Snowboarding Goggle Lens Choice
Discussion
Not sure if this is the most relevant area to post this but its the best I can think off anyway....
I'm going snowboarding in for the first time (Tignes in March) and need some goggles, I'm going to go for a set of Oakley Crowbars as they fit nicely with the helmet im getting but I'm unsure which lens (or indeed pair) to go for?
I have been recommended persimmion from one person which is obviously a low light lens, and to wear sunglasses when very sunny but I wear contacts and don't think the wind and cold would mix with them well.
There are numerous other options, fire iridium for bright light, polarised lenses and some others but I'm not sure if I can get away with one 'intermediate' lens or need 2 depending on light levels.... And also how easy they are to change between.
Can anybody offer some advice.
Cheers
I'm going snowboarding in for the first time (Tignes in March) and need some goggles, I'm going to go for a set of Oakley Crowbars as they fit nicely with the helmet im getting but I'm unsure which lens (or indeed pair) to go for?
I have been recommended persimmion from one person which is obviously a low light lens, and to wear sunglasses when very sunny but I wear contacts and don't think the wind and cold would mix with them well.
There are numerous other options, fire iridium for bright light, polarised lenses and some others but I'm not sure if I can get away with one 'intermediate' lens or need 2 depending on light levels.... And also how easy they are to change between.
Can anybody offer some advice.
Cheers
Persimmon is the best all round lens and VR28 also good. Problem is they look horrible as a lens. Black Iridium is a classic choice that looks good and works well in all conditions. Fire Iridium is essentially a sunglass lens and an expensive choice. I have a Crowbar with a Dark Grey lens that is again more of a sunglass lens but much cheaper than an iridium lens and look great IMO.
Problem is you can pick your lens but you can't pick you conditions so a compromise needs to be made between light transmission and looks/price
http://www.o-review.com/lens.asp
Freeze currently have some discounts. I have Crowbar: White factory text, Dark Grey lens and were great a few weeks back on bluebird days.
http://www.freezeproshop.com/product-type-goggles-...
Would not suggest wearing sunglasses and don't get too bogged down with the different lens types.
Problem is you can pick your lens but you can't pick you conditions so a compromise needs to be made between light transmission and looks/price
http://www.o-review.com/lens.asp
Freeze currently have some discounts. I have Crowbar: White factory text, Dark Grey lens and were great a few weeks back on bluebird days.
http://www.freezeproshop.com/product-type-goggles-...
Would not suggest wearing sunglasses and don't get too bogged down with the different lens types.
Edited by astroarcadia on Sunday 23 January 21:37
I've got a set of Uvex Thomahawk's
They are double lens with polavision. No idea how much they cost as can;t remember but they are great allrounders.
I wore them in Val this weekend without a cloud on teh sky and they worked well. I have also used them in flat light and they were ok as well.
Prior to those I had really dark lenses and they were just too dark for me even in really sunny weather
Enjoy your trip
They are double lens with polavision. No idea how much they cost as can;t remember but they are great allrounders.
I wore them in Val this weekend without a cloud on teh sky and they worked well. I have also used them in flat light and they were ok as well.
Prior to those I had really dark lenses and they were just too dark for me even in really sunny weather
Enjoy your trip
Another vote for persimmon as an all-rounder. I also wear contacts and I don't have any problems with sunglasses as long as they fit well. I do think goggles are more practical if you're a novice boarder though - a nice pair of Oakley sunglasses is great, but they'll make a bid for freedom every time you have a tumble. You still need the sunnies for walking about the place if it's bright mind.
Invest in some wrist guards and impact shorts if it's your first time too !
If you're a bit out of shape, sit on the floor and stand up. Now do it again 20 times.
If you start to get fed up if it's not all falling into place, walk away for an hour and relax, it'll come.
Buy the cheapest goggles you can find, if you don't loose them falling off, you aren't trying hard enough !
If you're a bit out of shape, sit on the floor and stand up. Now do it again 20 times.
If you start to get fed up if it's not all falling into place, walk away for an hour and relax, it'll come.
Buy the cheapest goggles you can find, if you don't loose them falling off, you aren't trying hard enough !
Persimmon is probably not a bad choice if you are going in March...the weak spot of them as a lens if it's very cold and very sunny and you're eyes are sensitive to the sun. In which case you might end up as I did seeing stars in the pub that night which isn't funny! My eyes are sensitive to the sun and thought my eyes were being protected from the sun...but they weren't well enough protected. As you will hopefully be getting some nice Spring conditions if it does get sunny you can wear sun glasses perhaps as it should be warm?
I use the Fire Iridium lens 90% of the time as it's a brilliant do everything lens. Obv bright light is not a problem and being a yellow tint it actually works very well in low light too...certainly if you're a beginner it'll do you proud. For times when it's really, really flat light and overcast I also have a pair of goggles with Oakleys "HI Yellow" lens in them which is there best low light light lens...I do quite a bit of off piste and itinerary runs and just found that they were that little bit better in low light which when you are really pushing yourself is helpful.
As for changing lenses it's something that's easy enough to do with practice in a mountain side restaurant...not so easy when you are out on the mountain. I would get the shop to demo it to you though. I have the spare goggles because you aren't always in a restaurant when the light disappears.
If you can afford it I would go with the Fire Iridium personally rather than two sets of lenses given where you are going to be at your level...but the Persimmon are a good choice too if you aren't very sensitive to bright sunshine.
I use the Fire Iridium lens 90% of the time as it's a brilliant do everything lens. Obv bright light is not a problem and being a yellow tint it actually works very well in low light too...certainly if you're a beginner it'll do you proud. For times when it's really, really flat light and overcast I also have a pair of goggles with Oakleys "HI Yellow" lens in them which is there best low light light lens...I do quite a bit of off piste and itinerary runs and just found that they were that little bit better in low light which when you are really pushing yourself is helpful.
As for changing lenses it's something that's easy enough to do with practice in a mountain side restaurant...not so easy when you are out on the mountain. I would get the shop to demo it to you though. I have the spare goggles because you aren't always in a restaurant when the light disappears.
If you can afford it I would go with the Fire Iridium personally rather than two sets of lenses given where you are going to be at your level...but the Persimmon are a good choice too if you aren't very sensitive to bright sunshine.
I wear contacts.
Frankly if it's your first time on the snow then you are unlikely to be going fast enough for the wind to be an issue with sunglasses.
For flat light conditions I wear orange lenses.
Personally, I'd get something cheapish for your first trip as the coloured lenses help you see where the slopes are going, bumps and dips can catch you out. Unless you are a fast learner you are not going to be doing much more than the easy slopes which should be well groomed.
With Tignes make sure you are on the right side of the mountain to come home as one of the runs in is flat, narrow and slushy if it has been sunny. Not much fun on a board.
Frankly if it's your first time on the snow then you are unlikely to be going fast enough for the wind to be an issue with sunglasses.
For flat light conditions I wear orange lenses.
Personally, I'd get something cheapish for your first trip as the coloured lenses help you see where the slopes are going, bumps and dips can catch you out. Unless you are a fast learner you are not going to be doing much more than the easy slopes which should be well groomed.
With Tignes make sure you are on the right side of the mountain to come home as one of the runs in is flat, narrow and slushy if it has been sunny. Not much fun on a board.
Thanks for the tips, very helpful. I Might go for Fire Iridium then as I do tend to struggle a bit with very bright light (and they look great). I can always get the (cheaper) persimmion lens out there if I need it....I'm going to go with the Crowbars because 1. I know they fit the helmet (Giro G10), 2. spare lenses will be widely available and 3. I can get them through work so price isn't any more than buying a cheaper set from any other retailer.
Got some POC VPD shorts on order (soft impact dough padding should be quite good), the Giro G10 helmet and some Dainese Hector wrist guards....perhaps overkill but I would prefer to be prepared than not.
I Have been for a day lesson at the Chill Factore and can link turns to a point, but need to get refresher and improver lessons booked in Feb....can't wait though!
Got some POC VPD shorts on order (soft impact dough padding should be quite good), the Giro G10 helmet and some Dainese Hector wrist guards....perhaps overkill but I would prefer to be prepared than not.
I Have been for a day lesson at the Chill Factore and can link turns to a point, but need to get refresher and improver lessons booked in Feb....can't wait though!
Edited by Matthew_Eames on Tuesday 25th January 13:11
Matthew_Eames said:
Thanks for the tips, very helpful. I Might go for Fire Iridium then as I do tend to struggle a bit with very bright light (and they look great). I can always get the (cheaper) persimmion lens out there if I need it....I'm going to go with the Crowbars because 1. I know they fit the helmet (Giro G10), 2. spare lenses will be widely available and 3. I can get them through work so price isn't any more than buying a cheaper set from any other retailer.
The Crowbars work well with the Giro helmet....exactly what I have. If you do go Fire Iridium I wouldn't bother with Persimmon as a back up I would have the HI Yellow as that is better in low light (it's a pure low light lens)...they are NOT an all round lens though so the minute it gets bright you will have to take them off.This thread on another forum is about this very subject..
http://www.trusnow.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2...
Beardy10 said:
Matthew_Eames said:
Thanks for the tips, very helpful. I Might go for Fire Iridium then as I do tend to struggle a bit with very bright light (and they look great). I can always get the (cheaper) persimmion lens out there if I need it....I'm going to go with the Crowbars because 1. I know they fit the helmet (Giro G10), 2. spare lenses will be widely available and 3. I can get them through work so price isn't any more than buying a cheaper set from any other retailer.
The Crowbars work well with the Giro helmet....exactly what I have. If you do go Fire Iridium I wouldn't bother with Persimmon as a back up I would have the HI Yellow as that is better in low light (it's a pure low light lens)...they are NOT an all round lens though so the minute it gets bright you will have to take them off.This thread on another forum is about this very subject..
http://www.trusnow.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2...
I've got the A frames with the fire iridium lens, and a persimon lens for the low light which I've had for the last four years, to be honest I almost always use the fire iridium when abroad, and almost always the persimon in Scotland.
The brightness level needs to be pretty low for me to switch to the persimon, and I've only used it a couple of times abroad, mainly in pretty much white out conditions.
I'd go for the non polarized version of the fire iridium, and get the persimon when funds allow, or if you hit nasty conditions in Tignes (in March you should be set for some sun, but never say never) you could nip out and get a lens?
They are a fiddle to change the first time, it's a tight fit, but once your used to it, its a 30sec job, I'd also invest in a second oakley goggle soft bag/wipe cloth, if you get the two lenses, one lens will be living in your bag getting bashed about, and it's handy to have a second bag in your pocket to clean the lens on lifts.
And don't go down the sunglasses with a helmet route, looks awful, and once your used to decent goggles, you'll not want to switch back to glasses, keep the sunnies for the beer terrace on the slopes.
The brightness level needs to be pretty low for me to switch to the persimon, and I've only used it a couple of times abroad, mainly in pretty much white out conditions.
I'd go for the non polarized version of the fire iridium, and get the persimon when funds allow, or if you hit nasty conditions in Tignes (in March you should be set for some sun, but never say never) you could nip out and get a lens?
They are a fiddle to change the first time, it's a tight fit, but once your used to it, its a 30sec job, I'd also invest in a second oakley goggle soft bag/wipe cloth, if you get the two lenses, one lens will be living in your bag getting bashed about, and it's handy to have a second bag in your pocket to clean the lens on lifts.
And don't go down the sunglasses with a helmet route, looks awful, and once your used to decent goggles, you'll not want to switch back to glasses, keep the sunnies for the beer terrace on the slopes.
I've got a pair of A Frames with a pink persimmon lens in them - doing me proud on pretty much 99% of the light conditions.
Granted they're not the absolute best in really bright sunlight but their low light performance / all round nature more than compensates.
And on the A-Frames, changing the lenses is a PITA - not a difficult job but quite fiddly so I can't really be ars@d to change them on a regular basis.
In terms of contact lenses - I used Focus dailes and have had lenses pop out on me several times whilst on the mountains.
Alway carry a spare set with me - as my success rate of getting them back in on a windy mountain is pretty poor.
It might be just be me but googles lenses really need to be treated with TLC.
I just need to look at the lens in the wrong way and I get this weird hazing on the inside of the lens........
I've got a sneaking suspicion that the culprit is the google strap so I've got two bag - one to cover the inside of the lens and the other one to put the goggles in.
Granted they're not the absolute best in really bright sunlight but their low light performance / all round nature more than compensates.
And on the A-Frames, changing the lenses is a PITA - not a difficult job but quite fiddly so I can't really be ars@d to change them on a regular basis.
In terms of contact lenses - I used Focus dailes and have had lenses pop out on me several times whilst on the mountains.
Alway carry a spare set with me - as my success rate of getting them back in on a windy mountain is pretty poor.
It might be just be me but googles lenses really need to be treated with TLC.
I just need to look at the lens in the wrong way and I get this weird hazing on the inside of the lens........
I've got a sneaking suspicion that the culprit is the google strap so I've got two bag - one to cover the inside of the lens and the other one to put the goggles in.
g77 said:
It might be just be me but googles lenses really need to be treated with TLC.
I just need to look at the lens in the wrong way and I get this weird hazing on the inside of the lens........
I've got a sneaking suspicion that the culprit is the google strap so I've got two bag - one to cover the inside of the lens and the other one to put the goggles in.
Agree with that, I treat mine with allot of care, not dropping them off a bar stool while still attached to your helmet helps allot with not scratching the front.I just need to look at the lens in the wrong way and I get this weird hazing on the inside of the lens........
I've got a sneaking suspicion that the culprit is the google strap so I've got two bag - one to cover the inside of the lens and the other one to put the goggles in.
But the 2nd bag inside the goggle makes sense, to help stop the strap scratching the inside.
From what I gather with the Oakley double glazed lenses, the front (main) lens is polycarbonate, where the inside (double glazing lens) is much softer plastic, this might lead to the inside scratching more easily?
I keep mine in an Oakley hard case when not in use, and as I said above, the spare lens when in my bag is always covered in a 2nd bag, or if I have room in the bag it's in the hard case, in the bag.
Good kit is always worth looking after.
Fire Iridium for when it is really bright and a yellow/pink/brown tint for flat/low light - have got a pair of Crowbars (albeit the MX ones with a clear lens) for MTBing and I can't fault them.
2 lenses does cost a bit more, but I have always thought it worth it - pick the one you want to use each morning, or change them over if the light gets bad. I know Oakley lenses are extortionate, but having two lenses will make you a lot happier - personally, skiing in crap light with the red iridium or in super bright light with the yellow tints is no fun - but my eyesight is horrible at the best of times, so I need all the help I can get. Polarized lenses are a tough one - I would say they are worth it having tried both, but definatley not essential.
It is possible to ski in glasses as long as there is nothing falling from the sky - I have a pair of aviators which have done me proud a few times - feels a bit old school, but if you are just messing about on pisted stuff, they do ok - if there is a shedload of snow falling from the sky or you are in deep powder then obviously goggles are essential.
Tignes is fantastic by the way - make sure you go for the full "Espace Killy" (or so it was a few years ago) pass that lets you ski over to val d'isere - well worth it. Be prepared to get upset at how good the French youngsters are though!
2 lenses does cost a bit more, but I have always thought it worth it - pick the one you want to use each morning, or change them over if the light gets bad. I know Oakley lenses are extortionate, but having two lenses will make you a lot happier - personally, skiing in crap light with the red iridium or in super bright light with the yellow tints is no fun - but my eyesight is horrible at the best of times, so I need all the help I can get. Polarized lenses are a tough one - I would say they are worth it having tried both, but definatley not essential.
It is possible to ski in glasses as long as there is nothing falling from the sky - I have a pair of aviators which have done me proud a few times - feels a bit old school, but if you are just messing about on pisted stuff, they do ok - if there is a shedload of snow falling from the sky or you are in deep powder then obviously goggles are essential.
Tignes is fantastic by the way - make sure you go for the full "Espace Killy" (or so it was a few years ago) pass that lets you ski over to val d'isere - well worth it. Be prepared to get upset at how good the French youngsters are though!
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