Are Mowing Goggles Just Safety Glasses? (Revealed)


When you are mowing your lawn, one of the things you will notice is how debris tends to fly all over the place. We are not only talking about grass debris, but all sorts of debris such as rocks or even wood chips.

Because of that fact, you may want to use mowing goggles or safety glasses when you are mowing. However, are mowing goggles just the same as safety glasses?

Mowing goggles though similar to safety glasses, are not the same and offer more protection overall. They are designed to be more airtight than safety glasses and cover more of the face. Though many choose the light weight feel and similar protection of mowing safety glasses.

It would be interesting to understand whether or not goggles are different from safety glasses. Is it possible that one provides more safety than the other? In that regard, let us look at what eye protection can do to help you when you are mowing and whether or not mowing goggles and safety glasses are simply the same thing.

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Should You Wear Eye Protection When Cutting Grass?

Cutting or mowing your grass is a regular activity that you should be doing when you want your lawn to look good. However, one of the things you may notice when you are mowing your grass is that there will be all sorts of debris flying everywhere.

So, when we are talking about debris, it could be anything. Most of the time, it could be grass. But there will be a lot of times that it could also be pieces of wood or even rocks that will come flying at your face. So, should you wear eye protection when mowing?

It is advisable to wear eye protection when cutting grass. This goes for mowers even though the grass chutes are meant to be aimed away from the operator. This is especially true for weed trimmers and regularly send debris flying at a high rate of speed toward the operator.

Weed eater string spins at between 6500 and 8500 rpm. Lawnmower blades have much more mass and can sling larger objects. These blades spin at around 200 mph. Debris coming from either of these and striking an eye can do some serious damage.

It is important to know, hundreds of thousands of people get injured yearly due to lawnmowers. And while the 250,000 to 400,000 people that get lawnmower-related injuries include all sorts of injuries, it is safe to say that a chunk of those people injured their eyes while mowing their lawns.

An interesting side note: Due to the prevalence of flying debris hitting literally all parts of your body while doing landscaping work and lawn care, we had a common saying that passed around our landscaping crews. If we really didn’t want to do something, whether on the job or elsewhere, it was common for us to say, “I’d rather take a stick in the eye.” Now, we of course wouldn’t, but as hyperbole it was a common phrase. It goes to show how frequently flying objects hit not only clothes, but soft parts of the face and body as well.

The reason why the eyes can easily get injured while you are mowing your grass is that any debris flying at fast enough speeds can easily actually cause injuries to your eyes. Even small blades of grass can injure an eye when the blade is flying towards you at a fast enough speed.

You could just imagine what a piece of stone or wood can do to your eyes or face when the debris hits you while you are mowing your lawn.

As such, it has become quite important for you to wear protective gear for your eyes when you are mowing your lawn. Anything can fly towards your face while you are mowing your lawn or when you are asking your kids to do the same. And the last thing you want to happen is a twig scratching your eyes and causing serious injuries that may even lead to temporary or permanent vision loss.

This is why any authoritative body will always recommend that you wear safety equipment for your eyes when you are mowing your lawn. And when it comes to the choices of safety equipment for your eyes, they usually boil down to goggles and glasses.

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Are Goggles And Glasses The Same?

Now that you know how important it is for you to protect your eyes when you are mowing, you probably are now thinking about buying protective gear that can help keep your eyes safe from debris. The choice usually boils down to safety goggles and safety glasses.

But are goggles and glasses just generally the same when it comes to keeping your eyes protected?

Mowing goggles and safety glasses are not the same as one another. And the reason why these two are different goes back to the fact that goggles are designed to be a more protective version of eyewear than glasses. Goggles are airtight while glasses are not.

They are just generally different when you compare goggles to glasses.

Goggles Are More Airtight

The main difference between goggles and glasses is how airtight they are. Goggles are usually designed to “cup” around your eyes in a way that covers not only the front of your eyes but also all sides.

As such, using mowing goggles will allow you to keep your eyes protected not only from the debris that is flying straight at you but also from dust and chemicals that end up getting released while you are mowing your grass.

You should know that mowing your grass does involve not only flying pieces of grass, rocks, and wood but also dust particles that can bother your eyes when they enter your eyewear through the sides.

But wearing safety goggles will minimize such an occurrence because of how the goggles effectively cover all sides of your eyes due to how they seal your eyes from anything external.

Mowing Safety Glasses

On the other hand, safety glasses are similar to your regular glasses in the sense that you allow them to float just in front of your eyes while your ears and the bridge of your nose keep them in place. This means that there will be more openings at the sides and above and under the glasses.

However, some of the best safety glasses today are made to have extended protection that keeps the side of your eyes guarded as well. This means that they are made to be a lot safer than your run-of-the-mill sunglasses or eyeglasses.

The main draw of safety glasses is the fact that they allow more airflow compared to safety goggles. While it might be true that safety goggles are safer because they effectively seal your eyes, the lack of airflow makes them uncomfortable, especially if you live in a particularly warm region.

Be aware: If you are wearing most versions of safety goggles for extended periods of time while working in the heat or doing strenuous labor, at some point they are going to fog up on you. The moisture from your skin alone under the goggles will cause condensation and hamper visibility. This is the main drawback to most all goggles.

That being said, there are some brands that will give you much longer working time before you have to deal with your goggles fogging up. The DEWALT Concealer Clear Anti-Fog Dual Mold Safety Goggle does just this. If you are working for under and hour in the heat or strenuously, these will do the trick.

As for safety glasses, many like the lightweight feel and protection of The DEWALT Dominator Safety Glasses. We wore these glasses and many like them all the time. You can get yours from Amazon at these links.

But do take note that while safety glasses are more than enough to protect your eyes from flying debris, we cannot say the same when it comes to dust and chemical particles that may still bother your eyes.

Still, at the most, dust particles will only be irritating and bothersome and will not leave you with injured eyes. So, if your main concern is to keep your eyes safe from any possible injuries, safety goggles are already more than enough.

Is It Safe To Wear Goggles Over Glasses?

So, you are convinced that safety goggles or glasses are the way to go. But what if you wear prescription lenses in everyday glasses. How would this work? Can you wear googles over normal glasses?

Wearing safety goggles over prescription glasses is perfectly fine to do. It is a better option for some who don’t like the feel of trying to fit safety glasses over them. Regular prescription glasses also do not offer shatterproof protection in their lenses where safety glasses and goggles do.

There are options to get everything from sunglasses to safety glasses with your personal prescription in special custom lenses. But as you can imagine, this can get pricey. Besides, the amount of time you will be using safety glasses may not be worth the cost, even if your wallet can handle it.

Not only is it safe to wear goggles over glasses, keep in mind that prescription glasses can crack or even shatter, causing more damage than what would have happened if nothing was worn at all.

How Much Do Protective Goggles Cost?

Protective goggles are very inexpensive compared to the service they provide. The amount of pain and suffering that they can alleviate can make them worth much more than you will pay. This is not even mentioning any medical expenses. So, how much do protective goggles cost?

Protective goggles are very affordable for mowing situations, ranging from $10 to $15 for one pair. With modern advances in design and materials, they are also coming with fog resistant forms and features. This small amount you pay now can save you exponentially in the future.

If you are interested, here is the link again to the very popular pair on Amazon that I would recommend… The DEWALT Concealer Clear Anti-Fog Dual Mold Safety Goggle.

Are Mowing Goggles Or Safety Glasses Better For Mowing?

At the very least, safety glasses are already more than enough when it comes to household chores such as mowing or leaf blowing because you should only be concerned about any debris that may end up injuring your eyes. In that regard, safety glasses should already be more than enough for most people, especially when it comes to mowing.

However, if you live in a particularly windy area, it should be better to use safety goggles instead. It might be true that goggles are not as comfortable and as light as glasses, but it is also true that they provide more protection. So, if you want to keep your eyes protected from dust particles or even chemicals that may enter your eyes through the air, mowing goggles should be better for you.

The Final Touches On Mowing Goggles…

There you have it. That is a simple rundown of the similarities and differences between mowing goggles and mowing safety glasses. Hopefully this has helped you understand them and their importance in doing work with lawn equipment.

Protect those eyes now. Future you will thank you.

To read more from LawncareGrandpa.com, check some of these out…

Resources:

https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/tools/a26814625/safety-glasses-mud/

https://www.ccohs.ca/oshanswers/prevention/ppe/glasses.html

https://www.safeopedia.com/what-is-the-difference-between-safety-glasses-and-goggles/7/1177

Mathew Booe

Mathew has worked in landscaping professionally for over 10 years. He is a grandpa and frequently interviews other experienced landscapers and lawn care experts who are also grandpas for these articles.

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