 Poster: A snowHead
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Has anyone had any experience with the Smith Optics Photochromic Rose Flash lens? Or, for that matter, any of this season's new Smith Chromapop lenses?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Yep, my new goggles for the season came with 2 chromapop lenses, Everyday and Storm (lucky me!).
I'm in Chamonix at the minute, and the weather hasn't been great, so I've only used the Storm lens so far.
Very pleased with it - we've definitely been skiing in whiteout conditions, and at times visibility has been difficult - as confirmed by my skiing companions. But I've not found myself completely unable to make out the ground and variations on it.
Unfortunately I didn't think to bring out my old low light smith lens to compare with, so i can't say if that was just normal performance in the light available, or if they were any better - I'll try to do that weekend after next.
Anyway, from my experience so far, I have no issues at all with them. I've just gone out and skied, no cause for complaints, or even thought about it 
Edit: the one thing I've really noticed, but not sure how to describe it, is just how clear the lens seems, looking out. It's as if there's nothing there, though i know there is. I've not felt like that before in any goggles. It was unusual enough that i noticed it, and it's a weird thing to notice - your vision just being really clear and sharp in general. No idea if that made any sense!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Thanks very much for that. I wear glasses and have a pair of Prophecy Turbo Fans which fit really well and do a great job at keeping them from fogging up. I need to replace the Ignitor and only want to carry one pair of goggles so am trying to figure out whether to get the Photochromic, one of the Everyday lenses, or one of the Storm lenses.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Did you go for the Smith Optics Photochromic Rose Flash lens in the end? I'm looking for some photochromic goggles, and thinking about getting some Smith Vice with this lens. Would be great to hear what you think.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Huge fan of the original Photochromic lenses, and huge fan of the sunglasses I had with Chromapop lenses. Have tried a friend's standard Chromapop lenses and they're fantastic. I'm also keen for the Photochromic Rose Flash lens - following! Seems to be out of stock in the UK at the moment though?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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I did end up getting the Chromapop Photochromic Rose Flash lens. It really seemed clearer and provided better contrast than the Ignitor and Blue Sensor. It was great in medium-to-low light, seemed even better than the Blue Sensor. But it didn’t seem to get as dark as the Ignitor in direct sun. I guess if the 50% VLT Chromapop Photochromic seemed brighter than the 70% VLT Blue Sensor, maybe you can’t expect the 30% VLT Chromapop Photochromic to seem darker than the 35% VLT Ignitor.
Btw, Smith’s website indicates 50-20% VLT for this lens while their 2017-18 Snow Catalog indicates 50-30%. The label on the package is 50-30%.
Last edited by You'll need to Register first of course. on Mon 5-03-18 22:54; edited 1 time in total
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Used chromapop storm rose lens in snow / fog / whatever in Whistler for 9 days. Perfect, best low light lens I've had. One the one day the sun came out I was using Chromapop everyday, again no bother.
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I also have a chromapop pink photochromatic lens. It's really good, and works well as an all rounder
I do use my storm lens if it is really low light/cloudy as it is better than the pink photochromatic lens in those conditions
My use case is also mostly Whistler/PNW, so no need for a super-sunny lens 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I have the original chromapop storm and sun lenses, plus the newer everyday lens (the one that looks red). All 3 are great but if I was buying again I wouldn't bother with the sun lens - the everyday is superb in anything better than whiteout. The storm lens is noticeably better in whiteout conditions, or was until the little porex filter came out. I noticed a couple of weeks ago that I had nice a spirit level effect with water between the lenses which was useful for showing that I lean too much into turns, but not so good for actual visibility 
But one email to the shop where I bought them, and Smith are sending out a replacement, so not so bad after all.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I recently ordered a pair of Vice goggles with the everyday red lens, it's a very nice goggle/lens but my model with bright red frame created a lot of reflections on the inside of the lens in bright light from the nose bridge part of the frame which I think would annoy me so I sent them back. The Vice also looked a bit small stretched over my large bonce/helmet combo so they're being replaced by a pair of I/OX's with black frames that hopefully won't suffer internal reflections in the same way.
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| Locoblade wrote: |
| The Vice also looked a bit small stretched over my large bonce/helmet combo so they're being replaced by a pair of I/OX's with black frames that hopefully won't suffer internal reflections in the same way. |
Hmm...that could be an issue, as I too sport a big bonce/helmet combo. Seeing how the fit with my helmet was always going to be a bit of a gamble when buying online, but worth a shot and will soon find out.
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You know it makes sense.
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You might find they're fine as they're not a small goggle by any means and they'd probably have been OK for me really, its just my helmet is quite wide at the temples so the strap had to stretch out and round a little more than I'd like. That gave them a slightly stretched look but also felt like they weren't pressing on my face as securely as without the helmet as it was preventing the strap from pulling the goggles as tight against my face.
At the time I ordered the Vice I assumed the I/OX would be too big for me so dismissed them as an option but having since tried a pair in Ellis Brigham they weren't as over-sized as I thought they'd be so ordered a pair from Amazon in Spain which were significantly cheaper than anywhere else I could find them (~£110 inc delivery).
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Received them today and they do actually fit my face and helmet pretty well. Haven't had a chance to try the lens in daylight yet.
Only annoyance is the buckle on the strap lines up with the clip at the rear of my helmet. Smiths solution to this is their 'Helmet Helper' for a tenner, but I can work around it by extending one strap and shortening the other.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Glad they worked out, my I/OX's also arrived today and they do fit my particular helmet better so I'm happy I made the swap but to be honest other than getting the second storm lens there's not a lot of difference in the design compared to the Vice. The strap and face foam are identical and even lens swapping isn't really any quicker or easier than the Vice, the only difference is how the lens locates in the top of the frame as the side lugs and tricky nose locating pins of the lens are the same.
As my particular pair only cost £20 more than the Vice they're worth the extra to get the additional lens and a better fit for me, but as the Everyday lens is meant to be good in most conditions a second lens probably isn't a necessity so the Vice at ~£80 with a single Everyday or photochromatic lens seems a good buy compared to any of the I/O range at their normal ~£140+ prices.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
as the Everyday lens is meant to be good in most conditions a second lens probably isn't a necessity so the Vice at ~£80 with a single Everyday or photochromatic lens seems a good buy compared to any of the I/O range at their normal ~£140+ prices
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Damn. Wish I'd seen this before, as yesterday I pushed the button on a pair of I/o mags at £134 on Amazon, with Sun Red and Storm Rose Flash lenses, whereas SportPursuit has the Vice goggles at £69.99 with a photochromic Rose Flash lens.
Got to be better not to need to have to swap lenses, surely?
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I think you've made the right choice TBH. My I/OX's came with the green everyday and the storm rose flash low light lenses, and having now used them in anger I found the everyday lens to be better than previous "normal" lens goggles in flatter light and would be OK if the day started off sunny and you didn't have the other lens with you, but I did still notice an improvement swapping to the storm lens so I wouldn't go back to the Vice out of choice. I also found the everyday lens fine on bluebird days and didn't need the additional tint of the full sun lens, so perhaps a different model Mag with an everyday/storm lens combo might be the ideal solution if you want that flexibility?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@tomj, the everyday lens is undoubtedly the best all round lens I've used, and I barely ever use my full sun lens now. But, when it is properly stormy, the newer storm lenses are definitely better.
Tbh the perfect combo for me would be everyday and storm, but this doesn't seem to be an option unless you buy an extra lens. Makes (made for me) a good Christmas present. You're welcome to try my IOs with various lenses at the SFaB if you want (not the mag version, just the ordinary IO).
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| mgrolf wrote: |
Tbh the perfect combo for me would be everyday and storm, but this doesn't seem to be an option unless you buy an extra lens. Makes (made for me) a good Christmas present. |
Yeh that's the combo my I/OX's came with thankfully, not sure why Smith don't do more variants with it as I noticed the vast majority of I/O models came with a sun/storm pairing in last years range.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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That’s the thing that’s been driving me a bit crazy - all of the options seemed to be a sun/storm combo with no chance of getting an everyday/storm.
These are already quite a treat, I don’t want to shell out a further £75 for another lens. I’m not entirely sold on the mag lens system either as that’s got to make an additional or replacement lens more expensive than it needs to be.
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You could get 2 pairs of Vice for similar money I guess, one with a storm lens? (£59 here if you don't mind white frames... http://www.ekosport.co.uk/smith-vice-whiteout-storm-cp-18-p-V00158191.html)
If it helps my IO/X's are M006572G799 and the wife has M006579AL99XP, both of which came with everyday/storm lens combos but they're either 2017 or 2018 model ranges so possibly not available now.
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Does anyone know if there are meaningful sales on the chroma pop lenses in the off season?
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| motdoc wrote: |
| Does anyone know if there are meaningful sales on the chroma pop lenses in the off season? |
I bought my Chromopop Everyday Green lens in the off season from absolute snow for 64 quid. So fought 20 quid cheaper. If that helps.
Unfortunately i never got the opportunity to use them as Grandvilaria was a white out for almost a week when I was there in January. Had to manage with the Red Sensor. I will invest in Chromo Storm lens in the off season.
Rate my Vice goggles though. Perfect size goggle. Very comfortable
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@tomj, there is at least one combo (for the normal IO) with a chromapop everyday lens: here. Not cheap though. I think my everyday lens came from this site and I don't think it was bought at full price.
Magnetic lenses sound nice but in reality I don't think they're needed. I rarely change the lens more than once a day and it takes no more than a minute. It takes longer to get the lens out of whatever pocket I have it stored in, than it does to fit it. I haven't done it on a chair lift but I'm sure I could.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@Evasion, I have Smith Chromapop Goggles with the Storm Rose Flash lens. Very happy with them on two trips this year.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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I think you're right, Mike. I wasn't all that worried about the magnetic attachment, and can't imagine needing to change a lens that quickly!
Glisshop have got I/o mag with everyday green and a storm rose for £147, or regular I/o with everyday green and storm yellow for £130. Still pricey, but doable.
Decisions...
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FWIW, I don't regret paying quite a lot for my IOs. The best kit is the kit you don't notice - for me, they fit really well and once they're on I forget about them. Never had any problems misting up, or slipping, or anything else. Of those two, I'd go for the cheaper ones with the storm yellow lens - I think it just has the edge on the other storm colours.
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You know it makes sense.
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Has anyone got an IO frame that is redundant? I have nearly new goggles but broke the right hand "C" piece that attaches the strap to the frame. Away until mid March but please let me know if you do as I'm not sure that spare parts are available.
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FAQ
