the ready line even, waiting for the range officer to call us forward to set up our stuff. One of the folks shooting a 9mm pistol on the line sent a piece of brass over all of that, and about 15 feet behind them, it hit my brand-new glasses and left a small thing in the glass. What are the chances of that happening? One time, too many for my wallet, that is for sure. So now, when I get out of the car, I put on the safety glasses over my expensive set and head to the line.
This set of glasses fits comfortably over the prescription set. And when I say that, I mean they do not push the lenses into my eyeballs. When my eyelashes rub against the glass, it drives me nuts, so much so that I will stop shooting and leave the range after only ten minutes. The way the frames are made, the arms do not smash the frames into my head or rub my ears raw; they seem like they float over regular glasses.
The lenses with this kit are either yellow or clear, so they will not work for shooting on the range when the sun is blazing. The other time these glasses won't work is when it snows and the sun reflects into the shooter's eyes. This can cause a condition called snow blight or snow blindness, and it can do some damage after an extended amount of time. Yellow lenses may work briefly, but smoked lens colors are needed to shade the eyes and get the polarized treatment.
Get it from Amazon now: $16.99 & FREE Returns
5. HTS HUNTERSKY - Hunting Safety Glasses
Highlight: Full wrap-around styling.
Helpful review: This set of HTS glasses is very stylish and wraps around the side of my face. When I go to the range in the winter, every time, without a doubt, the wind will blow past my shooting glasses and blow into the tear duct of my eyes. After this shooting wind, as I call it, and in other words, I can't type here, my eyes start to water, and then I can't see through the scope, which irritates a fat boy.
The lens colors come in four shades, so they will match whatever is needed for shooting that day. I have been told that the yellow lens is best for shotgunning. Trap shooters tend to shoot with a yellow lens. I don't like them personally, but that does not make me right. I want to use the smoked lenses to keep the glare down, and it makes me look fabulous as well.
I bought this style of wrap-around lens to drive the RZR down the road, and the wind and dust still get in my eyes. But, on the range, the shooting wind does not ever get in and makes my eyes tear up. The frames are the half-frame style and have a great look and fit. The half frame saves a bit on weight as well. This set of glasses could be worn all day long, and I never feel fatigued from the extra set of glasses if I wear them over my prescription set.
The frames also fit better than any other shooting glasses I have used. The arms will expand to fit any size head, and the nose piece is also adjustable to fit each nose ridge to keep the comfort levels high. The arms do not hook over my ears but hug the side of my head and do not dig into my ears, making me want to wear them all day long.
Get it from Amazon now: $23.99 & FREE Returns
6. Smith & Wesson M&P - Full-Frame Shooting Glasses
Highlight: Lifetime Warranty.
Helpful review: Get a set of these in Dark lenses; they look very Terminator. The styling of these glasses may be the high point of the build. These glasses will not fit over prescription lenses, so if anyone does not have perfect vision, they will need contacts. This set will fully flesh out a true Smith and Wesson geek's EDC. Alongside the pocketknife, M&P Shield 9mm, and extra mag, the sunglasses that protect eyeballs fit nicely.
The lens is rated at UV400 to ensure protection from the harmful sun. Even the clear lenses are mirrored and have a slight amount of color, but I can see nothing when wearing them. Frames with zero rubber or are built with rubber in any way feel like a pure rubber build. I don't know what kind of plastic they use, but more manufacturers should use it more. The comfort level of this set of glasses cannot be overstated.
After praising the lens coating, I must mention that the lens scratches more quickly than other shooting glasses. The lens glass may not be the thing that scratches; it might be the coating that looks like the glass. I don't know how to check which is which. The frames wrap around my head, and the lens travels the same length. Many wrap-around glasses use the frame to make it wrap; the M&P bends the frames and lens to the end of my peripheral vision.
The kit comes with a very nice carrying case. The soft case is better than the one my overpriced prescription set comes with from the optometrist. The kit also has a cleaning cloth that works perfectly to keep my optics clean; I used my shirt to clean the glasses.
Get it from Amazon now: $21.99 & FREE Returns
7. Venture Gear - Shooting Safety Sunglasses
Highlight: The nosepiece and temple tips are very comfortable and made of soft rubber.
Helpful review: These glasses look like they should cost three times as much. Ultimately, they cost under 25 bucks, and they should cost nearly 100 dollars. The lens will protect against UVA/B/C light and stop birdshot from a shotgun blast. Venture Gear tests the protection ability that way. Talk about overkill—yes, I went there. On top of that, the lenses are made of hard-coated polycarbonate and resist scratching like champs.
The kit comes in a well-packed hard plastic protection case. So that is a safety case for safety glasses. This keeps the glasses from getting the arms bent and sitting crooked on my face, which can drive me crazy.
The way they make the frames is excellent, and they use suitable materials. The rubber nosepiece and earpiece are very comfortable. Using this promising material makes the glasses weigh a little more than others. I was talking to a guy at the indoor range the other day, and he had some 5.11 glasses and wanted to take a look at this set. Since I am reviewing them, I wanted to get his feedback. The 5.11 guy loved this set, opened his phone to Amazon, and ordered a pair in smoked and clear for his shooting bag. He told me the 5.11 will sit in his truck for driving in the sunshine and then use these for range time.
Since I wear prescription glasses and these will not fit over them, I can't use them on the range, so my mind wandered a bit. I remember they tested the protection rating of these glasses by shooting them with birdshot. Now, we have a range day and an evil test to perform. I went to the outdoor range and began setting up the glasses-holding box downrange. That's when I heard the folks in the bay next to me, and one of the young ladies had forgotten her shooting glasses. It took lots of self-discipline, but I removed the glasses from the top of the box, walked them around the berm, and gave them to her so she was not switching glasses between herself and her brother.
Get it from Amazon now: $24.99 & FREE Returns