Scratch-Resistant Lenses

July 7, 2023

If you wear glasses or sunglasses, you know that it doesnâ€™t seem like it takes long before you have swirly scratches on the lenses. Scratched lenses are more than just a nuisance, they can actually impact your safety. When you have scratch lenses it can block vision, make it blurry, and even reduce the clarity of the lenses themselves. On a purely aesthetic note, they can make your safety glasses look worn out.

Fortunately, there are special lenses you can add to your safety glasses when building your perfect pair that resists scratching. Now, while they don’t eliminate it they definitely add more protection against scratching which keeps your glasses looking new and with better clarity for longer.

What Are Scratch-Resistant Lenses?

Scratch-resistant lenses are our safety lenses that are outfitted with a special protective layer that helps prevent scratches. The layer is typically a hard, clear polymer that is resistant to abrasions within reason. It will not make your safety lenses scratch-proof but it will make them scratch-resistant.

Why Are Scratch-Resistant Lenses Important?

There are several reasons why scratch-resistant lenses are so important for your safety glasses. The biggest reason right off the bat is safety. After all, these ARE safety glasses we are talking about here, so they need to be a step above regular glasses. Having scratched lenses can severely compromise that safety.

When lenses are scratched up it negatively affects your vision because the lenses are not protected from even minor scratches. This makes the lenses cloudy and impairs your vision to the point of possibly not seeing a looming hazard. Â

Also, the more scratched the lens is the more likely it is to crack or break. So even if you had impact-resistant glasses, if they were severely scratched up that resistance to impact might be compromised. That would thereby compromise your own eye safety.

You might be surprised to realize just how many people think safety glasses are more about the frame with just regular lenses in them. They think wrap-around or impact frames are what make up a good pair of safety glasses. However, although the frames do play a part, the most critical role is safety lenses for avoiding direct injury to your eyes.

This is very important considering how many eye injuries are reported every year in the workplace alone. That is not even counting eye injuries resulting from leisure activities that often pose a high risk of injury. Hobbies such as motorcycle riding, beach volleyball, and various shooting sports all present that higher risk vs. normal daily activities.

What Are The Benefits?

Scratch-resistant lenses offer several valuable benefits one of course protecting your eyes from injury but there are others as well.

Your lenses last longer because the lenses are less likely to get scratched up so quickly. Lenses that get scratched up lose their luster and functionality quicker. So when you have scratch-resistant lenses, that coating is going to help them last longer as well as continue to look like they’re new.

Your vision improves as already discussed, scratch-resistant coating on safety lenses reduces light scatter. This makes it so that you see everything more clearly, especially when facing bright lights.

Eye injury odds are reduced when using scratch. As referenced above, the more scratched up a lens is, the higher the risk of it cracking or breaking. If that were to happen while a foreign object is coming at your face, it could cause serious harm.

Peace of mind is boosted by the simple knowledge that your lenses are protected by a specialized coating that extends their life and functionality. Given that their function is to protect your eyes, it only makes sense that this would give you more peace of mind as well.

Is It Worth The Investment?

Generally speaking, scratch-resistant lenses are not an expensive upgrade. Some manufacturers’ scratch-resistant offerings might cost more than others, but theyâ€™re still affordable. You also have to remember that because there’s a protective coating on the lenses they won’t wear out as much. That translates into you not having to spend as much money constantly replacing â€œcheaper lenses.â€ Instead, you spend a little extra and get quality craftsmanship with improved durability.

What Types Of Lenses Come With Scratch-Resistant Coating?

Safety lenses come in a wide variety of material properties. For example, some are rated for high-impact resistance, while others may reduce blue light transmission. Many lenses even adhere to industry-specific design standards. However, no matter what material the safety lens is created from, scratch-resistant coating Can be applied for added protection. Some of the most common lens materials include:

PolycarbonateÂ lenses are the lightest material among safety lenses. They offer exceptional impact resistance and protect against things like flying debris. They are best suited for places such as construction sites and industrial manufacturing plants.

TrivexÂ lenses offer similar impact protection but due to their composition have much better optical clarity. Constructed from a urethane-based pre-polymer, these lenses are perfect for environments where you must be able to see minute details.

GlassÂ lenses are hands down the leader for optical clarityâ€” thereâ€™s nothing better. However, where they lack in terms of safety, is that their impact resistance is low. If flying debris hits the lenses more than likely they will shatter. Because they are glass that also poses a risk of injury in and of itself should you get a glass Shard in your eye. That’s why glass lenses are best suited for environments that only need the highest level of optical clarity and no need for impact.