Single goggle - is Prizm Jade enough ?

A snowHead

Hi all,

I know its very subjective, but I'm just wondering if, for a one week a year skier, essentially a beginner, is one pair of goggles enough ?
I'm looking a getting a pair of Oakley with the Prizm Jade lens which seems to be a good middle of the road option. Having looked through both the Rose and the Jade lens standing outside the shop, I really couldn't see a whole lot of difference but the Jade was definitely better in bright sunlight. There didn't seem to be a huge difference in the shade.

I guess I'm asking can Jade handle most conditions relatively well ? or should I get either a Rose and/or a Black to compliment it ? I've not seen the Black but have read on here that its really only for bright sunlight.

Many thanks !

A snowHead

You should be fine - my Oakley came with both lenses so I use them but saw tons of people just using the all-weather ones (like jade) at all times.

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

Thanks for that !

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@wk1974, Yup. I ski in all conditions and only have a jade lens. It's fine in bright sun and covers the lower range of the rose anyway.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@wk1974,
I disagree, It all depends on if you ski on flat light or white out days.
I think the rose prizm is better for really flat light which I believe is where you will need the difference of a good lens. Then you can have any cheapy lens/goggles for sunny days.

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Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated. I'm off to Austria on Sat and the forecast looks like sunny all the way (I know it can change in the mountains). I might take a chance on the Jade or possibly even the Black and see how it works out and adjust from there for next year maybe.

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

FWIW. As an owner of Prizm Torch (very similar to Jade) and Prizm Rose.....I think Rose would be my preference as a "do everything" lens.

The Rose is better in flat light (when you really need it) and serviceable in Sunshine (if you don't have very sensitive eyes).....it's also cheaper, as there is no mirror coating.

Saying that, if you are set on the Jade, it's still a very versatile lens.

My Son has the Black....and I think the Jade would be a much better choice as an all weather Lens.

After all it is free

@wk1974, I wouldn't go for the black either. I have pretty sensitive eyes and am fine with the jade, but if you get the black I think you will definitely need a low light lens too. And that is extra faff.

I was skiing a few weeks ago when it was snowing and the light was flat. I was using the jade lens but I was with someone using a pink lens (not Oakley, but similar to the rose). I wasn't really having any problems, but he was complaining about not being able to see anything. I think a large proportion of your ability to see in flat light depends on how good your eyes are.

I purchased a pair of Oakley Flight Decks with Prizm Torch on my last trip. My previous goggles (a £50 pair) were just not cutting the mustard with very poor contrast. I was looking for an all round goggle.

In our group, we had myself with the Torch, my partner with the Jade, our friend with the Sapphire and my buddy with the Rose. So we had almost the full range! Whilst the Rose is better in flat light, I found my Torch (and the same with the Jade and Sapphire) still did a good job and the contrast was amazing (especially in comparison to my other cheaper pair!) as well as doing better when the sun did come out than the Rose.

I would advise maybe trying to get to a shop to try different ones on as it's quite subjective. However, all 4 of us used our goggles all week in varying conditions and everyone was happy! I prefer the look of the Torch/Jade/Sapphire with the mirror coating. Also, it depends if you want to carry around a spare lens with you. Some people don't mind, some do. If you want two lenses, I would go for the black and the Rose (or even, Hi-pink). On really sunny days, the Black would be best but the Torch/Jade/Sapphire would still do a good job. Or if your eyes can handle the cold air, ski in sunglasses!

I do have to finish by saying, the Prizm lens has made a huge difference and totally worth the money. Probably my best purchase! Whichever one you go for I don't think you'll regret it!

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Yeah, my fear with the Black was that it might be a little too dark for anything other than pure sunny. I do have slightly sensitive eyes so that was in the back of my mind. Having looked though both the Jade and Rose (albeit just outside the shop), there's no way, for me, that Rose would be enough in sunny weather so I was originally thinking of kind of hedging my bets with the Jade. Its probably what I'll do for now I'd say.
The only other time I was skiing, many moons ago, I used VR28 Polarised which were great in sun but not so good in grey overcast, that's the only real world frame of reference I have.
Thanks again for the input all !

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I think those of us with Prizm lenses are singing off a similar hymn sheet, but from slightly different perspectives, depending on personal preference.

Both Rose and Jade/Torch/Sapphire make excellent all round lenses....but with a slight difference in emphasis.

If you want a Lens that is better in sunshine and serviceable in flat light (and looks better)....go Jade.

If you want a lens that is better in storm conditions and is serviceable in sunshine....go Rose.

Either way, I don't think you will be disappointed.

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Forecast is still for more sun in Austria, so I don't think you'll need a flat light lens anyway. You can always buy one in resort if you're desperate, but I think you'll be fine without.

You know it makes sense.

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

A snowHead

@wk1974, off to Austria on Saturday too and am going to try the Oakleys with the Prisms again, I have Jade and Rose. Bought them four years ago to replace much loved but knackered Alpina Quattroflexes and didn't rate them better than the Alpinas. Bought new Alpinas and they were great until last month when I found myself struggling in the flat light. Wrong side of the half-century these days and eyes are deteriorating so will be worth it to compare the difference.

All that said I think it might be sunnies all week?

A snowHead

You could be right about sunnies all week, the forecast looks great !! I went with the Jade in the end, picked them up this evening, looking forward to trying them out next week !

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

I was ok with the jade iridium for a couple of trips until I went to Sweden in December 2017, low light most of the time. So I bought a rose lens. But most of the time the jade is fine..
Going out on Saturday to the Dolomites not expecting to take the rose out of the suitcase for the whole week..

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I took to wearing my Oakley Prizm High Pinks on the BB on bright sunny days, as well as flat light days. My darker goggles were a pain when I went from bright sunlight into the dark shade in the trees. I suddenly found I could hardly see a thing; but the High Pinks cut out enough of the glare in the bright sunshine and were great in the shade and brilliant in flat light. So next time I'm just going to take them with me and leave my darker goggles at home.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@Awdbugga, You must have strange eyes, as most would find High Pinks or Hi Yellows painful under anything other than heavy cloud or snow. It almost sounds like you have slow acting photo-reactive eyes, so you don’t need a strong lens Cool

Everyone’s eyes and perception are different, even though the majority are in the central distribution of vision, there are always those at either end of the spectrum.

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

I used the prism torch in blue sky sunny conditions last week and it was excellent.
I also have a black iridium which I bought for really bright conditions and a Prism Rose lens for flat light.
I can't imagine the sun being much brighter than I experienced last week in Austria, so I think the black lens is probably superfluous and not going to get much use.

After all it is free

My airbrake came with Jade and Rose (both prizm), and find that the Rose is an ideal do it all lens, only use now the Jade on days when it will be bright sunshine most of the day (i do like to ski until the last lift, at which time even on a sunny day the Jade can get a bit dark at that time). On the other hand, in flat light/white out I didn't find the Rose great, so ended up getting the new Hi pink prizm (didn't exist at the time when I got mine goggle).. So for a single lens solution, I would go for Rose, for two lens solution probably best would be Rose for most days + Hi pink for bad days...

Just to update and report back, I used the Prizm Jade in Austria last week and it was excellent. Blue sky sunny conditions for 5 out of 6 days and the lens was absolutely perfect. It slightly surprised me as I half expected to feel the Prizm Black might be necessary, but the Jade was totally fine. I honestly never felt I needed to put on sunglasses or get a darker lens, and I have fairly sensitive eyes and wear sunglasses almost all the time when doing anything outdoors. It definitely exceeded my expectations in sunny conditions. Agree with the poster above suggesting the Black might be superfluous (granted everyone's eyes are different).
On the last day it was cloudy and overcast, kinda grey and dank with light rain, and the Jade lens was fine too. On that last day, early in the morning and on a north facing slope where the sun hadn't cleared the mountain behind, in those cloudy conditions it was possibly a little dark but that would be nitpicking. That said, I'd be slightly tempted to pick up a Rose or Hi Pink just to see if they were any better in cloudy/overcast/grey, but I'd have no hesitation in going away again with just the Jade lens.
Thanks for all the input !

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Given you have the Jade, it would probably make more sense to get the Hi Pink, to get a big contrast.

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Sorry to drag up last years thread, but I’m starting to about this years trip to Austria in a few weeks and looking at picking up a goggle or lens to go with the Jade I used (and loved) last year. Do people think the Rose is too close to the Jade to be worth buying ? or would I be better off with the Prizm Hi Pink or even the new Prizm Persimmon for dull conditions ? Any thoughts welcome !

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@wk1974, I think the Hi Pink would be the way to go.

Thanks for that, it’s kinda the way I was leaning alright.

Help!!

Single goggle - is Prizm Jade enough ?

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