"Eye Muffs" anybody use them? Or even heard of them?

Old Greenhorn · February 20, 2025, 08:41:03 PM

Soo last night my mind went on a little trip and I started to muse about a minor issue I have. I often don't wear safety glasses when cutting trees and running the mill and it's just sloppy on my part. This last week or so dropping trees and bucking I have gotten several chips in my eyes (I think one is still buried behind my right eye and driving me nuts). I can't wear ear plugs because I get ear infections and the plugs make it worse, so I need muffs. If I wear safety glasses, the lift the muffs off the side of my head and 'leak'. Plus the glasses fog and all that. I do try to make myself do it, but I'm old, onery, and stupid much of the time.
So I was thinking what if somebody made glasses that were somehow made to work with muffs? Well, a little google later and I find a company in Australia that makes these things called ear muffs that are just that. Actually it is THIS MODEL that I am looking at.
They make 2 versions as far as I can tell, one with the fancy Bluetooth junk and one without. The ones without are priced at $119 AUS and I see they are available on Ebay at $99.. The only USA interest I see is in the shooting community, but it also seems that woodworkers are looking into them. I can find no USA outlets. It's a lot of money for a piece of gear like this, but if it keeps me honest and helps with my daily habits, I would likely jump on it because the last time I went to the ER with and object in the eye it was unpleasant and expensive.

So is anybody using these? Has anybody heard of them? I am wondering about durability and all the basic things. I'd pay the price provided it does the job.

TreefarmerNN · February 20, 2025, 08:50:08 PM

Interesting combination. I'd wonder about the lens fogging up, especially in the summer. Regular safety glasses sometimes fog for me if I'm sweating a lot. If I'm running the mill or chainsaw in the summer then I'm sweating, lol.

Nebraska · February 20, 2025, 09:02:31 PM

Interesting

Old Greenhorn · February 20, 2025, 09:04:26 PM

Yeah, I wonder about that too (fogging). But at that cost I am more concerned about durability. I can't spend that kind of cash and have them break at the bridge of the nose. I note the lenses are replaceable, but I can't see where to get a spare set of lenses. Right now I use $1.99 safety glasses and have no problem discarding them when they get scratched.
I keep trying everything. I have screen 'glasses' with a head strap, and the same ones with ear pieces, and tried other stuff too. But at this price I just want to think it through and that's why I am asking.

Big_eddy · February 20, 2025, 09:37:14 PM

I wear a standard cutters helmet. Face shield and muffs in one. Good seal on the ears. Have had some wind blown sawdust get in my eyes, but never any chips or anything large.

I occasionally wear safety glasses as well as the helmet, but even then, sawdust can be blown by on a windy day.

Less than the cost above, and will protect your noggin too.

Resonator · February 20, 2025, 09:49:31 PM

I'd wonder more about the comfort level or that they'd feel odd, on those "eye muffs". I see there is no headband to keep them in place, may not fit right or stay in place throughout the day cutting.

X2 on a good forestry helmet, some have a curved face screen that won't fog.

Peter Drouin · February 21, 2025, 06:57:18 AM

I wear glasses anyhow. I would have them all messed up in no time. When I run the chainsaw I wear a logger helmet. Unless I'm running the sawmill for one cut, then just the muffs.
Put me down for a waste of $$.

Old Greenhorn · February 21, 2025, 07:55:45 AM

Here's a video I found.

taylorsmissbeehaven · February 21, 2025, 08:06:57 AM

Im on the Felling Helmet team. I wear mine to run the chainsaw and the mill. Both the screen whole face shield and the earmuffs flip up out of the way but stay with you when not in use. I like earmuffs best as well and agree they dont do as well with glasses. I end up sitting the glasses down and forgetting them, breaking them, or losing them. I like to keep it simple, and the helmet works for me

Skeans1 · February 21, 2025, 08:58:34 AM

@Old Greenhorn
Have you seen the screen style shields that go on the full brim hats?

Old Greenhorn · February 21, 2025, 09:52:55 AM

Seen it? Yeah, I have one. Don't use it anymore. The sun reflecting off the screen could make me blind at times and I still got a lot of chips up under the screen. It caught on a lot of stuff too. There's a photo of it in another thread running currently on cutters helmets.
I just wanted to know if anybody knew or these or had maybe tried them.

scsmith42 · February 21, 2025, 11:52:58 AM

Interesting concept. The hearing protection part doesn't look that great though.

Old saw fixer · February 21, 2025, 12:15:20 PM

I never felt my eyeglasses temples affected ear muff hearing protection.

barbender · February 21, 2025, 12:38:31 PM

There used to be screen style goggles, I think they were called "Bug-eyez" or something like that.

I fog safety glasses up so badly that they cause me more if a hazard then not, because I can't see.

When I was really into snowmobiles, we struggled with the fancy high end full face, face shield type of helmets fogging as well. I HATED mine, it compromised many rides because I couldn't see well. Someone got me to switch to a motocross helmet, with a breath shield and double pane Oakley ski goggles. I never had a bit of fog again!

That said, I've often considered getting another set of ski goggles like those for milling and chainsaw work.

GRANITEstateMP · February 21, 2025, 01:00:39 PM

Tom,

Back on the day of open faced racing helmets, a lot of the drivers wore "bubble goggles" with the open face helmet. They didn't tend to fog, so maybe finding a couple pairs of those might be worth a try. They came clear, smoked,and dark, oh, and they used to be cheap too!

Old Greenhorn · February 21, 2025, 03:20:08 PM

Well thanks. If I run across a pair of those bubbles, I might give them a try. I have the bug eyes, both with a headstrap and ear pieces, I have issues with the screens in bright sun and they don't keep out fine dust from the sawmill.
I am always looking for something that is 'just right' but for the purposes of this thread I was just looking for info on this particular product.

Raider Bill · February 21, 2025, 03:56:38 PM

These are Bug Eyes.
Used for gas welding/cutting and looking cool.

SwampDonkey · February 21, 2025, 04:26:44 PM

I wear these safety glasses when thinning and cutting wood. I'm about to order 2 more pair. Like I said before, in my bush I have no under growth to slap me in the face when cutting wood.

https://www.arboristsupply.ca/product/notch-mesh-safety-glasses/2907

Old Greenhorn · February 25, 2025, 09:35:41 AM

Well I have been thinking on this a bunch more and found the company that makes them has a FB presence. I used the chat feature there and made contact with the owner and we had some nice exchanges there and through direct emails. They are looking for a good US distributor and there is a slight chance I may have one for him. He kindly offered to send me a sample, but I declined, thinking he would not likely make his money back on me. BUT I did take him up on the offer for a free replacement lens set in smoked grey.
Since he has yet to sell a set through Ebay, I ordered there so he could test it out and see how it works. He is also sending me his distributer promo paperwork. I will use these for a bit, perhaps do a video review sort of thing, and let everyone know what I think. I will also make an appointment to visit this possible distributor and see if anything shakes out. Lastly, I suggested that if he creates a US outlet he should consider becoming a sponsor here on the FF. I told him I know a guy.

Lets see how this shakes out. Seems like a good product an I know the odds of making something happen for him are low, but I also know they are zero if I don't give it a shot.

Old Greenhorn · March 06, 2025, 08:19:33 PM

Well the EyeMuffs arrived yesterday and I messed with them quite a bit. I learned that there are a lot of ways to adjust the fit and it takes a little while to make them fit just right, but then they are good. I was very impressed with the fit and finish on these things and the material selections. Very nice design and very nice fit. All parts are replaceable. The neat thing is they never move once you set them, but they never feel too tight. Today I got them out on a job and found them extremely comfortable to wear for the whole session. Usually with my other muffs I yank them off as soon as I am done cutting, but not with these, easier to leave them on and quite comfortable.
I let the other guys try them and they liked them too. I think Bill is going to order a few sets with the blue tooth in them. All in all I have no regrets buying these. Good gear is worth what you pay for it.

I'll use them for a while and then I may do a video because there isn't much out there. I give them a thumbs up, for sure.

Old Greenhorn · March 26, 2025, 05:56:39 PM

A short follow up here. Been using them for a few weeks now and they did take some getting used to. Making them fit comfortable took some practice but I now have that figured out. I really like these things and glad I made the purchase. More to follow at some point.

SwampDonkey · March 26, 2025, 06:00:07 PM

Most important part, serving the purpose with satisfaction.

Old Greenhorn · April 15, 2025, 06:25:14 PM

OK, I have been using the regularly for 5 weeks now. I think it's fair to say that anytime you begin using something new and different, you have to put in a little effort to figure it out. These are no different. The first few days, maybe up to 2 weeks I am was learning. Turns out there are a lot of ways to adjust these to get them to sit right on your face and be comfortable. For a couple of days, it was frustrating and I nearly gave up on them, but then I figured it out. For me the issue was too much pressure on the bridge of my nose which impeded easy breathing and I like to do that a lot.

I finally figured out all I had the do was adjust the position of the muffs on my ears ever so slightly and the problem went away. Likewise other issues of too tight or too loose went away after I figured them out and adjustments became intuitive. It also takes a day ot two to get used to handling them per the manufacturers instruction i.e. DO not grab the muffs to put them on and off, use the side straps that connect the glasses to the muffs.
I used them through the majority of my mushroom log harvest as I figured them out. Since I don't like the muffs on when I don't have the saw running, I learned I could just twist the muffs so I could hear, but still keep the glasses on. This was the fastest way for /on/off switches and became natural after a few times. I used the clear lenses to start out, not being a big fan of sunglasses or tinting when I am working, but when we got a string of bright days I tried the gray tinted lenses/ I like them more than I expected. They don't impede my ability to see details, but they do take a load off my eyes. I realized when I took them off and the it was so bright that it hurt a little, with them on, no issue.

So to sum it all up, I really like these things and they have become a regular part of my kit. They may look a little funny, but they do work, they are comfortable, and they are easy to use once you put a little effort in. For me, they are well worth the purchase price. I would like to make a video, but I really need somebody to wrk the camera for this one.
The last couple of days I have been wearing them at the mill. Today was a great test because the wind was way up and coming from the worst direction right into my face. This is usually a miserable situation for me, but today it was no problem at all and again, the tinted lenses really knocked down on the eye strain with the bright sun. Anytime the wind blows like that it doesn't matter what I am wearing for glasses, the dust gets blown up underneath or in the sides. If I wear the bug eye screen glasses with the face gasket, that dust goes right through the screen. But with thes tings I had not a single issue. It was pretty amazing.

SwampDonkey · April 15, 2025, 06:45:26 PM

A lot like adjusting a clearing saw harness, just right. If the straps are not adjusted to your body shape just right, you're going to have sore shoulders all day. I have an old harness that either something is missing on it or it just isn't quite right on me. Reach for the new one out of the plastic wrap, put it on and fits great all day.

And I do have another brand new one for spare. I've got 3 working saws. Two Stihls and one Husqvarna, the Stihl harness works on both saws, but not the other way around because the attachment on a Stihl saw will chew the Husqvarna hook up, harder steal on the attachment point. Oh and yes I have 4 harnesses, one is a Husqvarna one.

Old Greenhorn · April 15, 2025, 07:03:05 PM

After years of trying to help with corporate shop safety in several shops I know if it's not comfortable people will try to find ways to avoid it. For me, with this product I knew when at the end of the day or work session that I had preferred to leave them on all day rather than take them off whenever I could, that I had a winner. The most I would do is twist up the ear muffs so I could hear than natural sounds around me. But hen I would just twist them back down when I started the saw. \
I will say, that for work where there is a lot of 'stuff flying' like disc grinding, brush cutting, chain sawing, weed whacking, these thing are great. Total eye and ear protection. I always hated face shield's because they fogged and stuff would come up from underneath or the sides. Likewise face screens like on loggers helmets for the same reasons, plus a i had a couple whacked against my face from time to time and they bent or ripped.
I like these things and I don't say that easily.