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Good alternative to persimmon lens?

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I'm about to purchase some Oakley A frame goggles. I'm looking for a good middle-ground lens. I understand persimmon is quite a good choice but I don't like the look of that lens. I would like a lens that you cannot see your eyes through.

I know you should choose a lens depending on the conditions, but unfortunately I don't know what the weather will be like in when i go on holiday to Meribel, on January 19th 2012.

I'm thinking pink iridium might be a good choice. Could anyway back me up with this? I know it won't be great for very low light or very bright, but would we agree its sort of in the middle?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I have some amber polarised that I use for everything. Also have some high yellow that I thought I would need for poor light but the amber lense provides better contrast. The polarised lenses are expensive but imho worth it.
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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?
hi persimmon!

Amber polarized amazing but v expensive
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Yellow tri-band by Vuarnet you will never get pink eye, unlike ....

Some red lenses can be overpowering in mixed light, I had my eyes checked for light range sensitivity, I suffer from motion sickness in flat light, I was given grey lenses to mask out this range and they work.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I've got pink iridium (VR28 I think) which is my default lens and it works very well in all but the brightest direct sun (and even then, it's not bad) - you can see eyes through it though. AFAIK all low-light lenses will be see-through enough to see your eyes.

For the full mirror effect to hide your eyes you'll need one of the low transmission lenses like fire-, black-, or gold-iridium - but they're pretty gloomy in low-light (I also have fire iridium but it only really comes out on bluebird days or when I've face-planted and filled the pink-iridium goggles up with snow!)
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RichTraff, Why don't you want people to know where you are looking???? Toofy Grin Toofy Grin Shocked
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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:

Why don't you want people to know where you are looking????


OK who had the chicken and chips?
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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!
I'll have a look at the amber polarized but I think they'll be out of my budget.

The Pink Iridium by Oakley are VR50.

I'm not fussed about a full-mirrir effect goggle - or blocking out my eyes totally - I just don't like the look of the see-through-orange permission lenses. If I'm spending this much on goggles, I want them to look good as well as BE good.
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I googled for polarised goggles and found a warning that they made patches of ice more difficult to see (which does make sense). Has anybody found that to be true?
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Kelskii, +1, my set up
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finestgreen, Just the opposite, dont know what you've googled but nothing could be further from the truth, polarised lenses accentuate the snow/ ice interface thats the main deal with them. I've ski'd with them for 5+years now and they are tremendous. Similarly my OH and mates are the same, wouldnt use anything else, as above hi intensity-amber polarised for 90% of the time, hi intensity yellow (normal non polarised for white-out conditions). I also have a polarised black lens for mega blue-bird days.
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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.
These H.I Amber Polarized lenses seem to getting some good write ups. Can't believe I haven't seen people mention them before. I'd like to hear more about them.

I take it these aren't a reflective lens, right?
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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
RichTraff, They are suitable for all but really flat light right up to really sunny days, and even then are OK. They arent cheap but better than messing about changing lenses. Myself and all my pals ski with them. They arent a reflective lens, ie mirrored, and actually look blue from outside and yellowy from when you look through them. Really cool lenses. I ski with a second pair of A Frame Oakleys in my rucksack with yellow cheap hi intensity lenses for super flat light conditions, not worth changing over lenses IMO, all the money is in the lens and a second pair is almost as cheap as just buying the lens. The only time I ever really need to change midway through the day is when dropping into thick cloud after being high above the cloud, and even then mostly OK with the Polarised HI Amber. Other days when its real bad viz and snowing just go out with the cheap yellow lenses in straight away and if it clears up swap onto the HI Ambers asap, better snow definition.

Hope this helps. Toofy Grin
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Markymark29, great minds and all that. I'm the same as you and hardly ever use the hi intensity yellow goggles I keep spare in my bag. The amber polarised lense copes with just about everything. My eyesight is not great as I'm a bit short sighted and astigmatic but I'm sure the polarised lense helps with this. I hate wearing glasses when skiing and have never had contact lenses.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Great. Now I'm searching for some goggles that are going to cost me twice as much as anticipated! Wish I hadn't asked! Are we sure Pink Iridium VR50 aren't 'practically the same' or 'better value for money'?

On a serious note, it seems theses hi amber polarized are the business. I'll probably have to invest.

One last thought. Somebody should build an archive of photos of different goggles on people's faces. Not to feed my weird fetish desire of faces in goggles; but it'd be a way you could see what each lens actually looks like.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Markymark29, eg: http://www.sportwissenschaft.rub.de/mam/spomed/mitarbeitende/Jendrusch/polarisierende_filter_jai-11-2010.pdf
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
finestgreen, Thats compelling evidence indeed, will have to bin my goggles now and buy some Aldi £19.99 specials. Looks good on paper so it must be correct, all those angles and everything............. all I can say is that they seem to work well for me and all my pals and I think Oakley might have a decent R&D team who will have also put some work into it........another wasted bunch of money then? Laughing wink
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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?
I went for these lenses (different style A frames) last year, blue iridium...seem to do the job, and aren't very see-through either:

http://www.eyewearoutlet.co.uk/goggles-c78/oakley-a-frame-ski-goggle-tech-stripe-jewel-blue-with-blue-iridium-lens-57-544-p9388
http://uk.oakley.com/innovation/optical-superiority/lens-tints
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Markymark29, not disagreeing with your experience, that's why I asked! Though I'd tend to think Oakley putting R&D into it is evidence only that they think people will pay for it!

I don't understand how they justify charging so much extra though, given they can incorporate polarisation in free 3D glasses at the cinema.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
finestgreen, I guess its because people will pay more for them. I recently paid £50 for polarised lenses at Specsavers as an upgrade to both pairs of my new 2 for 1 (bogof offer) driving glasses (clear and sunny's) so its a justified charge I reckon............ never worn 3D glasses at cinema but was seeing surface definition of the ice in the popcorn frenzy a major issue? How do you know the 3D glasses are free at the cinema, they may be free to you, but its likely built into the cost of your ticket, there must be a cost, but I guess if they are doing 100,000 pairs for the Odeon they will be at a cheaper until cost than Oakley goggles per pair.

Look on line there'll be plenty of good offers about for them, or was in the summer when I originally bought mine when they came out previous season - not the best time to be buying right now in fairness, best to buy when its summer sales when they discount last seasons winter stock.
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Love that article! Purely because it encourages me to spend less.

How about these Pink Iridiums - anybody using them?
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
RichTraff, I wouldnt believe everything you read!
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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!
RichTraff, I'm using Vermillon Gun lens w/ light mirror which is good for 90% of the spectrum. If its either too sunny or a white out then they struggle, everything else is not a problem. They look pink or blue depending on the light. I don't know Oakley's equivalent. I had polarised Gun goggles before and weren't as good in 60% of the spectrum.
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 You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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RichTraff, Before I used the HI Amber polarised I used 3 other lenses, HI yellow for poor light (like I still do), VR28 (or persimmon when I lost them bought VR28) for normal use, and blue iridium for full sun. Worked well but I got fed up messing about changing lenses. Cost of all that is more than the above.
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http://www.extremepie.com/Oakley-A-Frame-Ski-Goggles-Jet-Black-~-Hi-Amber-Polarised/30515.htm?source=webgains&siteid=92120
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Is this classed as a bargain - Oakley A Frame / Jet Black / High Intensity Amber Polarized - £125 ??
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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.
Is this classed as a bargain - Oakley A Frame / Jet Black / High Intensity Amber Polarized - £125 ??

http://www.surfdome.com/oakley_goggles_-_oakley_a_frame_snowboard_goggles,_jet_black_-_h.i._amber_polarized-28963
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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
RichTraff, Seriously good deal mate, go for it you'll not regret it.
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
finestgreen, good article, even if it does fall into the recent research fad of providing evidence for the bleeding obvious that the tyranny of evidence-based info has created!
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Hi all,

I thought I'd lend my expertise and experience when it comes to sight. Let's just say a close relative knows a lot about eyes Very Happy

Basically, for flat light, its because of the predominance of Blue UV light. So your lenses must be capable of filtering the Blue UV spectrum.

Different people's eyes are different - so you MUST trail different lens colours to see what works BEST for YOUR eyes. Traditional tints useful to help bring out the perceptible shadows in the terrain in low, flat light are persimmon, rose, and yellow.

Some prefer persimmon, others prefer rose and others prefer yellow as their default choice in flat light. You have to experiment to see which works best for you.

Some carry spare lenses to swap into their existing frames. I myself have 3 pairs of goggles, and I look at the forecast and wear the most appropriate one for the day.

If its snowy, overcast day with no predicted change, I just use the goggle with the yellows, and carry another in the jacket with orange-chrome lens if it suddenly gets a wee bit brighter for a while. If its a blue-bird day, then the goggle with the mirrored gold chrome lens is worn. If its a moderately bright day, then its the pair that's got orange chrome. Job done. Over the years, I have managed to experiment and figure out what works for me.

For very bright days, the brown or dark grey tints works best.

So in a nutshell, when selecting the right goggle to maximise vision, you need to consider the nature of the light, and also the VLT % of the lens.

Enjoy! Very Happy
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Oh to OP - and for Oakley lenses, the popular lenses for low light are persimmon, HI persimmon, HI Yellow, Pink Iridium, VR50.

For mixed conditions, I have found the Blue Iridium works best - devilishly difficult to find this lens now, but its 'sister' is VR28 lens.

For blue-bird days, Gold Iridium and Black Iridium and Fire Iridium is fine - unless you want to splash out for the Polarized lenses. It seems that the new Emerald Iridium lenses also work in v. bright light - but I have no experience of these.

Very Happy Very Happy
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Loving some of the science and debate we have going here. Top stuff. Just what I was looking for.

Unfortunately those hi amber polarized, A frame goggles have sold out at £125. I don't think I'll be paying more for them so I'll have to settle for something less. Probably the VR50's.
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