The mind goggles ...

[Allee]

Okay, time to consult the general Bomber wisdom. I need new goggles because mine suck.

I seem to have a small face, and most goggles leave a big gap around my nose. The only ones I've tried on so far that fit well, are the Oakley A-Frame and Carrera Diva. My current Bolles fit OK as well. I need to try on some more.

Lens colour? I have persimmon and rose lenses in my current and spare pair, both of which I like, the persimmon is great for flat light. What are the mirror lenses like? Is it worth the extra money for polarised or a mirror colour?

So, suggestions as to goggles you like (or maybe better, goggles your girlfriend likes?), and lens colours?

[jnshapiro]

Polarized, absolutely! The polarization cuts down on the glare significantly.

I light yellow lenses. Darker amber for sunny days, lighter yellow for cloudy/snowing days. The reason is that the color really increases the contrast and makes it easier to see the bumps and ridges in the snow. On cloudy days, the yellow brightens things up too.

I absolutely HATE mirrored lenses. I seem to get reflections of my eyes and find that very distracting.

Joel

[Linus]

Smith Prodigy myself. And also their Sensor Mirror lense is my favourite.

[Justin A.]

Im a big fan of the Carerra Testa. It's a great frame, and carerra sells lenses in sets for like...$45 (us). Polarized is good, but the colored mirror is just for looks. Not to say that mirroring isn't a good thing, because it reflects more light, but the colored mirrors are a gimmick.

[Guest kennyusmc]

try the utopia's they have a great fit

[Kirk]

I have a smaller/narrower face as well - Oakley O-Frames have worked really well for me. At $45-50, couldn't beat it.

[Rob Stevens]

Try an MX shop like Bow Motorsports for a good variety of sizes, cheap closeouts (summer stock) and good brands.

I ran single lens clears alot last season. For flat light, I like no tint... It's how we evolved, so it must be ok.

Don't worry about the fog factor. I would put them up on my helmet whenever I stopped and they would stay clear. Singles are also easy to clean, as you'll never have a broken seal leave vapour between the lenses. Just put them inside your coat for one lift up to get them warm and then wipe them down with a face cloth you brought from home (or the hotel).

Goggle bags are not that great for wiping gogs, as they get saturated after the first wipe.

[Sinecure]

Check out backcountry.com. In their specs they usually indicate what size face the goggles fit best. For flat light the Oakliy HI Blue lens is amazing! I think they do HI lenses in other colors as well.

If you see something you like on Backcountry and notice they have a large amount of stock of the goggle, keep an eye on steepandcheap.com. Or sign up at www.sacattack.com Sacattack will email you each time steepandcheap has a new item up.

Basically, I say keep an eye out for women specific goggles. They fit small faces well and fit inside goggles well.

[JJFluff]

I use the Smith Rhythm goggle. I have a small face as well, and I found these fit the best of any goggle I've tried. They retail for $55. There are a few different color choices, and lenses to choose from. Replacement lenses are 20 bucks and up. Great goggle, not to expensive and reliable.

[chadx]

For flat light, I like no tint... It's how we evolved, so it must be ok.

Uhhh, except we didn't evolve riding snowboards (quickly down a mountain in flat light).

Yellow or amber are definite improvements in contrast on those flat light days. If you have second or third backup lenses, definitely have a pair of high contrast lenses available (unless you stay inside on those days or prefer to stick with narrower runs or follow a runs treeline).

My main lens is mirrored (just to cut down on light. Not for looks) and they are polarized.

[Blackbird]

Hello from Australia Guys!!! from a newbie to BOL.. Thought I'd throw down my 0.02c

I used Spy Alloy MX goggles...Single layer lens:

I use the Dark Smoke Mirror lens on most days.. It's not really that dark in comparison to double lenses, Quite nice actually...

On really bad weather days I throw in the yellow lenses but Spy have an issue with the mirror coating... it doesn't last all that long so stock up on replacement lenses... They are super cheap if you can find them but there are heaps of on-line stores that have what you want....I have the prob of people shipping to Aus!

Good news is the Alloy MX and the Blizzard and the Targa II use the same lenses so effectively you could turn the Alloy into a set of double lens Snow goggles...

After having probs finding Alloy mirror lenses I ended up buying a new set of Blizzards with an extra lens....

Spys also have extremely soft frames that conform to your face and are brain bucket friendly....

Though years ago I ran both Arnette and Oakley but the lenses are extortionately expensive...... Well here in Australia they are...

[Rob Stevens]

Chadx;

You missed the "I like" part when you quoted me.

It means just that. I run what works best for me.

The only way to get anything out of these forums is to try things you haven't before. I would encourage anyone to try clears... after giving it a go, if you find it's not as good, then it didn't work for you.

I would hesitate, particularly here, to paint anything as unsuitable when the only yardstick you have to measure with is your own.

There is also a tradeoff factor that I consider, which I mentioned and that is ease of cleaning (with no coatings to scratch) and single lens durability.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Don't worry about the fog factor. I would put them up on my helmet whenever I stopped and they would stay clear.

For most, this is a no-no, as if you've crashed or if it is snowing there will be moisture on your helmet or tuque, which then gets in the goggles and causes fogging. Maybe not for singles, I don't know, but definitely for double lens.

As far as the yellow/clear debate, I've tried on flat days simply lifting my goggles up, so that's pretty clear. The yellow works better for me.

[Rob Stevens]

Neil;

That's interesting...

I know I couldn't use singles when I just wore a hat. The vapour from my always-overheated body would fog them in a second (doubles as well, though).

Since I made the move to helmets, that problem went away. Mind you, if I crash, I usually give my helmet a wipe before I put my gogs up. (Also, as a CASI 4, I have to buy a case of beer for any instructor who sees me eat s#!t, so I make it a rule not to... I still bought my share of beers last year).

As far as the clear lens being "better", it's probably not, I just really like it.

[chadx]

Chadx;You missed the "I like" part when you quoted me. It means just that. I run what works best for me.

QUOTE]

Sorry, Rob. I didn't mean for my comment to come across that way. I was in no way making a comment on what you liked or what worked for you or what worked for anyone. My first line was just a joke/comment about siting evolution as a justification for why it must be OK. I assumed you made that comment in jest, so I was just carrying on with it. It was unrelated to the rest of my comments on that post.

I try to flag my joking comments with a smiley since inflection is hard to read in print, but sometimes I still have to go back and explain myself. I think I'll start putting [this is a joke] at the end of such lines rather than a smiley face to protect me legally. [by the way, that was a joke]

I agree whole heartedly with your comment about trying new things because you never know what aspect a person might not find in simply researching, asking questions, gathering other peoples opinions, etc. Personal taste and personal experience can't be replaced. Gathering others opinions from their experience, like this post, is a great starting point, though.

[Neil Gendzwill]

I know I couldn't use singles when I just wore a hat. The vapour from my always-overheated body would fog them in a second (doubles as well, though).

Since I made the move to helmets, that problem went away. Mind you, if I crash, I usually give my helmet a wipe before I put my gogs up.

I think that's the answer - you're keeping your helmet dry. Most people don't think about it, they just skid up to the chair and flip the goggles up because they're hot or whatever.

A good anti-fog cloth is also helpful.

I don't really even like goggles. If it's sunny, I'm wearing shades. I only bust out the goggles on snowy or flat light days. If it's snowing, they have to stay down or they'll fog.

[Pat Donnelly]

Check out the "RIVA" model from the founder of Bolle . . . www.habervision.com

Enter code LC1231R for 50% off + free shipping through Nov 15th

[Rusty]

anyone know a good online shop for SPY replacement lenses?? I just got the Soldier and need a flatlight lens.

[Allee]

I don't lift my goggles on the chair, I like my face to stay warm so I leave them down. I get the fog thing when I bend at the waist to clip in - as soon as I drop my head they just fog right over, and then I have to stand there and wait until they clear. Pain in the a$$.

I actually ran a set of clears at Sun Peaks for four days last year, because I left mine at home (duh!!) and they were actually good, but we had perfect weather until the last day. I found that when it started to white out, I couldn't pick out definition at all with them.

The Oakley hi-blue sounds good, and looks pretty cool in a park-monkey kind of way ... and I know A-Frames fit well ... hmmm, might have to try that out.

[Pow]

I need a pair of A-Frames... So many lense tints and colors to choose from! Id have all different lenses for all different lightings (like with my wicked cool sunglasses)

But after a new board and a pair of TD2s, im too poor:(

[Blackbird]

anyone know a good online shop for SPY replacement lenses?? I just got the Soldier and need a flatlight lens.

Heaps of people on Ebay have them.... Also Ejssunglasses.com ... and a place called apairofshades.com......

Give them a shot.....

[ak_rider]

i have a pretty small face, but it's fitting since i'm only 5'4" and 110lbs. i use drans dx. it looks big on my face but has an excellent seal and they have various lens colors. for under $100 you could get a frame with a mirrored lense and get a free perssimon lense with it.

my opinion of mirror is it's good if you're trying to hide bloodshot eyes or if you only want to buy one lense. like a gold mirror would work fairly well on lower light days but on sunny days the mirror will help reflect the light away from your eyes. so i'd say if your planning on having more than one lense dont bother with overpriced mirror, unless you have the afore mentioned eye problem.

also, the dragons have great ventilation, i never take them off ont he hill and if you start to get fog it isntantly goes away once you start moving and air flows through. really, no gogle will say fog free if your standing still, they need airflow.

[skywalker]

I very much like the Uvex Goggles. I got a pair of superhelix and supersonic last winter, and they fit my rather narrow face very well. As far as I can see atm, the advantage of the superhelix is just the better design.

Lenses: Both of mine are mirrored. The superhelix is my sunshine goggles with lightmirror blue, just for the looks, and as ist is a great lense IMHO (polarised, mirrored, not too dark). I bought the supersonic only for the lightmirror orange lens, which is without a doubt the best lens I ever had on my nose. It's polarisation works great and I can see a lot of usually invivible things on flat light. For some pics see here

skywalker