Safety visor buying guide
Updated: October 2026
You are about to buy a first visor for a strimmer, a hedge trimmer, or a bench grinder, and the amazon.co.uk title already says helmet, welding, or safety. This safety visor buying guide is the order we use before any brand: name the debris, then read the mark the listing actually prints, then check whether the headgear fits over your glasses and your ear defenders. The eight rows, the prices, and the scores sit on the [face protection comparison](/hub/occupational-safety/face-protection). Who should take which row is on [best face shield](/hub/occupational-safety/face-protection/sub/face-protection-best). Prices were captured on 20 October 2026. We did not run a laboratory test. If you buy through our amazon.co.uk links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
You are about to buy a first visor for a strimmer, a hedge trimmer, or a bench grinder, and the amazon.co.uk title already says helmet, welding, or safety.
You are about to buy a first visor for a strimmer, a hedge trimmer, or a bench grinder, and the amazon.co.uk title already says helmet, welding, or safety. This safety visor buying guide is the order we use before any brand: name the debris, then read the mark the listing actually prints, then check whether the headgear fits over your glasses and your ear defenders. The eight rows, the prices, and the scores sit on the face protection comparison. Who should take which row is on best face shield. Prices were captured on 20 October 2026. We did not run a laboratory test. If you buy through our amazon.co.uk links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
Our top picks
| Badge | Product | Visor | Standard in listing | Headgear | Note | Price | Offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best overall |  Oregon Oregon Q515061 mesh and muffs | Steel mesh in the title; lens row says polycarbonate | CE EN 1731 and CE EN 352.1 in the bullets | EasyFit ratchet browguard | 8.9 | about £22.79 | View offer |
| Alternative |  Jackson Safety Jackson Safety 14200 Maxview | Clear polycarbonate | Bullets: EN166, ANSI Z87.1, CSA Z94.3 | Ratchet, 370 Speed Dial | 7.5 | about £39.12 | View offer |
| Best value |  Portwest Portwest PW91 clear browguard | Clear polycarbonate, 1 mm | EN 166 1B and 3B; NB 2797 | Wheel ratchet browguard | 8.4 | about £14.99 | View offer |
On this page
What you are protecting
Health and Safety Executive guidance lists spectacles, goggles, face screens, shields and visors, matched to impact, dust, splash or molten metal. The PPE at Work Regulations 1992 still require suitable kit where a risk remains. A Saturday strim throws sap and the odd stone. A grinder throws fine grit you must see through. A limb overhead is a helmet job.
None of the eight listings here is a hard hat to BS EN 397. A yellow shell in a photo is often a headband. Hestya's two-pack title says helmet, and the reviews describe mesh on a strap. One UK reviewer of the four-pack says the picture looks like a hard hat, and the box is not that. Paid tree work belongs with the wider chainsaw kit the HSE lists.
Coarse chips can suit a mesh visor: the holes let air through and the wires stop larger pieces. Splash, fine dust, and a view you cannot get through holes suit a continuous polycarbonate sheet. That choice, including the Oregon listing that says both, is mesh visor or clear visor.
The mark on the listing
Prefer a listing that prints EN 166 or EN 1731 over a title that only says safety. EN 166 no longer gives presumption of conformity for new certification after 11 November 2025. The designated successor is EN ISO 16321-1, and EN ISO 16321-3 for mesh. Shelf stock still shows the older numbers. Wearing an EN 166 visor is not illegal, and a missing mark is not a hidden certificate. For Great Britain, new PPE is UKCA or CE marked, with English instructions. Northern Ireland follows the CE route. A CE line does not prove the visor in the parcel matches the sentence.
Portwest's PW91 is the worked example. At £14.99 the bullets say a 1 mm clear visor rated EN 166 1B and 3B, CE certified by BSI Netherlands, notified body 2797. Portwest's datasheet describes that code as medium-energy impact protection. It is not a molten-metal mark. Portwest puts molten metal on the PW96, which is not in this comparison. The same bullets name the PW92 as a separate replacement when the screen chips.
Oregon's Q515061 bullets print CE EN 1731 and CE EN 352.1. The Q515064 bullets also print CE EN 1731, then two of them call the visor clear while the title says steel mesh. Both Hestya packs, the Gaomumu, and the Generic mask have no standard in the captured table.
Fit, glasses and ear defenders
A marked visor that does not fit will sit in the shed. STIHL's UK grass-trimmer page says a visor alone does not adequately protect your eyes, so safety glasses stay on underneath. Oregon's muffs bullets say goggles can be worn under the mesh. A Portwest reviewer who wears glasses finds the PW91 useful. The Gaomumu bullets claim a raised nose bridge, and one UK reviewer still found the strap very snug. Try your own frames before you start the tool.
Hearing protection is separate. Only the Oregon Q515061 includes ear defenders, at £22.79 and 500 g. The bullets quote up to 25 decibels and CE EN 352.1. That phrase is not an SNR. On the Jackson 14200, one reviewer says normal full ear defenders will not fit. If you already own muffs, check the seal with the visor on.
A ratchet, such as the Portwest wheel or the Jackson Speed Dial, can tilt the screen when you stop. A £9.97 elastic strap cannot. Hestya's two-pack draws comments that the fit is tight or impossible above about 60 cm, even at full adjustment. That figure is from reviews, not a size chart.
What the prices in this set can buy
Price comes last, inside bands captured on 20 October 2026, not as a census of every visor in Britain. Entry, about £9 to £15, holds the Generic mask at £8.99 (4.2 from six), the Gaomumu at £9.97 (4.1 from 11), and the Portwest at £14.99 (4.4 from 1,034). Rank 1 in Visors is Amazon's list, not a test. Mid, about £19 to £24, holds the Hestya two-pack at £18.99, the Oregon mesh at £19.62, the Oregon with muffs at £22.79, and the Hestya four-pack at £23.89 (3.5 from 12, three UK reviews call it flimsy). The dear row is the Jackson at £39.12. A forestry helmet usually costs more, and it is a different product.
Nine pounds is too little when the page has no mark and the title borrows welding or helmet language the bullets then withdraw. It can be enough for an unmarked strap if your glasses already have a mark. The Portwest is where a clear visor, EN 166, and a named spare meet a four-figure review count.
Common questions
Do I buy a mesh visor or a clear one?
Buy mesh for coarse debris and airflow, and accept that holes let dust and splash through. Buy a clear sheet when you must see an edge, or when the hazard is fine grit or droplets. Mesh is not UV protection, and EN 1731 is not for splash, molten metal, electrical hazard, or infrared and ultraviolet.
Does the listing have to say EN 166?
It has to show a mark you can read if you want a stated performance. EN 166 is the older number still printed on many clear visors, including the Portwest PW91. Mesh listings more often print EN 1731. New certification is moving to EN ISO 16321. A title that only says safety, with an empty table, has not given you that mark.
Is CE still accepted in Great Britain?
HSE's supply guidance says new PPE for Great Britain is UKCA or CE marked, with English instructions. Northern Ireland follows the CE route. A CE line on a bullet is something you can check. It does not turn an unmarked strap shield into a certified one.
Will a face shield fit over glasses?
Sometimes. Oregon's muffs bullets say goggles fit underneath. A Portwest reviewer with glasses finds the PW91 useful. One Gaomumu reviewer found the strap too snug to be sure. STIHL still asks for safety glasses under a visor for grass trimming, so plan for both.
Is a browguard a hard hat?
No. A browguard holds a visor at the forehead. HSE's chainsaw page lists a helmet, a mesh visor to BS EN 1731, and glasses to BS EN 166 as separate lines. If the photo shows a yellow shell and the reviews describe a headband, believe the reviews.
Why is the Portwest code written 1 B / 3 B?
The PW91 bullets print EN 166 1B and 3B. Portwest's datasheet describes that marking as medium-energy impact protection, notified body 2797. Do not read the 3 as molten metal. That is the PW96, which is not in this set. The code is also not a promise that the packing film has been peeled.
When is £9 too little?
When you needed a printed standard, a ratchet that lifts, or enough reviews to show how the strap fails. The Generic mask is £8.99 with six reviews and no standard. The Gaomumu is £9.97 with eleven reviews and no EN line. Neither replaces the Portwest or the Oregon rows for grinding or a long strim.
Related pages
Sources
Public UK sources listed below, last checked on 20 October 2026. Shelf prices and star lines are the amazon.co.uk figures for these eight listings. The price bands are this set, not a market average.
- HSE: using the right type of PPE (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- HSE: chainsaw PPE (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- HSE: PPE product supply (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- PPE at Work Regulations 1992, regulation 4 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- BSI: BS EN 1731:2006 mesh eye and face protectors (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- DBT notice 0142/26, 15 October 2026 (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- BSI eyewear transition webinar, EN 166 date (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- Portwest PW91CLR datasheet (retrieved 20 October 2026)
- STIHL UK: grass-trimmer PPE (retrieved 20 October 2026)