Because safety glasses get in the way of good crewing and affect peripheral vision.

Don't forget the additional weight and windage from the crash helmets...

I might be missing something but why does the standard Merlin spinno system retain the 'carrier' bungee from the vestigial attachment point on the mast back to the end of the boom as well as having a retrieval bungee? All the other autolaunch systems that I've seen (Scorpion, 5o5, Hornet, etc) rely on a slightly heavier-duty retrieval bungee to keep the pole alongside the boom when not in use. Do we have more bungee (and friction) than we need or are the others flirting with disaster?

Aaah; I knew there had to be a reason! I was just trying to eliminate some of the friction in the return system but I think I'll leave well alone. The narwhal look isn't a good one!