ANSI Z87.1+ means the glasses passed the standard's high-velocity and high-mass impact tests, a steel ball fired at the lens at speed and a heavier pointed weight dropped from height, on top of basic Z87.1 impact testing. Before buying for a tire bay, check that the Z87+ mark is stamped on both the lens and the frame, not just printed on the packaging.
A wheel weight lets go on the balancer and clips a tech in the face. A pry bar slips and a chunk of dried adhesive comes off the rim at speed. Every tire shop owner has some version of that story, and it's why safety glasses sit on the supply order right next to gloves and grips. But there's a real difference between glasses labeled "safety glasses" and glasses that meet ANSI Z87.1+, and most techs, and a fair number of shop owners, couldn't tell you what that difference is if you asked.
What the Standard Requires
ANSI Z87.1 is the American National Standards Institute standard for occupational and educational eye protection. To carry the marking, a pair of glasses has to pass impact testing set by that standard, not just look sturdy in a catalog photo. That includes a drop-ball test and coverage requirements for the lens and frame. If a manufacturer stamps Z87 on a product, they're claiming it passed that testing, and the marking has to be etched or stamped directly on the lens and frame, not printed on a hangtag that gets thrown away with the box.
The Plus Mark Is Doing Real Work
Basic Z87.1 covers impact from a dropped object at moderate energy, closer to something falling off a shelf. Z87.1+ means the glasses also passed the high-velocity and high-mass impact tests: a steel ball fired at the lens at speed, and a heavier pointed weight dropped from height. That's the test that matters on a tire bay floor, where the debris flying at a tech's face isn't a pencil off a desk. It's a wheel weight, a chunk of old adhesive, or a piece of a bead breaker tool letting go under load. If the box says Z87 without the plus, the glasses were never tested against that kind of impact, no matter what the marketing copy claims.
What to Check Before You Order a Case for the Whole Shop
Two things, every time. First, look for the marking stamped into the lens and the frame, both, not one or the other. Second, confirm it reads Z87+ and not just Z87. A lot of glasses sold online as "safety glasses" carry no ANSI marking at all, which means nobody tested them against any impact standard, high or low. For a shop running four or five bays and burning through glasses fast because techs lose them, scratch them, or leave them in a truck bed, that's not a corner worth cutting on the one piece of PPE standing between a tech's eyes and whatever just came off the rim.
It also matters after the fact. If a tech takes a hit to the eye and the incident gets reviewed, "we bought safety glasses" is a weaker answer than "we bought glasses rated Z87.1+ for exactly this kind of impact." One of those holds up. The other is a hope.
Our Slicks Anti-Fog ANSI Z87.1+ Safety Glasses carry the high-impact rating along with an anti-fog coating, sold by the case so a shop can outfit every bay at once instead of reordering one pair at a time.
Does the impact rating also mean the glasses won't fog up?
No. The impact rating and the anti-fog coating are two separate things a manufacturer has to build in on purpose. A pair can be Z87.1+ rated and still fog up constantly if there's no coating on the lens, which is exactly why techs quietly stop wearing glasses that technically meet the standard. Look for both on the same pair, not one or the other.
Where should the marking show up on the glasses themselves?
On the lens and on the frame, usually stamped near the temple. If you can't find a Z87 mark anywhere on the physical glasses in your hand, treat any "ANSI compliant" claim on the packaging as unverified until you see it.
Is Z87.1+ the same thing OSHA checks for?
OSHA's eye protection rule for general industry doesn't write its own separate impact-testing standard. It references ANSI Z87.1 as the benchmark for compliant eyewear. A Z87.1 mark on the frame and lens is how a shop shows the glasses on the floor meet the standard OSHA references in 1910.133.
If you're stocking eye protection for a multi-bay shop and want to know what's actually certified versus what's just labeled that way, reach out to us at sales@chaosmoto.com or 480-829-7888 and we'll walk through it.