Having a pair of safety glasses that doesn’t fog up or cause the wearer to squint in order to see through the lens on a hot and humid day allowed more time to get work done, says tool reviewer Lou Fort, lead technician at K.A.R.S. Inc. in Huntingburg, Indiana. Fort says the anti-fog safety glasses from the Radians Tecona Safety Eyewear line enabled him to keep working without needing to stop to clear his glasses from fog.
Fort reviewed the TEC1-11 clear frame with clear anti-fog lens and the TEC1-21 smoke frame with smoke anti-fog lens. Both arrived in clear plastic pouches that displayed their four main protective elements: 99.9 percent UV protection, Z87.1 compliant, hard coat, and impact resistance.
Once out of the package, simply “slip them on and done,” Fort notes.
The Tecona safety glasses are super lightweight, Fort says, and have a comfortable nosepiece and temple arms. The lenses are curved and fit very close to the face. They also provide great side protection, Fort adds.
For Fort, a technician who wears reading glasses, the Tecona safety glasses provided an extra benefit.
“A huge bonus for me since I wear reading glasses is that I don’t have to take them off while wearing the Teconas,” he says. “They stay put even under extreme sweat and vibration.”
When using a cut-off tool to rework battery cable ends on a Dodge Dakota and a Ford F-250, Fort wore the TEC1-11 clear lens. He also wore them while removing rust from brake caliper stands, dually hubs, and other applications.
He wore the TEC1-21 smoke lens when using a cutting torch to remove suspension parts from a Ford F-550, noting, “The smoke lens pair gave me a level of protection that I didn’t expect due to their transparency.”
Over Fort’s 30 plus years as a technician, he has bought and used countless numbers of safety glasses, including different brands at different price points.
“I have always stayed away from low-priced pairs, but I now know that’s been a big mistake,” Fort says. “These [Tecona] glasses are high quality for little money.”
Although Fort wore the clear lens the most while in the shop, he can’t think of a way to improve either pair of anti-fog safety glasses. There wasn’t anything that he didn’t like about them.
For Fort, the Radians Tecona Safety Eyewear allowed him to get more work done and see clearly.
