What tint is best for your safety eyewear?

Sunlight, dim interiors, blinding snow, blue light – all kinds of lighting in the workplace brings its own set of challenges. And at some point in the safety eyewear selection process, you may wonder if it really matters if you have Clear lenses versus Amber tinted lenses or otherwise on your safety glasses. The short answer is yes - it absolutely does matter.

Just as one pair of safety eyewear does not fit all, one tint isn’t good for all applications and environments. The right tint on your lenses is essential to increase clarity of vision and help lessen eye strain and fatigue; all things that can have a long-term effect on your eyes’ health – and your safety – on the job. A cut, a hand, or even a life could be saved with improved depth and contrast perception when using the proper lens shades for the job. So, how do you choose the right kind of tint for you?

There are several kinds of tints out there to choose from depending on your situation. To help you research which safety eyewear tint may be right for your environment, we’ve created a quick reference guide below to help steer you in the right direction.

The first and probably most common tint is clear. Clear lenses are ideal for most applications and are typically the standard lens tint for most safety glasses. Primarily used indoors, safety glasses with a clear lens are often worn to protect workers from impacts on the job. uvex clear tinted lenses offer 100% consistent optical clarity across the entire lens, giving wearers as close to natural vision as you can get.

See all uvex eyewear with clear lenses

If you’re consistently in situations where there is less than perfect lighting, you may want to consider amber tinted lenses. An amber tint enhances contrast in poorly lit working conditions. By partially filtering out the blue end of the light spectrum, an amber lens brightens and adds contrast to shapes and shadows by sharpening detail in challenging conditions that otherwise would be hard to discern. This helps lower the strain of focus on your eyes. Amber lenses are typically used in poorly lit working environments including nighttime and early morning outdoor applications. However, be cautious, if colour sensitivity is important on your job site, then an amber tint is probably not the best choice for you, as it filters out and shifts some colour from their natural state.

If you regularly work outdoors in sunlight e.g. roofing work, construction work, road building, gardening and landscaping, the uvex CBR23 is the ideal lens tint for you. Designed to protect against natural glare, the CBR23 tint provides contrast enhancement and reduces blue light, all while still allowing full signal colour detection. The uvex CBR23 lens filters blue light, boosts contrast for clearer vision, and helps reduce strain on the eyes and increase comfort. Blue light is reduced by up to 95% in extremely bright and sunny workplaces. The lens tint also reduces eye fatigue even during prolonged periods of use, giving strain-free vision for increased concentration and comfort, reducing the risk of fatigue. The lens allows 23% light transmission for protection against natural glare with signal colour detection.

If you work in bright artificial light environments, the uvex CBR65 lens is a revolution in eyewear protection, giving workers more Contrast enhancement, Blue light reduction, and Relaxed vision with 65% transmission. uvex CBR65 absorbs up to 50% of blue light with a maximum absorption of 450nm, while at the same time offering better contrast for a clearer vision to help reduce strain on the eyes and therefore increase comfort. The 65% visible light transmission delivers a relaxed field-of-vision and prevents the eye from getting tired too fast. uvex CBR65 is ideal for people working indoors under harsh light conditions, such as strong LED lighting, neon, or very bright environments; for those in changing light environments, either indoor or outdoor; and for those that require high levels of concentration or undertake close inspection work.

Think of a grey tint like your favorite pair of sunglasses; it’s used to dim the brightness of surroundings without color distortion. If you work in any outdoor environment with prolonged sun exposure, whether bright or partially sunny, a grey tint blocks natural glare and sun glare so that you’re not putting constant strain on your eyes.

See all uvex eyewear with grey sunglare lenses

For environments with changing light conditions or frequent movement between indoors and outdoors, a silver mirror tint with 53% light transmission is ideal. Often called an “indoor/outdoor tint” silver mirror lenses allows 53% of light to come through the lens, reducing the need to squint, which can cause strain and fatigue on your optical muscles. The best choice for extremely bright environments or natural glare conditions is a silver mirror tint with 12% light transmission. These lenses allow only 12% of light to come through the lenses and is ideal for high glare conditions and prolonged sun exposure. This tint helps reduce eye strain and fatigue.