Through a lens, safely
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I read this article on military eyewear in Straits Times article on 12 Nov.
One of the paragraphs says SOF ordered eyewear from a company called Revision.
I had all along thought that SOF, same as the US Special Forces, uses nothing but Oakleys. Any idea, anyone ? -
Why?
You want to go SOF so you can get a pair of Oakleys?
It would be less painful and cheaper to order through the internet. -
not that ...... just wanted to find out if SOF lowered their standards -
In fact, Revision glasses are safer than Oakleys. Oakleys are more well-known because of product placement in movies and things like that, but Revision glasses can withstand a shotgun blast while Oakleys cant.
[html]http://www.firesupportbase.com/reviews/EyeProtectionSystems2bx.htm[/html]
Besides, Oakleys are much more expensive than Revision. -
I understand that Oakleys is milspecs has and the best optical quality ........ that's one reason why I use them. Bought from the US, much cheaperOriginally posted by edwin3060:In fact, Revision glasses are safer than Oakleys. Oakleys are more well-known because of product placement in movies and things like that, but Revision glasses can withstand a shotgun blast while Oakleys cant.
[html]http://www.firesupportbase.com/reviews/EyeProtectionSystems2bx.htm[/html]
Besides, Oakleys are much more expensive than Revision.
Are these tests official ? It seems like a backyard test and a commercial website. At 9m, just take 2 steps forward for the brands you want to look bad and fire, and take 2 steps back for the brands you want to look good and fire.
The large variation in the number of hits from the same distance from each shot is a tell-tale sign. The further you are from target, the lesser the no. of hits, and the lesser the impact.
Back to my question : Did SOF purchase Revision goggles ? SOF are professionals, and I am sure they know what they are looking for. -
The tests are definitely backyard, and imho this makes them more reliable than any tests that commercial makers with a vested interest can do. I have oakleys myself However you can be sure that they all meet the minimum required standards (ANSI Z87.1). Beyond that, I have no idea whether the SOF are using it, but I'm pretty sure that 6 SIR is.
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i need to ask... Can help me list out all the SIRs and tell me what they do?
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go searchOriginally posted by Alphapunk2:i need to ask... Can help me list out all the SIRs and tell me what they do? -
Through a lens, safely
Straits Times, The (Singapore)
Review
November 12, 2007
Author: Robert Karniol, Defence Writer
A NEW-FOUND sense of style pervades the gritty battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq, but there is more to this trend than meets the eye.
Imagery from these conflicts invariably has troops sporting sleek sunglasses, their sinister opaqueness evoking cold efficiency. In fact, this eyewear melds form with function to provide high-technology protection of growing sophistication.
'The United States Army previously provided protective eyewear to some soldiers, but it was found that they often did not wear it because it just wasn't particularly attractive. It wasn't cool,' said Ms Linda Watson, senior vice-president for marketing and communications at US-based Revision Eyewear Ltd.
Much has since changed.
Revision, with its manufacturing facility in the small Vermont town of Essex Junction, is among a handful of suppliers in this specialised market. There are just seven companies that meet rigorous US military standards, with four of these dominant: ESS, Oakley, Wiley X and Revision. Others include Rudy Project in Italy and the German company UVEX.
Military eyewear normally involves a range of eyeglasses and goggles, often with interchangeable lenses. Opaque lenses are used in bright sunlight, for example, and clear ones are used at night or in darkened interiors. The more sophisticated eyewear also accommodates corrective lenses clipped inside the frame for those with vision impairment.
The Canadian Army recently expanded this range with the introduction of a helmet-mounted visor. All members of the Canadian Land Forces have been equipped with Revision's Sawfly ballistic eyewear since 2003, and selective personnel are now getting helmet-mounted visors for an additional layer of protection. The aim is to provide eye and facial protection up to the level of body armour and helmets for those in particularly vulnerable positions, such as turret gunners.
Whatever the style, military eyewear is geared to address two core requirements: ballistic protection and environmental protection. The former refers to projectiles, including shrapnel and bullets. The latter includes ultraviolet light, sun glare, wind, dust and rain.
They must also be scratch-resistant and provide clear and distortion-free vision without obstruction, together with a comfortable fit. And, more recently, there has been a new emphasis on cool design.
Ballistic protection is provided by the eyewear's polycarbonate lens, made from a type of advanced plastic. In tests conducted by the US Army in September, Revision's Sawfly eyewear resisted penetration from shotgun, hand grenade and improvised explosive device (IED) blasts at a range of 5m. Products from other suppliers also have similar characteristics.
Ms Watson said that the market for military eyewear has mushroomed since 2000. 'Part of the reason is the type of warfare now going on. IEDs and close-quarters combat have combined to heighten interest,' she explained.
Incentives include the human cost, particularly as eye injuries in combat and in training alike are often preventable, and the financial cost. The latter can include workdays lost to injury and lifelong disability payments for those more seriously hurt.
In addition, eye injuries have become more prevalent in warfare. US military data indicates that ocular injuries as a percentage of total war injuries increased from 2 per cent and 2.8 per cent in World War II and the Korean conflict, respectively, to 7 per cent in the Vietnam War. The rate had grown to 13 per cent for the Gulf War of 1990-91.
This has prompted a growing range of military forces to consider ballistic eye protection. Aside from the US and Canadian armies, Revision's client list includes the United Kingdom and Belgian defence ministries. Singapore's Special Operations Force, part of the commando battalion, ordered Revision eyewear in 2005.
US marines sport ESS eyewear while Oakley is popular with the US Special Operations Command. Elsewhere, the Australian Army is due soon to select a ballistic eyewear supplier.
This growing market has spurred a flurry of research and development activity. Aside from the Canadian Army's helmet- mounted visor, the next generation of military eyewear should feature variable light transition products which allow a lens to change its opaqueness to account for shifts in light intensity. Such eyewear will also allow for a smoother transition between bright exteriors and dark interiors.
Another innovation in development involves incorporating head-up display systems in military goggles, which will allow for the remote transmission of data and imagery directly to the wearer.
Then there is the issue of protection against lasers. Laser technology has become intrinsic to a range of weapons, particularly in the area of precision guidance, but exposure to laser beams can cause blindness.
To address this specific issue, the United Nations Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, or Inhumane Weapons Convention, was revised in 1995 to include Protocol IV on Blinding Laser Weapons. This outlaws laser weapons whose primary purpose is to cause blindness, but there are two inherent flaws in the regime.
Protocol IV came into effect on July 30, 1998, but has so far been signed by just 87 countries. In this region, the list of nonsignatories includes Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore and Thailand - six out of the 10 Asean members - with neighbouring Timor Leste and Papua New Guinea equally negligent.
The second problem centres on lasers whose primary purpose may involve guidance or other functions. Though permitted under Protocol IV, these can also cause blindness through improper exposure.
The challenge in developing protection against laser-induced blindness on the battlefield lies in the fact that lasers emit beams of varying wavelengths. Several companies now produce laser-protection lenses, made by mixing a dye additive with the pigment when moulding the lens, but these are of limited effectiveness. Most protect against just one transmitted wavelength while some work against two or three.
This narrow capability is hardly sufficient and efforts are under way to improve the range of coverage.
'Dielectric stacks represent a new technology now being worked on as an alternative,' Ms Watson said.
'This could result in the commercialised introduction of a new type of protective eyewear in the relatively near-term future.'
[email protected]
Copyright, 2007, Singapore Press Holdings Limited -
Spy?Originally posted by Alphapunk2:i need to ask... Can help me list out all the SIRs and tell me what they do? -
I remember vaguely 6SIR was equipped with sunglasses around end 2005, when they start walking in the airport in those darkglasses.Originally posted by ^tamago^:Aside from the US and Canadian armies, Revision's client list includes the United Kingdom and Belgian defence ministries. Singapore's Special Operations Force, part of the commando battalion, ordered Revision eyewear in 2005.
Until this year, I still spot Commando guys in Oakleys. That's why I ask this question whether there are any truth in the newspaper report ? We know, sometimes, reports of such nature may not always accurate. It becomes a little far fetch to identify 6SIR as SOF.
Hopefully, some SOF guys comes into this forum and shed some light. I want to go buy a Revision eyewear if SOF has tested and selected them. But I hate to be snooked, and find out later that SOF are not using them. -
I think u're asking something really stupid.Originally posted by Alphapunk2:i need to ask... Can help me list out all the SIRs and tell me what they do?
Basically all SIRs are simply infantry units. Even though some are specific trained for certains tasks, but that's about it lor...you want to know for what? THey are just infantry. -
U sound a little...too much into brand...or the special forces...so what if a specific brand is milspecs or what-not...are U planning to be shot at any time soon?I dont think a milspecs sunglass can stay intact in a car crash...which is more probable in singapore/SAF than getting shot at.Originally posted by KoolKool:I remember vaguely 6SIR was equipped with sunglasses around end 2005, when they start walking in the airport in those darkglasses.
Until this year, I still spot Commando guys in Oakleys. That's why I ask this question whether there are any truth in the newspaper report ? We know, sometimes, reports of such nature may not always accurate. It becomes a little far fetch to identify 6SIR as SOF.
Hopefully, some SOF guys comes into this forum and shed some light. I want to go buy a Revision eyewear if SOF has tested and selected them. But I hate to be snooked, and find out later that SOF are not using them.
U might be paying for quality that U dont really need. 
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You may be right ........ that is because I don't do too much research, so brand is what I will trust.Originally posted by Xcert:U sound a little...too much into brand...or the special forces...so what if a specific brand is milspecs or what-not...are U planning to be shot at any time soon?I dont think a milspecs sunglass can stay intact in a car crash...which is more probable in singapore/SAF than getting shot at.
U might be paying for quality that U dont really need.
I am not planning to be shot at, or be in a car crash. But it sure is a lot more comforting to know that in case anything similar happened, I might be able to save my eyes.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King. Accidents do happen, and you never know when it will be. -
ya la. i want to they know what they specialise in. i only know that 3SIR is urban ops?Originally posted by specialOps:I think u're asking something really stupid.
Basically all SIRs are simply infantry units. Even though some are specific trained for certains tasks, but that's about it lor...you want to know for what? THey are just infantry. -
ok...as long as U are comfortable affording it.Originally posted by KoolKool:You may be right ........ that is because I don't do too much research, so brand is what I will trust.
I am not planning to be shot at, or be in a car crash. But it sure is a lot more comforting to know that in case anything similar happened, I might be able to save my eyes.
In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is King. Accidents do happen, and you never know when it will be. -
I also a bit cheapskate type ...... go to shop and try, then go on-line to purchase or ask friend in US to buy for me.Originally posted by Xcert:ok...as long as U are comfortable affording it.