Best safety sunglasses for tradies

The one thing most people get wrong: two standards, not one

Sunnies you grab at the servo are made to one standard: AS/NZS 1067, the sunglasses standard. That only covers UV and tint. It says nothing about a lens stopping a bit of grinder spark or a flick of timber.

On the tools you want the other stamp too: AS/NZS 1337.1, the occupational eye protection standard. That is the one that tests impact. Medium impact (a ball at 45 m/s) is the sensible minimum for anyone near flying debris, and that covers most trades.

The sweet spot for an outdoor tradie is a lens that carries both: 1337.1 for the impact, and a proper tinted UV lens for the sun. Plenty of gear does. If it only quotes 1067, treat it as sunglasses, not PPE.

What to actually look for

• •AS/NZS 1337.1 medium impact marking. No stamp, no good on the tools.
• •A real tinted, UV400 lens (smoke or grey is the all-rounder). Cheap dark plastic that is not rated is worse than nothing.
• •Wraparound shape. Side coverage stops the sun and the grit that comes in from the edges.
• •Anti-fog and anti-scratch coating. Fog is the number one reason blokes push glasses up onto their head, and then they may as well not own them.
• •A light TR-90 or nylon frame with grippy nose and arms, so they sit put when you look down.
• •Polarised is great for glare off water, wet concrete, glass and sheet metal. But know the trade-off below before you pay extra for it.

The polarised catch worth knowing

Polarised lenses kill glare, which is brilliant for roofers, concreters and anyone staring at shiny surfaces all day.

But polarised can black out LCD screens on phones, tablets and machine displays at certain angles, and it can make a laser level line very hard to see. If you spend your day chasing a laser line or reading screens, a plain smoke lens is the smarter buy.

So it is not a case of polarised being better. It is horses for courses.

Budget, mid and premium: what your money buys

• •Budget (around the price of a carton): Bunnings house-brand and UV Wraps polarised wraps. UV Wraps are 1337.1 rated and cheap enough to keep spares in the ute. Fine for general outdoor work. Coatings and comfort are basic, so they scratch and you replace them.
• •Mid-range (a bit more): Bolle Silium+ and Rush+ in smoke or CSP, and 3M SecureFit tinted. These are the workhorses. Bolle Platinum anti-fog and anti-scratch coating is genuinely good, they are light, and they are 1337.1 medium impact. Best value on this list for most tradies.
• •Premium (proper spend): Ugly Fish trade and polarised range. Aussie brand, tough TR-90 frames, dual-certified to 1337.1 and 1067, and they do polarised, mirror and photochromic. Their bifocal safety readers are a standout if your close-up vision has gone. You pay for it, but they last and they fit well.

Brand and product picks

• •Best all-rounder: Bolle Silium+ smoke. Light, great coating, medium impact, cheap enough to not cry when you lose them. Rush+ if you want a bit more coverage.
• •Best cheap spare: UV Wraps polarised from Bunnings. Grab two, leave one in the ute.
• •Best Aussie premium: Ugly Fish, for example the Wrench polarised safety sunnies (1337.1 and 1067 certified). Comet and Tradie models if you want the mirror finish.
• •Best if you need readers: Ugly Fish bifocal safety range. Rated eye protection with a reader built into the bottom of the lens, so you can read a tape or tie off without swapping glasses.
• •Solid mid option: 3M SecureFit grey/smoke. Comfortable across different face shapes, widely stocked.

What to avoid or not waste money on

• •Fashion or servo sunnies for on-tools work. No 1337 rating means no impact protection, full stop.
• •Cheap mirrored lenses with no rating. The mirror is cosmetic and tells you nothing about impact or UV.
• •Paying premium for polarised if you read screens or chase laser levels all day. Buy plain smoke instead.
• •Very dark Category 4 lenses. They are too dark for driving and road work and are overkill on site.
• •Cutting corners on prescription safety glasses. If you need a script, get it done properly through a safety optical supplier rather than stacking cheap readers behind a lens.

Where to buy in Australia

Bunnings for the cheap and mid stuff, walk in and try them on. Sydney Tools and Total Tools carry the trade brands. Ugly Fish and Bolle sell direct online, and safety suppliers like RSEA and Blackwoods stock the full range including prescription. Amazon Australia is handy for multipacks of the mid-range gear.

Try before you buy where you can. Fit is everything: the best lens is useless if it slides down your nose or pinches after two hours.

How the pick changes by trade

• •Chippies and sparkies outdoors: smoke lens, 1337.1 medium impact, good anti-fog. Skip heavy polarising if you run a laser level.
• •Roofers and concreters in hard glare: this is where polarised earns its keep. A Category 3 smoke polarised lens takes the sting out of the day.
• •Anyone reading screens, laser lines or gauges: plain smoke, not polarised.
• •Grinding, demo and heavy dust: sunnies alone are not enough. Step up to sealed goggles or a foam-gasket frame, or add a face shield.
• •Welding: sunglasses do not cut it. You need the correct welding shade, not a tint.
• •Older eyes: go the bifocal safety readers so you keep the impact rating and still read the fine print.