Lenses and light transmission (VLT?) - SMITH Sensor vs. Ignitor lens

A snowHead

I was just about to buy a pair of SMITH Prodigy goggles, but am not 100% sure on what lens I need. I am not too good with the specs and was wondering if some could shed some light on which of the two is better (pun intended Very Happy

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This is the goggle I am looking at (great GBP£ vs. US$ exchange rate at the moment too!)

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Smith-Prodigy-Sph-Ski-Snowboard-gOggles-Ignitor-/300486856246?pt=Snowboarding&hash=item45f6698e36

I have two options. An IGNITOR lens and a SENSOR lens.

I have done some research on the net, and saw this;

The ignitor is an ok all-around, but the addition of the mirror means (for me) less tired/red eyes. My eyes are very sensitive and used to get pretty red until I switched to a mirror lens... I prefer having a Sensor Mirror for cloudy days, and a Platinum Mirror for PC-sunny days... but if I had to go with one, I would choose the ignitor mirror.

From Smith's web site:

Ignitor Mirror = 35% VLT

Sensor Mirror = 70%

that's why sensor is SO much better in flat light... literally twice the available light + a mirror to reduce glare. A nice lens methinks!

Which of the two lenses is better for all round conditions and what the heck is VLT?

Smile

A snowHead

Found some more info here:

Sensor Mirror: Light rose base lens tint with a multi-layer mirror maximizes color definition and increases depth perception in varying levels of flat light conditions. 70% VLT.

Ignitor Mirror: Proprietary new universal lens tint designed to reduce eye fatigue while enhancing contrast and depth perception in all conditions. A versatile lens tint designed to be used all season long. 35% VLT.

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

VLT = visible light transmission (or something like that). The higher the figure, the more light the lens lets through

this is a personal thing because some people are more sensitive to bright light than others. i used to use the gold lens almost all of the time, even in bright conditions and didn't find that too much of a problem. however, i got some ignitor mirror lenses and just use them all the time. the block out more light than the gold lenses so are more relaxing for your eyes in bright light. they also seem to perform much better than i would expect in flat light. i never felt the need to change them even in close-to white-out conditions last season

i had some sensor mirror goggles which i only had the chance to use in bad light conditions before i lost them. they were pretty good but if i had the choice i would go with ignitor mirrors

YMMV

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Do the mirror coatings on the lenses of good googles actually give some benefit or is it just done for the look of the things (or not allowing your skiing partners to see the fear in your eyes as the top of a mogulled black!).

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Thanks Arno, very useful. That settles it then - SMITH PRODIGY with IGNITOR lens!

Many thanks.

Smile

Help!!

Lenses and light transmission (VLT?) - SMITH Sensor vs. Ignitor lens

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