Instagram served me an ad for the Komax face shield, and it looks interesting.
Komax says their face shield is glasses-friendly, fog-free, anti-dust, and seals tightly from all angles and sides.
At first glance, it’s got my attention.
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They’re also offering a limited time offer where you get “30% off.”
At this time, the ad has been viewed over 886K times, and has more than 800 comments.
Looks good, right?
Over at the Komax website, the price is $39.95, from $49.99.
Buy 2 or more, and get extra 25% savings for “a total discount of 45%.” The numbers don’t add up, but let’s ignore that for a moment.
Where’s the safety certification?
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If you buy the Uvex Bionic face shield, which is less than $30 at Amazon right now, it’s clearly advertised as meeting ANSI Z87 and CSA Z94.3 safety standards.
The Uvex Bionic has a polycarbonate visor. What type of material is the visor of the Komax face shield made from? They don’t say.
Not all face shields clearly list their visor materials.
The visor material for the Jackson MaxView, which is also around $30 at Amazon, is listed on the company’s website, but not their Amazon listing. In both places, it’s clearly described as meeting or exceeding ANSI Z87.1 and CSA Z94.3 safety standards.
Looking over the Komax product page, I can’t find any mention that it complies with safety standards.
Safety products that don’t mention safety standard compliance? That’s a huge red flag to me.
Here’s a front view of the Komax face shield from their website.
Here’s an angled view of it, as it fits over a user’s face.
Here’s what comes up on Amazon in a search for “anti-dust face shield.”
You can get a 2-pack for under $20. Multiple vendors are selling 2-packs for under $20. Some have it at $10 each. Others have it for $12 each.
Amazon product pages advertise that the Komax face shield – with some listings using the same brand name – can be be used for all kinds of applications, from “anti-oil fume” to “outdoor cycling.”
There are some positive reviews on Amazon, but also plenty of customer complaints, such as about how it doesn’t fit over prescription glasses very well, and how it fogs up, and there are also complaints about poor face seals.
For me, this product is a huge “NOPE!”
First, as mentioned, there’s no safety rating. If I’m going to wear safety glasses, goggles, or a face shield, it has to meet or exceed ANSI Z87.1 standards.
Second, this looks to be a generic product manufactured by who-knows which company. “Komax” is advertising it on social media as being discounted by 30%. Amazon has listings at a quarter of the price. You can two of them for less than half the price less than Komax is selling just one for.
I find it incredibly difficult to trust companies that do this. A $10 face shield that’s being sold “on sale” for $40? I feel they’re trying to pull a fast one.
Even worse, Temu has it for less than $3 with free shipping, not that I would order anything from them.
That’s more than a 1600% markup, from $2.44 to a “discounted” price of $39.95.
Komax is selling what looks to be the same exact face shield at 16X the price. And people are apparently buying this face shield, which doesn’t advertise meeting any safety standards, because they’re seeing it advertised on social media.
Alibaba has an identical-looking face shield for $1.18 each if you order 100-999 pairs, and a little less with higher order volumes, excluding shipping. In other Alibaba listings, it’s as low as $1.72 for 100 pieces including shipping.
This happens a LOT on social media. I get all kinds of tips and “hey this looks interesting, can you check it out” requests from readers and followers. With increasing frequency, the advertised products are simply generic tools already being sold via no-name and alphabet soup brands on Amazon at much lower prices.
I see the same ads many of you do, and like to think that I can quickly recognize when it’s just another no-name tool or gear being sold at inflated pricing. That didn’t happen this time until I took a closer look.
Looking closely at the Komax store, they advertise 24/7 support. But they also say their office hours are 9am to 5pm GMT, and that most emails are responded to within 1-2 business days. There’s no phone number or physical address, just a generic email address and web form.
I’m not buying eye and face safety gear that’s not tested to safety standards. That Komax is selling it for 4X the price of identical-looking non-rated face shields on Amazon, and 16X Temu’s price – with shipping – makes it seem like an unbelievable ripoff.
The pricing isn’t as much of an obstacle for me as the lack of safety certification. You get one set of eyes, and one face. Protect them smartly.
Chris
Looking at the headband, it just looks like a stretchy headband. No way does this stay in place during any actual activity. That material would also keep stretching until it’s fallen apart pretty quickly anyways.
Chris
Also just noticed in the first picture that the ear muffs are definitely not working in that position.
Jared
Bad marketing photographs seem like a handy warning sign that something might be amiss. with a product.
Evadman
Besides a probably-junk face shield, you can pick up some pretty useful information from your research. A big one is that the markup you are seeing is not unique to this product, it is nearly all products. I don’t use the website you mentioned, but use others, or direct from suppliers.
Companies manufacture things there because they are cheap, import them, and mark them up. If you take your time and do your research (and sometimes buy 1, check it, then buy a bunch) you can find the actual manufacturer of things and cut out all the different middlemen and markup.
Example: I needed about 40 wifi transceivers for Arduino which microcenter has for $6 each (KS0338, ESP-01) or I could get them from the manufacturer in a batch of 100 for $20 shipped to my door. So I can pay $240 from microcenter or $20 direct, and get an extra 60 (that will are currently gathering dust in a box).
There are scams and knockoffs of low quality galore, so it can be difficult to find the correct item though. In any case, the markup is insane.
Stuart
Agreed, it’s just a matter of sourcing the OEM product.
I bought a small strip light from a company, and it required a specific dimmer and AA x 8 battery pack. Took forever to source, but I saved a bunch.
JR Ramos
Chinese marketing really gets under your skin doesn’t it. 🙂
For me, since there are no insurance companies involved or other regulations stipulating that I have stamped-approved items, I’m ok with these types of items that don’t carry a certification – IF it can be ascertained that the materials are as advertised. e.g. Polycarbonate vs. Acrylic.
The eyewear specs more or less require polycarbonate – there’s no special polycarbonate that does a better job than the others here, it just does what we need and anything with the desired optical clarity is going to be the same material. For what these face shields are, acrylic would also be acceptable for the most part but it will scratch easier and can break easier. The size and flexibility of these will mostly negate penetration – anything large enough to do that and these aren’t good protection anyway, certified or not. Full-framed models, if the lens does not pop out under force, can offer a tad more protection against high speed or larger objects, and then polycarbonate would absolutely be the preferred choice. That said, these lenses are also so very thin, so impact is neither their best purpose nor design parameter – they are best for dust and sparks and minor splashes.
Beyond that it’s just construction details or features that make it what it is. I used a lot of these for awhile before mostly abandoning them for woodworking (static cling with fine dust and resultant scratching), and went wire mesh for chainsaw work after seeing some arborists using them. I liked the Jackson one…Sellstrom had one that I liked as well but they don’t seem to make it anymore. Those are both certified but frankly other than design there is nothing about them that is safer or better than a lot of these less expensive no-name/many-name uncertified ones that I’ve seen.
Aliexpress is where you want to look if you’re not buying B2B or manufacturing quantities – although sometimes vendors on Alibaba are willing to sell small quantities if you ask, or free samples if you’re willing to pretend that you may buy large quantities later (although they will usually charge shipping and not the cheap shipping…). Alibaba is a real labyrinth but it’s neat to see what all is available there!
David Z
Not sure what you mean by “Chinese marketing really gets under your skin doesn’t it.” Personally, I’d prefer to not hear [nationalism/racism-based] bashing here. It foments division and hostility between people in our country, which is something we need much less of. I don’t mean to say any underlying racism that ok, either, of course.
If you meant it another way, my apologies.
JR Ramos
Well…it’s a legitimate thing – subject of many jokes, insults, product returns, and probably other things. Same here as it is over on overseas-based commerce sites and you have to learn to navigate it because often it’s nonsensical or outright erroneous (sometimes it makes more sense once you learn some of the typical cultural and/or translation issues). Such as brass often being called copper (they do “red copper” and “yellow copper” over there but it’s often lost in translation). For this site, Stuart has had a number of articles recently calling out this marketing, photos, etc, etc. To me, since I’ve gotten used to this weirdness over the last 12 years or better, I just read right through the errors and whatnot (or investigate other vendors who are selling the same product) and figure out what I need/what I can ignore.
I actually have a lot of knowledge and a lot of respect for a bunch of things in Chinese culture and the Chinese people (and other countries as well)…but there are some huge differences and in the e-commerce world it’s certainly not all roses – especially after the big national push began a few years ago (it’s not nice and it’s not fair and it’s purposeful…truth). Fortunately I have gotten to know some great vendors in China somewhat on a personal level but on a wonderful level of interaction while communicating and ordering from them. They’re not the norm, though. Really depends on a lot of things. It’s only nationalist-based inasmuch as it is accurate within the culture and that’s never a given across the board. None of it is racist (not from me anyway). Things are somewhat better these days than they were 30 years ago when I began ordering and interacting with direct-from-china vendors at industry shows – that was a trip to navigate during and after and generally was not pleasant from a business standpoint. We’ll see where things go from here because it’s become a mess on a lot of levels (practical and personal attitudes both, driven by politics and worse, sadly).
JR Ramos
Wanted to add….”big national push”….referring to a somewhat organized effort in China e-commerce circles about…basically bombarding Amazon and tactics to succeed. There’s a name for it but I can’t remember what it is now. It’s basically rooted in the whole “One China” cultural concept (ignoring Taiwan, which is the primary factor in that label most of the time). It got big right before the pandemic and continued strongly at least until a year ago if it’s not still a thing. Exacerbated by Amazon’s own actions (going back a decade and then cracking down on missteps and abuses of the platform last year and the year before). So…sometimes this marketing stuff is just comical error, sometimes it’s cluelessness, sometimes it’s greed or worse, and there is definitely something larger in the background with a great many of the vendors which is absolutely nationalistic. It’s a tenuous “friendship” at best but 99% of the time it’s about taking our money, for real, and that is a longtime part of the culture without apology (changing for the better somewhat in very recent years, at least for those who have legitimate manufacturing products and/or seek to establish a brand with long term staying power and repeat customers).
Doresoom
I’ve had a similar problem with laser safety glasses that all laser cutter manufacturers seem to provide as a “look, we kinda did something to keep you from going blind.”
No optical density rating or specified wavelengths they block printed on the lenses. No thanks, I’ll use my own that I know are safe. Sure they cost $50 instead of $2, but my eyesight is worth at LEAST $48.
TonyT
Our laser marker come with Thor Labs laser safety glasses, but then again, it is an industrial laser marker from Han’s Laser (and wasn’t cheap).
TonyT
I wonder if it is illegal to import these. I know eyeglasses and sunglasses are required to pass a shatter test, and if you don’t have the documentation, US Customs might impound them.
Jared
My understanding is that in the USA there’s a threshold under which customs will not inspect merchandise not intended for resale (expect for prohibited items of course). That’s how come you can buy knockoffs and lead-coated children’s toys direct from China.
I’m not claiming to be an expert on it – maybe someone with more familiarity can expand on that- but I presume the same thing applies here where importers might be required to comply with safety standards when they bring in a crate, but if you only buy one or two… you’re on your own.
Nathan
Because it “fits over” protective lenses I bet they skirt around the testing requirement
I’d be very uneasy about it.
CA
So what you’re sayin is they’re offering up a pile of petrified poopy? And pricey at that.
Stuart
No. I’m saying that I’m not comfortable buying them. Even if that wasn’t the case, it appears to be hugely marked up. Part of the reason I discussed the pricing is to help readers recognize this can happen with other products heavily advertised on social media.
CA
I hear ya Stewie. And the marketing picture……oof marone! The bearded guy could sell it maybe…but this is just a gophy cause.
Peter S
Amazon has a lot to answer for in my opinion. They make absolutely no attempt to ensure that safety products meet even the minimum safety requirements. During the COVID pandemic, my research lab established that they were a primary purveyor of fraudulent N95 masks, almost entirely from China. The blatency of the deception was stunning, but you had to know something about FDA, NIOSH and CDC certifications – which is not a common skill. Even worse, a search for a reliable product was often directed to one of these fradulent products, I presume because Amazon got a bigger cut. I would never buy something safety-crtitical from Amazon. Stick with vendors having some sense of moral compass.
Robert Adkins
Also flashlights advertised at 3x more lumens than actual, Li-Ion batteries only1/3 of advertised capacity, and 2L containers that are only 1.7L.
If Amazon even checked 25% of their vendor’s claims, I bet most of the others would stop the fraudulent advertisement. They currently have ZERRO incentive to advertise honestly.
MM
There are tons of nonsense product claims on Amazon. Some of them are simply lies, like 300 dB air horns, million-lumen flashlights, and sketchy batteries. Others are dangerous lies. Torque Test Channel has a couple videos up testing flashlights that were advertised as child-safe yet got hot enough to burn. They also tested laser pointers that were advertised as child-safe and pet-safe yet which were not only UNSAFE for those things but were actually several times more powerful than the legal limit for sale period.
Peanut Matt
Besides all the other things mentioned, they do not work as advertised as being fog free. The one I ordered fogged up immediately because I didn’t hold my breath and that is a dealbreaker so it went back. I really wanted it to work because I liked the design.
Greg
it’s rather telling that they have safety glasses installed under the face shield.
Stuart
Actually…
The standards are a mess and often hidden behind paywalls, leading end users to draw upon 3rd party references and interpretations. But, it seems generally repeated that safety glasses are to be worn underneath face shields where eye safety and impact protection is required.
According to the UL https://www.ul.com/news/osha-rules-eye-and-face-protection-have-been-updated , some brands recommend the use of both types of protection – safety glasses under face shields.
The Uvex Bionic is said to meet ANSI Z87+ (High Impact) safety standards. But if you look at their extended documentation, the wearer has additional safety glasses worn underneath. https://prod-edam.honeywell.com/content/dam/honeywell-edam/sps/his/en-us/products/ecomm/webmasters/documents/sps-his-UvexBionic0000.pdf
Greg
Oh really? I learn so much here, even when I stick my foot in my mouth lol. Thanks for clearing that up Stuart, or least expanding the realm of possibilities.
Stuart
Safety standards tend to be so obscure and convoluted that I couldn’t find a direct public source detailing the requirement. In other words, don’t feel bad.
Apparently face shields were secondary protection, but now there’s impact and non-impact standards. Safety product brands tend to recommend or depict face shields being used in conjunction with safety glasses or goggles. It could be an abundance of caution to avoid liability.
I’m still searching for OSHA’s exact requirement, but it seems reputable safety authorities recommend face shields over glasses/goggles where eye protection is needed.
Joren
Yeah, I’ve only ever seen ones rated when used in conjunction with a rated safety glasses. Curious there might be ones coming out that don’t require that, going to be an uphill battle to prove that it’s not needed with how convoluted the documentation is about the neeeds.
kent_skinner
>> can be be used for all kinds of applications, from “anti-oil fume” to “outdoor cycling.”
It’s air tight, so you can avoid the oil fumes?
It’s fully vented so you can breath easily while cycling?
Which is it?
Amazon will happily sell this kind of garbage, knowing that it’s garbage advertised with lies.
JR Ramos
“Fume” is often just a poor translation between cultural aspects (not just language). Mist or spray is more accurate. Sometimes they get it right and it means what it says. You see this with all kinds of features and especially materials (and since much of the ad slicks and photos are most often just borrowed (another cultural thing) they just get copied/pasted ad infinitum and errors become the norm). Some that actually do their own text and photos may still get it wrong just from not understanding the products or materials and not taking the time to do that right as resellers. I don’t think there’s any way for Amazon to undo the mess it helped create (except for banning some sellers based on behind the scenes crap and/or paid/fake reviews and such, which they have been focused on for a couple years now).
Jack
First seen this product on social media,being advertised as the best face shield ever made,I don’t know if Komax is an American company, that doesn’t really matter to me,but this face shield first appeared during the covid outbreak,and the only place you could buy them,was from China,and now I’ve seen it advertised all over social media,and can be used for just about anything, during covid we did manage to get 5 of these face shields from China,we never used them,probably the most unsafe face shield I’ve came across,