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Buying good cheap goggles?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I'm off to Andorra at the end of the month and was looking at getting goggles, as until now i've used sun glasses only. How much would i need to spend on a decent cheap pair? i'm, not loaded so £100 is not my idea of cheap.

any examples or recommendations? Would it be worth waiting until i get out there and maybe buying them there in the ski shops?

thanks..
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Got a pair of Bolle goggles from Costco which do the job just fine, cost about £15 if I remember right.
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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?
Also Bloc and Scott. I've got to say I'm still unconvinced of the benefits of expensive goggles. I suspect they are subtle at most. Anyone like to set up a goggle test? Toofy Grin
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 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
£15 Bolle goggles at Sports World have been as good as my previously lovely Oakleys.

These bad boys are £13.99 and will do you nicely. http://www.sportsdirect.com/bloc-shimmer-goggle-906102

There will be people telling you in about 5 minutes that there is a clear difference between a £13.99 Bolle goggle and a £150 premium brand goggle - they are right, in the same way that there is a difference between an MR2 and a Ferrari, but either will get you down the shops and back, and 99% of us would never notice the difference.

You won't get a deal anywhere close to that in resort, plus there's a distinct lack of good ski shops that we could see in Andorra - some places here and there, but it was really just a few odds and ends that you couldn't rent for pretty high prices.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
slikedges wrote:
Anyone like to set up a goggle test? Toofy Grin


A blind test?
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 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Yep, buy here if you can. I paid £66 for a pair in Switzerland after I lost my last pair (which BTW were 19 years old and still worked fine Very Happy ) and they're £45 here (and that's the price in a major snowsports retailer). Get a Cat2 lens.

I can feel another fashion statement thread coming on... wink
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Quote:

between a £13.99 Bolle goggle and a £150 premium brand goggle

but Bolle are a premium brand they just happen to do a range of goggles from about £20 to £100.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Hold on a mo, I seem to remember getting mercilessly flamed when I posted that £15 goggles do the same job as ridiculously priced goggles.

Admittedly, I'm the wrong person to comment. I hate goggles and avoid using them if I can.

I think the problem is there is no guarantee how goggles are going to perform until you're stuck out on the mountain in a white-out and need to find your way. In these circumstances my cheapo goggles did an adequate job and a friend's expensive goggles misted up continuously. Maybe fit is the most important issue here.
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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.
The misting thing is a bit of a red heron, because if you disrupt the airflow through the lenses the hot air cannot escape up and it cannot be replaced with cold air from below so any goggles will mist up no matter how much they cost, physics will see to that. Lot's of people have problems with misting but very often they are occasional goggle wearers and don't leave the vents clear.

More expensive goggles tend to be more durable and have a more comfortable fit to allow prolonged use. If you only whip out your gogs when it's very cold or snowing then get the cheap ones, if you use them all the time then it makes perfect sense to spend more.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
I have pretty cheap ones ( think they're Bollé, but cheap nonetheless), wear them a lot, and they're fine. I'd not dream of spending £100. I only recently replaced a pair I bought half price in a sale in a French supermarket about 18 years ago. But what I did find was that having tried on about 20 pairs, only a couple were a comfortable fit on my face and, of those, only 1 was a good fit with my helmet. I wouldn't buy without trying on. I wear vision inserts in mine but very rarely do I have any misting problems - usually only if I'm exerting myself, e.g. skating. Then just putting them on top of the helmet for a minute always seems to clear them. I clean them when I can no longer see through them - never had to bother with any fancy routines, spitting on them, rubbing them with washing up liquid etc. Maybe I just don't have steamy eyes? wink
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
I've been searching for good value goggles for a while and finally got mine BLOC HAWK-II here:

http://www.directsunglasses.co.uk/catalogsearch/result/index/?q=goggle&x=0&y=0&cat=327&limit=all


www.directsunglasses.co.uk have different brands, but it seems that they don't stock all the same constantly, so stock varies. I think £23.50 with free delivery for decent goggles is a good buy. Wink

£13.99 for Bloc Shimmer looks very good, but who knows what the delivery costs at sportsdirect?


Last edited by snowHeads are a friendly bunch. on Mon 1-03-10 23:42; edited 2 times in total
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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.
atatreedy, If you're after a one-pair solution you should imo get air vented goggles with persimmon tinted dual lenses because they're suitable for most conditions you'll likely to experience.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
I had a pair of good quality CEBE goggles with interchangeable lenses. A friend didn't realise I had a pair and bought me these.
http://www.sundownsports.co.uk/GogglesStorm.htm

Cebe goggles are now never used.

Good sun block, good visibility etc etc etc. Mice curved lenses with good light preservation. They dont mist, even when I have a neck/face scarf on (which would mist the cebe's).

Well worth £35

cheers
bob
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Quote:

Mice curved lenses


Is this computer-aided design gone mad, or something from Douglas Adams?
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
atatreedy, I would advise against going too cheap.

In my view, Oakley make the best optics (lenses). You can get Oakley goggles for less than £40 new online. Like the Ambush. I've even seen the O Frame for less than £30.

Some others will recommend Persimmon (orange) lenses. Too bright for me on sunny days.
If you were just getting one pair I'd get the VR28 lense which is an all round one.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Is it sensible to opt for a cheap googles that gives you no protection. Better be safe than sorry.If one spends a samll fortune on these things it better be worth their weight in snow.


Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Wed 17-03-10 11:22; edited 1 time in total
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
chris12 wrote:
Is it sensible to opt for a cheap googles that gives you no protection. Better be safe than sorry


Am I being thick here, or do goggles protect from anything other than the sun? For occasional goggle wearers, the absence of sunlight (and/or presence of precipitation, which in my experience is often coupled with lack of sunlight) is what convinces them to remove their nice sunglasses and put on their goggles.

I think any pair of goggles which fits would adequately protect the eyes from wind/cold...

I think that most of the cheap ones are kitemarked for their solar protection capacities anyway!
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