Oakley Goggles

A snowHead

I'm interested in opinions on Oakley goggles.

My eyes are very light sensitive and I've worn Oakley shades for years (M frames with interchangeable lenses for shooting & Zeros for general wear) and have always been impressed by the lens quality and their after sales service.

Don't know much about their goggles though.

I'm thinking of either their A frame or Wisdom models with the Fire iridium lens for use in bright light (16% light transmission which is the lowest transmission they do in goggles).

I've pals in the US and Australia who can get me what I want without incurring the overly inflated, some might say cartel type, UK prices. They've just sent me a pair of their O frame goggles with persimmon lenses for low/flat light. They seem great but can't test until next year.

Any feedback would be gratefully received.

Jon

A snowHead

I've some O frames, they're OK. I've some Smiths as well and some Bolles and they're all fine for that matter.

You've lost me with all the light transmission stuff though Very Happy

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I have had several pairs of oakley goggles (mug!!)
I didn't really get on with the wisdoms as they squashed my nose (probably because it's too big) and didn't fit that well with my helmet (even with the helmet strap).
I also have a couple of pairs of A frames, they are great Smile

I have one pair with a gold iridium lens in which is good for sunny days, and one with a high intensity persimon. I think the blue-ish iridium coating on the standard persimon lens makes them better at reducing glare than the standard persimon ones, and more importantly they look better!! snowHead

Th HI persimon lens seems to be excellent in all conditions from almost no light to bright sun (though gold iridium is better in bright light).
As I'm a right spotter I checked out the transmisivity before I bought them - gold iridium is about 30ish% and hi persimon is about 67%. Though the Fire ones look really cool I don't reckon they'd be much good if the sun wasn't out.
Oakleys are much cheaper in the US, they cost the same in $s as £s which is handy as I have just found a huge scratch in my almost brand new hi persimon a frames lens rolling eyes

My wife has smiths goggles (Anthem I think) , the colour of the lens in those (slightly rose tinted!), seems to work pretty well for all conditions and (with the helmet version) works well with her helmet. They seem to work better with smaller faces though as they don't me too well.
Cool

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Mrs Ise is really fussy about goggles, I think we went in most of the ski stores in Austria when she wanted some new ones. But she was the same with some sunglasses.

Personally I find most goggles are just fine for me, I wear OTG's as I wear glasses.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

My goggles are Oakley, don't remember the model (i think they changed it), with light orange lenses, again not sure about the model, used them the last 4 years. Excellent in flat/low light, seem better then my father's Alpina (OTG's). They still look like new, do not fog at all. Have heard good things about Scott.
I use sunglases (Oakley) for bright days. Did not try the Bolle Goggles as i have some Bolle sunglases and i am very unpleased with their lenses, they don't even come close to the Oakleys, even the Ray Bans are better.

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I have the O frames, love themm to bits, dead comfy. Despite a persimmon lens, I rarely wear anythgin else - only in the brightest sunlight will I don my sunglasses (also Oakley, natch Smile

). My pal has the A frames and recently purchased a second lens - he now has persimmon for flat light and something darker for sunny conditions. Takes about a minute to swap the lenses over,m but saves quite a bit of cash and space since a lens is a lot smaller to carry than some goggles

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

Dunno where your figures come from, but I know Phil paid £33 for the replacement lens - he had goggles with iridium, bought a persimmon lens

nbt, persimmon replacements are about £33, iridium are around £70.
I'm a big fan of oakley lenses - have several pairs of glasses/goggles.
For skiing, I just use A frames with the Fire Iridium lens.
It is the mutt's nads. snowHead

Excellent in low light - better than anything else I've had (including the persimmon lens), and very good in bright too.

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I too am an Oakley convert, and wont wear anything else now. I have A frames, and find them comfy, and a good fit with my helmet. How did i ever last so long wihtout them? Forget all the technical lense stuff, mine are girly pink frames - cool Embarassed

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Tried the Wisdoms today but they were too big for me. Dealer didn't have any A frames to try so came home disappointed.

Spoke to Oakley UK who reckoned that if I'm happy with the fit of my O frames then the A will be fine. They also stated that replacement lenses are really offered as 'permanent replacements' and the frames/seal etc have not been designed for regular switching.

Have now taken the plunge and ordered a pair of silver A frames with the fire iridium lens from my buddy in the states. I reckon buying in US$, especially with the strength of the pound, makes it worth the risk. Should be here in a week or two.

If they don't fit then somebody will get a bargain on the Buy And Sell section in the near future!

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spyderjon, Well done you, hope they fit fine, and you are happy with them, but i will keep checking the other section just in case snowHead

Iridium Wisdom goggles look cool, but 16%? You may as well use a blindfold. Won't go over my glasses anyway. Sad

You know it makes sense.

MartinH,

Yep, ideal for my dodgy eyes. I drive around in the winter in what most people would describe as dull and overcast conditions with my shades on - I must look a total prat.

My black iridium Zero shades are only 9-10% transmission and they were great recently in a very bright and sunny Courchevel.

All,

Just a word of caution for anyone thinking of purchasing Oakley goggles. If you already have their shades don't think that the same lens in goggles will perform the same as in your shades, as they won't.

For example, the black iridium lens in my shades has 9-10% light transmission but in the Wisdom/A frame goggles it's 16-18%. The reason for this is that most of the sunglasses lenses have coatings applied to a grey or brown base lens whereas the goggles utilise a persimmon (light yellow) base lens. This is because although the grey/brown base lenses are better for bright conditions, they also 'flatten' the view and therefore wouldn't provide enough contrast to see subtle changes in the contours of the snow.

The best source of info on Oakley lens performance can be found on:
http://www.the-eye-shop.com

Click on 'Oakley' on the product menu down the left hand side and on each of the goggles/shades pages there is a highlighted red 'screen infos' icon that will take you to a full list of the lens specifications. There's a page for both the goggles and the shades that can be printed off.

Happy shopping

Jon (the sado anorak wearing Oakley geek!) Cool

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

I'm amazed, I just walk in a shop, try a couple of pairs on and buy them. I really don't find much difference between them.

A snowHead

Off -topic post self-moderated after sobering up rolling eyes

A snowHead

Is that to hold your heavy water?

[Edit]Well you've made mine look a bit pointless, now.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

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Meant to add... Oakley UK have excellent customer service in my experience.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

ise, not quite sure that I understand your drift here, do you mean that the view through goggles is an "approximation" of reality? Of course as ace skiers we all ski by "feel" and don't actually need to see the snow at all, but visual clues are helpful in the trees, near rocks etc. I was thinking of times, particularly near the last runs of the day in the twilight zone, when it becomes next to impossible (for me) to discern the contours of the snow through some glasses/goggles, so that I tear them off in frustration and ski without - leading to weeping eyes etc. It's just that I find some products are much much better in this respect than others. Cool

After all it is free

ise, the lighting conditions may vary in an infinite number of ways, but our perception of light conditions doesn't. The brain tries to keep things constant (for example see how the contast between a white page and black characters stay the same in varying light- you don't see the page as gray, even though the light frequency it emits is the same as colour grey, if measured with electronic equipment)
It seems the optic characteristics of some goggles suit human characteristics better.

I know this conversation finished in April but I can't help myself. Oakley have started to annoy me in the past few years. Their technology is impressive but people are starting to pay for the brand and not the quality of the equipement. I think you'll find that the majority of other googles on the market will do the same job just as well. Whilst I have a pair of Oakley sunglasses, I've never had a pair of their googles. I'm not sure of the name but Oakley had a pair of googles that we're priced at over £100. My advice is to not be a mug. There are plenty of other brands that will do what you want.

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digeler,

As you can see from my earlier posts I'm an Oakley glasses/goggles fan - based on their optical performance & customer service.

In most places in the world, & especially in the states, Oakley goggles are only slightly dearer than other top performers like Scott & Smith etc.

The problem in the UK is that they are hugely overpriced & they do not allow their dealers to discount their product. The dealers can also return the goggles to Oakley at the end of the season (they must either be on sale or return or they get a credit back) which stops the dealers being tempted to discount them to get rid of the stock.

My buddy is currently on holiday in Denver & has just bought a pair of Oakley Fire Iridium lensed A Frames for Deb. The store had a one day only 20% off offer & the total was $92. At 1.85 that's £50. Even without the special offer it would be £63. The UK price is £109.

One trick if you want to buy in the UK is to buy something else you need at the same time & get a heavy discount on the other item. At the end of April I bought Deb (from a national store in Nottm, I won't say who) a pair of Persimon O Frames. I think the ticket price was £53. I also wanted a pair of poles which were £39 & they were selling them at the end of season price £24. After a quiet word with the manager & a bit of haggling I did the total deal for £58. The receipt said £53 for the Oakleys & £5 for the poles. That's how much margin is in the goggles!

Now if you want some 'seriously' overpriced gear with nothing better than average performance, buy some Oakley clothing Little Angel

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I also have a passion for, collect & trade in fine watches. Don't ever buy an Oakley watch - same as all fashion watches, absolute mega bucks for a cheap quartz movement & worthless the day after you've bought it.

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I haven't been a fan of Oakleys, all the reasons listed previously but I've changed my mind, their customer service is fantastic. My daughter's Oakley sunglasses are probably 3 years old now and needed new arms and a new nose bridge. On another post Foxy had raved about their customer service, so I called their UK office and spoke to customer service, who said send them back they'd see what they could do. I sent them on Tuesday, I got them back this morning, Saturday. Now given that the earliest they could have received them was Weds AM that alone is terrific service, but they had replaced both arms and fitted a new nose bridge for the princely sum of 0p. Nothing to pay at all, not even postage. I'm now an Oakley fan

You know it makes sense.

My experience of the Oakley customer services isn't that great. My girlfriend has chipped her metal half jackets, it'll cost her £50 to get a new lens and they say it'll take two weeks to do.

The whole Oakley thing has annoyed me to the point where I've actually found a small goggle/sunglasses manufacturer that produces good quality goggles & sunglasses. I like them so much I'm looking into importing them into the UK. The web site is www.roolygoggles.com, I'd recommend their two lens goggles I've got a pair and they look good and are effective. Some of the sunglasses are a little tacky but they have about 11 good pairs including multi lens packages.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

digeler, have you sent the glasses back to Oakley?
And what is it that makes you say their cust service is bad?

A snowHead

digeler,

I've had a replacement nose piece sent foc by Oakley for my Zero specs.

I'm not sure of their policy but it seems to me that they will replace items due to general wear & tear, effectively giving a lifetime warranty.

However, if the damage is caused by the owner, ie. chipping, then I would think that they are entitled to charge for the replacement parts.

A snowHead

I'm just about to test Oakley UK's customer service.

I've a pair of Zero specs, had them for years, been superb, had a replacement rubber nose piece (actually two, come to think of it), due to very light sensitive eyes have worn them loads etc.

I was having difficulty in getting a couple of fingernail size marks off each lens just below the frame. So when I was having my annual eyes test his morning I asked the optician to have a look. He said that the outer lens covering had worn through, probably due to perspiration etc.

No problem, I'll just get another pair. Problem, optician says that Oakley have discontiuned the model - they still do a Zero model but it's quite different.

I'm just about to phone Oakley UK & see what they say. Will advise..........

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Jon,
Maybe we are missing the point of his post.
He tells us how bad Oakley are, then says:

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Wear The Fox Hat,

I got the same impression Fox.

Incidently, I've just come off the phone from Oakley. They haven't any Zero parts in the UK. They also checked their US parts centre but no joy.

They told me to select a replacement model, post my old Zeros to them with a covering letter & they'll give me a fat discount off the new ones. Not bad seeing I bought the original ones in '98.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Yeah, I have heard them do that before.

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Sales pitch? Well, it never crossed my mind. So either I'm very innocent, or you two are cynical old so and so's. What did anyone else think?

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

maggi,

"Cynical" - I resemble that remark!

And less of the old. Wink

After all it is free

Sorry, spyderjon, about the "old". It's just an expression! For anyone who is reading this, Jon is very young and very handsome. (PS Does this ensure a lift another time? Little Angel

)

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Whatever you want to be......

Oh, I give up. As they say, when in a hole rolling eyes

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Oakley Goggles

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