I’ve been playing with a lot of UV[ABC] and NIR (not laser) and I’m generally very very careful. There seems to be ample choice of suppliers [not necessarily cheap] for glass that offers degrees of UV/IR cut protection ranging from the stuff used for office glass windows to protection from high power lasers.
Long story short I am wondering if there are any good ‘budget’ brands of eye protection for specific frequency ranges. AliExpress is awash with nice looking laser protection goggles but none are brands I am familiar with. For everyday low intensity stuff I swear by my Uvex glasses but for their higher end stuff I would need to take out a mortgage.
IDK how much power we’re talking about, but plain ol’ polycarbonate does a very good job blocking UVA/B/C. If you want to test to see if the glasses are stopping the UV just put the glasses between a UV reactive target and the light source. No fluorescence means no or very little UV.
It’s mostly 3W and 10W emitters. I have some test means but the idea here is knowing before actually buying
I love my Uvex safety glasses, especially the EN 171 rated “pheos cx2” that does block a fair amount of NIR. Looking for something with higher IR attenuation but the options out there seem very limited, or very expensive, or unknown brands not sure I could trust.
For UV (A/B/C) you can block it with regular old polycarbonate safety glasses, and just wear long sleeves or sunblock if you have exposed skin and are particularly worried. You can also block UV-C with regular glass, as it requires special quartz glass to pass through.
For near-IR, I’m not too sure what the best eye protection might be.
Method Seven makes some great glasses, and their Cultivator glasses are their most affordable line, are Z87.1+ and CSA-Z94.3 rated as safety glasses, provide great UV protection, and protect from some near IR as well. They might not be up to the task with the amounts of IR your are using, but they may have some other glasses that would provide more IR protection, but at a higher cost. If I remember right, their glasses designed to work under HPS lighting are very good at blocking IR. Their more premium glass lens glasses tend to have more IR blocking. They specialize in glasses for working under high powered lights, so may be worth a look. I can vouch for the quality of their glasses, at least the Cultivator series. Maybe when I make the big bucks, I’ll spring for one of their more premium offerings.
