Oakley A Frame Goggle

 wit iridium a nice lens for nice weather, but for bad weather a big raaaaaaaaaaah what the f was that due to lousy sight.
the Hi Yellow might be better, so far i prefer the Carrera Ultrasights (old models) and the new smiths over this one.

 I have been teaching with the A-Frame for 6 years.  I wasn't an early adopter, and didn't like to pay full retail for goggles when I had many others to choose at 1/3 the cost.  I decided to give them a try and paid retail for my first pair. However, now I wouldn't ski anything but the A-frame. The first pair lasted about 350 ski days and then the foam at the top started to wear out.  180 days on my new pair and they are perfect.  Now, I use the first pair for sunny days.  I bought my second pair two summers ago on sale ($65).  A-Frame with Black Iridium lens.  Very good all condition lens. (although the blue iridium is better for low light conditions).

I must say, if a user skis or rides with a helmet he should try their goggle on with the helmet in the store.  I tried the Oakley Wisdom with my helmets and it pressed the bridge of my nose.

Optics - Oakley optics are the best for me.  I have worn Bolle, however they created some distortion when I looked to the bottom of the lens.  Currently I use Blue (rose base) and Black Iridium (grey base), and the VR50(rose base) lenses.  All are fantastic, and more durable than I expected.   I keep two goggles in my locker for different light conditions.  

Ventilation - The ventilation is excellent, and I don't fog.  When I first saw the A-frame I didn't like the vent holes at the bottom of the frame.  But since I don't see them when I ski, who cares because the vents work well.  Although it is possible for them to clog with snow, most goggles don't even have the vents on the lower frame.  I have rarely found them to ever create a problem.

The Fit - Compact with excellent peripheral view.  Similar to the Smith Phenom goggle (also excellent)

Snowpro
ww.mysnowpro.com/jonathanlawson

Style - The frame colors are mild to wild.  Oakley sets the standard

I got these for the H I yellow lens to help with low light days.  Very happy with them so far.

I've had three pairs of these goggles over the past 8 years or so, and overall have been pretty pleased with them. The foam fits comfortably over my face, they integrate well with most helmets (so no gaper gap), and they have pretty good clarity of vision, too. Their popularity makes it pretty easy to get a good deal on eBay for replacement frames or lenses if you ever need them, which shouldn't be too often if you treat your goggles right.

Like all goggles, it's important never to touch the inside of the lens when it's wet. You'll smear that anti-fog coating right off and have a nice big smudge in your line of sight you now must deal with. Barring any such unfortunate incidents, however, the anti-fog on these goggles works pretty well. In typical conditions I rarely had a fogging issue, even if it was a blustery day that required a balaclava or face mask. If a bit of fogging did occur, all that I needed to do was start moving a little bit and the ventilation system did its job. In atypical conditions, though, this goggle failed me quite miserably.

If you choose to buy these goggles, and I'd like to make it clear that I do recommend them for most skiers, be very careful that the ventilation ports on the front and the top of the goggle stay clear of any debris. Both ports are needed to keep the air flowing and to prevent fog from building. On a clear, crisp day I took a few spills head-first into powder and came up with snow clogging the vents. No fogging occurred the rest of the way down to the lift, and I shook out the goggles on the chair. Pretty good performance so far...

That afternoon a storm rolled in. Snowflakes from the storm clogged the vents and fog formed quickly. (The snowflakes probably melted and then re-froze inside the vents, too). Then the fog froze on the inside of the goggles, rendering them completely opaque, and at the top of the mountain in a blustery storm, I was forced to inch my way down without the goggles, squinting my eyes against the painful precipitation. Not an experience I'd wish on anybody else.

In general, the A Frames performed very well, and with a wide variety of lenses (and frame colors, too!), provided me with good optical clarity and protection against the elements. If you court extreme weather and conditions, however, (and I mean intense!), I might think twice about getting these goggles. I'm slightly bummed to do so, but I will be selling my Oakleys and trying a different pair of goggles that are slightly more active in their fog resistance. One option are the Smith Turbo Fan Phenoms, which use a fan to maintain air flow within the goggles, and another option I'm looking at are the Smith I/O goggles, which seem to have more ventilation, and a fantastic method for super-quick lens changes on the fly, to adjust for quickly changing conditions


N.B. For those who are curious, this goggle does not accommodate eyeglasses. I highly recommend getting daily contacts for those days on which you will be skiing!