April 19, 2011

3M Tekk Forceflex Glasses - Review

I'm of the opinion that if you fire up any power tool and you're not wearing eye protection, you're a complete and total moron. I'm manic about my eye protection and during the workday, I'm never more than three feet from a pair of safety glasses.

So when 3M offered to let me check out their new Tekk Forceflex Glasses, I jumped at the chance. Because of my eye safety fetish I've probably worn at least 20 different types and styles of safety glasses, so I know what I like and what I don't. Here's what I thought of the Forceflex...

Glasses: Cool.
Dude wearing them: Trying real hard to be cool

Well, I liked them a lot for a number of reasons. First, there is almost no peripheral vision loss. The lens wraps around to the side so you have a nice full range of vision, which can be really important on a jobsite. Second, they're durable. I didn't step on them, but I did drop them a few times and accidentally sat on them once in the truck. The Forceflex name isn't a joke. The glasses have some real bend to them.

They're also extremely comfortable and (thankfully) don't leave rosy red marks on the nose, like a lot of others do. They're shaded, so they're ideal for outside work, but I found that there is fine visibility in a well-lit room. You might look a little strange working in someone's basement with sunglasses on, but if there are no other safety options available, these should do fine.

They also come with a little bag and a neck lanyard. The later of these is a nice touch. During the day, I usually store my glasses perched up on the top of my head, but they can get stretched out that way and they sometimes fall off. So the lanyard was a good option to have. It got in the way when I was crouching down working at ankle level, but in most other circumstances, I preferred the glasses hanging around my neck rather than on my head.

The Forceflex are also stylish enough so they can also double as your day-to-day shades. They block 99% UV and, like I said, they can be worn all day with no discomfort.

They're priced at about $18 which might sound a little expensive for a pair of safety glasses, but when you think that a crappy pair of gas station sunglasses cost about $15, the price on these sounds pretty reasonable (or, better yet, you could think about the costs of having a shard of metal removed from your eye because you weren't wearing eye protection).

At Amazon.com