Great But Not The Best
Pros: stylish, comfortable, versatile, good optics
Cons: not made for stormy/deep powder conditions
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!
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!
