Here at Fox, we are looking for three essential requirements for eyewear to be considered safe for our airsoft fields. These are standard for the most part in other fields.
- Z87.1 or Z87+ ANSI impact rating (varies by field)
- Fully Sealed
- Retention Strap
ANSI rating
The first thing is the rating. Z87.1 is a rating established by ANSI - the American National Standards Institute. ANSI aims to create uniform testing standards and guidelines for businesses' products and equipment. Z87+ denotes a higher standard, which is meant for high-speed impacts, such as debris. These are to the same standard you might use for industrial work or use around real firearms. A fast-moving piece of debris can be just as dangerous to your naked eye as a BB, so these goggles will take a severe impact and keep working. Never trust your eyes to something not tested or from a reputable maker. If you get some eyewear for really cheap, be wary that it might not have any impact ratings to back the product.
Full Seal
Fully sealed refers to how much of the goggles cover your eyes. You might see shooting glasses that are properly impact-rated, but they do not form a sufficient seal around your eyes. It is one thing to be wearing shooting glasses at a shooting range to protect against something from coming back to you. It is another thing when you play a sport where you are actively being shot at. Anywhere that a BB can go, it will find a way, so any gaps between your eye protection and your face are where they will end up.
Retention Strap
The last requirement is a retention strap. Again, since you are playing a sport with a lot of movement and people shooting at you, you have to consider that the goggles might get brushed up and knocked off your head. A retention strap will mitigate that significantly, and you will see it as a requirement in many fields.
Variations of Requirements
The only significant variations you might see from field to field are the level of face protection required and the Z87 rating required. Many indoor fields or fields that play in close quarters will have a mandatory rule about full face and possibly ear protection. Usually, a paintball mask meets and exceeds all the requirements for exclusively outdoor fields that may not be a requirement.
At our field, lower face protection is required for players under 18. Ear protection is not required. For players over 18, it is not required, though I still highly recommend it. We even have a CQB portion of our field, so I cannot recommend it enough to have full face coverage. Most of our long-range players opt out of this map anyway just to catch a break and socialize, so it is not a big issue, but you might not have that luxury. Either way, dental work is costly, so it is 100% up to you to determine if the field does not require it. We go with Z87+ for eye protection just to be as safe as possible.
One thing we see coming in from new players is fantastic masks or airsoft helmet with eye protection built in. These are usually utilizing lenses that are untested and unrated or using a simple metal mesh material. While these can stop some standard velocities up to a point, they should be avoided because a BB can shatter on impact, and you will have that debris going into your eyes. With high-powered guns, the mesh could be defeated. We turn these masks away for safety reasons. The same goes for gas masks. These often do not have a high enough rated lens, though people who like to cosplay and combine that hobby with airsoft will bring these kinds of masks. The only thing tough enough that you could run is Lexan/plexiglass for lenses, which is something you might have to upgrade to if you make your own custom equipment. Due to liability reasons, this may not fly for your local field.
Time to sound like an old timer for a moment: Back in the early days of airsoft, our guns didn't shoot nearly as powerful out of the box. We all had to spend money on upgrades to make them shoot to the competitive standard we have today. With that being said, some of us took huge risks and endangered ourselves by using mesh goggles. Although they worked fine against a lower-powered old-school AEG, it was rare to encounter something heavily upgraded, and it could be dangerous if you took a hit in the goggles with a powerful gun. We often played in unsanctioned areas unsupervised. That was what early airsoft was like. It could have been more inviting for new players and very expensive and hazardous. Now that the sport has matured into something more legitimate, people must understand the importance of safety and why high standards should be encouraged throughout the United States.
With that said, stay safe out there and support your local fields that take this issue seriously.
