The poor quality photos above are webcam shots of me wearing two different wire mesh safety glasses. Both came from Bailey’s Online. I only found out about them because P. Palazzo, CT made this comment on an early entry called “Power tool safety”: “You can get the Screen Safety Glasses and Goggles at BAILEY's Logger and Woodsman Supply (URL: http://www.baileys-online.com/) they are called Wire Mesh Safety Glasses, (item #62310) and Bugz-Eye Mesh Goggles, (item #35750)”. That’s one of the best parts of this website to me: along the way I learn new things too.

    I went ahead and ordered both pairs because I wasn’t sure which I would like better. I figured that I could wear one and then keep the other as a backup. At some point, I’ll eventually lose or break a pair, so I need a backup. Both pairs have wire mesh instead of plastic lenses, so they won’t get water all over them or fog up going in and out of the freezer. The wire mesh on both looks and feels like it would keep most stuff out your eyes, but I haven’t tested them while I’m carving in a freezer yet. I’d imagine that fine snow could get in your eyes still.

    Even though they make me look like I should be driving a Cadillac at 20 mph on a Florida freeway, I so far like the less expensive version (on the right, $8.95) a little better. They’re more comfortable to wear for me. I did like the Bugz-eyes (left, $20.95), but they were a little uncomfortable and I felt a little like I should be swimming or skiing or something. Shortly after I got my order from Bailey’s, I discovered that Fear No Ice apparently likes the look of the Bugz-eyes as they’re wearing them in a YouTube video that’s on my Favorites list. (it’s called “Fire and Ice”) At the end of the video, you can see closeup shots of the two carvers, and they’re both wearing the Bugz-eyes.

    I used to wear an orange Stihl/Peltor helmet that combined hearing, eye, and skull protection. It had a mesh face shield that you could raise and lower. It worked pretty well, but it was a little cumbersome. Eventually, too many of the little plastic parts on the helmet wore out, so I stopped using it. For awhile, I went back to regular safety glasses, but I’m glad now that I have the mesh goggles and glasses. One of the neat things about them is that you can’t scratch the lenses!