 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello there!
I try to find a quality pair of goggles for a ski trip to Alps next week.Budget is less than 100 pounds but i want quality goggles that will last for many ski seasons!Which brands do you generally prefer?Von zipper?Oakley?
Should i buy them online or from a ski shop at the resort?(tignes/val d'isere)Should i expect higher prices there ?
(i might be off-topic but...)
The thing is that i used to have some cheap no-name goggles with orange lenses,but after 20 or 30 minutes looking at snow my eyes couldn't stand it, as i was seeing shadows etc and generally it was really unpleasant to the point i could not wear the goggles any more
Do you think the problem was the goggles or my eyes?Has anyone experienced any similar symptoms?I want the goggles mainly for bad weather conditions (fog,snow,wind etc) so black lenses are not really my thing (i have some ski sunglasses for sun...).Are there any other lenses for fog? (except orange)
Sorry for the big-ish post,but i want my first ski holidays to be perfect,so any advice will be really helpfull!
Mike
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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poromenos, You may have more time to select a good pair of goggles if you look while you're in the UK. You are then 'ready to ski' when you get to resort. Most of the main UK ski shops have good range. There are plenty well under £100.
It sound like it was the lenses in your previous goggles were the issue. You'll find they have all sorts of filters and different coloured lenses.
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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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Electric do some sick looking goggles. They've also got massive lenses so you're view is restricted as little as possible.
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in addition to orange, you can get gold/yellow and rose coloured lenses for flat light. these will usually not filter out as much light as lenses designed for sunny conditions, so can strain the eye if it gets bright
i have always had good luck with Smith goggles
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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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Hi Poromenos,
I agree with BMF skier, far better to buy them in the UK. The exchange rate isn't great still and the shops, especially in Val D I'sere and Tignes are VERY expensive, I'd say £30-£40 on top of UK prices and that was across all well-known brands such as North Face etc. I foolishly went to the same area with some mid-range orange tinted goggles and ended up having to make an emergency dash to a shop in Tignes to buy some for flat light/snow etc... I ended up paying about £30 over the odds but not wanting to ruin the rest of my holiday, I bit the bullet.
I went for Oakley Stockholms with pink iridium lenses which are good for that sort of light but also more than adequate if the sun does come out. If it was really bright light, I'll be whipping out my new black iridium lenses (which only let 18% or so of the light in - recently purchased hence the info) so maybe worth investing in some spare lenses later on. The iridium Stockholms are around £110 in the UK but Oakley do lots of different styles - their lenses are interchangeable too and cost between £40-£60 each depending on the colour you go for. My partner has some Adidas goggles which he's very pleased with, they seem to be suitable for all light conditions - I think they were around £130 though...
There is a chart in the back of the Snow & Rock catalogue explaining all the different brands/lens colours which might help if you want to be clued up before you go shopping. With regards buying them online, it really is worth trying them on first to make sure they're comfortable, fit with your helmet (if you wear one) etc...
By the way, a seasoned skier told me never to wear sunglasses (I always used to because I thought I looked cool) but he said the last thing you want near your eyes if you fall is glass - he's probably got a point there!
Hope that helps and have a great holiday! 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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I've always found Bollé goggles fine and they cost FAR less than £100. Buy a pair of £30 - 40 goggles and spend the extra £60 on a private ski lesson. Or a couple of nice meals. (or maybe one nice meal if you're going to Val D'Isere  ).
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poromenos,. If you wear a helmet, take it with you to the shop, then try everything on and buy the ones that fit your helmet best and you like the look of. Doesn't matter too much about the brand, at the 100 squid mark they're all pretty much the same quality i.e. very good and will last you many seasons, as long as you look after the lenses.
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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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Bolle goggles from £50 down are as good as anything. Goggles get bent, squashed, generally chucked around and lenses scratched so its not worth spending vast sums of money. You're better having 2 or 3 pairs of Bolles over a few seasons than a ridiculously expensive pair that will be just as scratched as cheap ones after a few weeks skiing.
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One more for the Bolles, additionaly it seems to me that there OTG stuff is better suited to larger specs (and my fat head) than most.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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In my opinion both Bolle and Uvex are high quality, and excellent value for money. I carry two pairs whilst on the mountain, one for low light (Uvex) and one for sunshine/high light levels (Bolle.) I Cannot see the point in spending more that £50 on one pair of goggles.
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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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In my opinion both Bolle and Uvex are high quality, and excellent value for money. I carry two pairs whilst on the mountain, one for low light (Uvex) and one for sunshine/high light levels (Bolle.) I Cannot see the point in spending more that £50 on one pair of goggles.
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as has already been said, I would say that your problem lies with the lense that you were using before. I have a pair of Scott goggles with an Amplifier lense. They seem to work quite well in varying conditions and I haven't had a problem with steaming up either, much better than my old Bolle ones (I think they may have been bottom of the range) which steamed up a lot. The scotts fit snuggly with my Giro g10 helmet!
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You know it makes sense.
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Oakley's all the way, you can get crowbars cheap from the internet opticians (£50 upwards). I ordered custom crowbars which come direct from Oakley Uk but they are cheaper than Oakley sell them. I ordered two lenses as they are so easy to take out, I got the persimmon lenses (great all rounder) and the VR28 (good for sunnier conditions) which seem to cover most conditions. If you want to spend more then you can get some real nice lenses, I had the yellow iridium for my wisdoms and they were great for low light.
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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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milestaylor, speak for yourself matey-boy. Just because you're incapable of looking after your kit doesn't mean everyone else is. My current Smith goggles have lasted 5 years/15+ weeks and are still going strong, my previous goggles lasted 4 years before that.
I'll concede that if you normally wear sunnies and only carry goggles in your pocket/pack for bad weather then they are more likely to get squashed and scratched, and therefore not worth spending much cash on. If you wear them every day, as I do, then it's very much worth digging a little deeper for a bit of quality.
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Poster: A snowHead
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Another vote for Smith, Bolle and Uvex. Personally, I'm a fan of POC, but they're expensive.
I must admit that I'm no longer buy Oakley goggles. The goggles and optics are superb. But the lenses (especially the more expensive ones) tend to scratch far too easily. I'm not someone who breaks stuff or treats it badly.
I agree with avoiding skiing in sunglasses.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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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 can add that vision3k are excellent - I rung them at 4pm on monday and I had my goggles (in deepest devon) by 10.30am tuesday - free delivery. Outstanding service!
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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I have tried all sorts of brands and I really don't think you can beat Oakley, they use good quality lenses (and have an excellent range to choose from) and Oakley always produce lenses for sale for the older models, so even if they stop producing the goggles you can always get replacement lenses. With a lot of other brands once the goggles are off the market its very difficult to get new lenses, some are not even available separately.
The other important thing is getting goggles that fit your face properly, will be different for everyone so try lots on. What one person recommends may not fit or suit you so its a personal choice really. Most goggles at the price your looking at will be good so you can't go too wrong.
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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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speak for yourself matey-boy. Just because you're incapable of looking after your kit doesn't mean everyone else is. DR JOHN a little unnecessary, I think.
I was speaking for myself, that's the whole point of this site. Actually I am the most particular person you could find, with regards to looking after my own kit. I never lend or borrow any sports equipment.
I wear a helmet that looks stupid if worn with glasses so wear goggles all the time. BUT they do get scratched eventually, somehow. I usually have to buy a new pair every 4 years or so. I honestly can't see where the expensive brands are better. My brother-in-law is a optomitrist and he says the expensive brands lens are no better optically.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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milestaylor, the quality of a goggle lens is not just a case of optical quality, but also anti fog, scratch resistance and durabilty. I had my Oakley A frames with the same lens since 2003, that is at least 60 weeks of full time use as they did 2 seasons and lots of holdays in that time - barely any marks on the lens at all! I look after all my gear well but this is also a good testament to Oakley quality in my eyes.
Unfortunately after all this time I lent them to a friend at the end of last season and he lost them 
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Bought some Anon(Burton..) goggles a couple of years back. £45 down from £70 with two lenses: low viz bronze lense and sunny silver mirror lense.
That was the first time I did spend that much money on goggles and the difference with cheap stuff is clear. Worth it in my opinion.
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