I usually use a 5-6 ft chunk of stiff mono. I also wear a
Tilly hat with a very wide brim that seems to deflect

5-6 ft was (and is) recommended for night fishing for stripers with a sinking
line. I cut back my leader, but not nearly enough and didn't think it was going
to be that much of a problem (duh!).

Thankfully, I wear glasses all the time, and also always wears a baseball cap,
both of which probably combined to deflect it enough to avoid real serious
injury.
-- so much fishing, so little time --
--please remuv the 'NOWAY2it' from my email addy to email me--