# Goggle w/ Best Visibility



## Sassicaia (Jan 21, 2012)

I always looking out for the best in each category and put quality and performance above all else when deciding. IMO Oakley makes the best lenses on the market. If you are truly out for the best visibility and board often then you can not achieve it with a single lens. Id recommend getting one for overcast, one for sunny days and one for night (if you ride at night).

Contrary to what some people might say there is no one lens that does it all. Sure there are some that are pretty good for everything, but to answer your question purely based on best then you need more then one lens. With that in mind I would buy a goggle that allows quick and easy lens changing. 

What ever you do don't buy polarized.


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## mrjimyjohn (Dec 18, 2010)

Sassicaia said:


> I always looking out for the best in each category and put quality and performance above all else when deciding. IMO Oakley makes the best lenses on the market. If you are truly out for the best visibility and board often then you can not achieve it with a single lens. Id recommend getting one for overcast, one for sunny days and one for night (if you ride at night).
> 
> Contrary to what some people might say there is no one lens that does it all. Sure there are some that are pretty good for everything, but to answer your question purely based on best then you need more then one lens. With that in mind I would buy a goggle that allows quick and easy lens changing.
> 
> What ever you do don't buy polarized.


What's wrong with polarized lenses? I'm just curious..


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## NWBoarder (Jan 10, 2010)

What kind of visibility are you asking about? Bright light, low light, no light? Peripheral vision? There are many options and you should probably be a little more specific if you want quality answers. Also, search function is your friend.


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## Sassicaia (Jan 21, 2012)

mrjimyjohn said:


> What's wrong with polarized lenses? I'm just curious..


Polarized lenses essentially eliminate glare/reflection. If you are on the water boating thats great because you will greatly reduce the reflection of sun off the water. If you are on the mountain boarding its dangerous because you will not be able to see ice patches. You need light to reflect off ice in order for you to clearly be able to see it and a polarized lens essentially kills that ability. 

There are probably 10 applications polarized lenses are much better then non polarized, but skiing/boarding are not one of them.


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## HiImBrian (Oct 11, 2012)

NWBoarder said:


> What kind of visibility are you asking about? Bright light, low light, no light? Peripheral vision? There are many options and you should probably be a little more specific if you want quality answers. Also, search function is your friend.


Sorry about that. I'm looking for a goggle that offers the best peripheral vision. I used the search function and found a few threads where people discussed a specific goggle, but nothing solely based on peripherals.


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## Tech420 (Jul 1, 2011)

I've gone through a few pairs of goggles and settled with Smith I/O's. The vision is great and you can swap the lens (comes with 2) for changing conditions in a matter of 30 seconds.


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## HiImBrian (Oct 11, 2012)

Tech420 said:


> I've gone through a few pairs of goggles and settled with Smith I/O's. The vision is great and you can swap the lens (comes with 2) for changing conditions in a matter of 30 seconds.


I feel like I keep hearing "Smith I/O" everywhere I go. Is this just the new fad, or are they really worth it?

Also, I've always found ebay to be the cheapest place to by goggles. Anybody have any comments on this?


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## Basti (Sep 22, 2011)

Dragon APX. I've always used oversized goggles for peripheral vision and since the APX has no outer frame they offer the best vision of the ones I've tried (VZ Fishbowl, Spy and Electric EG2). They're kind of pricy though and if you wear a helmet you should check if the set is compatible.


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## KnoxBoarderX (Aug 26, 2011)

I have anon hawkeyes and love them. I tried on the Smith I/O's but felt like they too small. The Dragon APX's look awesome! They might be my next pair. To answer the question though, try on a few different ones. Try all the oversized ones you can. Some might actually be too big.


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## almostheaven (Sep 30, 2012)

I have a pair of the Smith I/Os and I think they are worth the money. The smaller frame allows as good of vision peripherally as I have ever needed and there are a ton of lens options. Get one lens for bright sunny days and one lens for cloudy/overcast/night time riding.


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## BigmountainVMD (Oct 9, 2011)

No mention of the Smith I/OX's? The larger version of the I/O...


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## HiImBrian (Oct 11, 2012)

KnoxBoarderX said:


> I have anon hawkeyes and love them. I tried on the Smith I/O's but felt like they too small. The Dragon APX's look awesome! They might be my next pair. To answer the question though, try on a few different ones. Try all the oversized ones you can. Some might actually be too big.


The hard part about this is where? Where can I go to try on multiple brands? I've checked some sporting stores, but they haven't really had too much to look at. I've always got gogs online..


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## HiImBrian (Oct 11, 2012)

almostheaven said:


> I have a pair of the Smith I/Os and I think they are worth the money. The smaller frame allows as good of vision peripherally as I have ever needed and there are a ton of lens options. Get one lens for bright sunny days and one lens for cloudy/overcast/night time riding.


This is something I really like about the I/O is that they sell them with a sunny and a cloudy lens. I'd be too cheap to buy an extra lens if it didn't come with one. Just being honest.


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## bigblaster (Oct 25, 2012)

Airblaster's all the way.


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## Lamps (Sep 3, 2011)

Sassicaia said:


> I always looking out for the best in each category and put quality and performance above all else when deciding. IMO Oakley makes the best lenses on the market. If you are truly out for the best visibility and board often then you can not achieve it with a single lens. Id recommend getting one for overcast, one for sunny days and one for night (if you ride at night).
> 
> Contrary to what some people might say there is no one lens that does it all. Sure there are some that are pretty good for everything, but to answer your question purely based on best then you need more then one lens. With that in mind I would buy a goggle that allows quick and easy lens changing.
> 
> What ever you do don't buy polarized.


+1 on Oakley, you can use the hi intensity yellow for both overcast and night plus a darker lense for bright days, and have two lenses or pairs of goggles instead of three


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

VZ Fishbowls :thumbsup:


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## Tech420 (Jul 1, 2011)

HiImBrian said:


> I feel like I keep hearing "Smith I/O" everywhere I go. Is this just the new fad, or are they really worth it?
> 
> Also, I've always found ebay to be the cheapest place to by goggles. Anybody have any comments on this?


Never heard of if being any type of "fad". If I lost my current pair I wouldn't hesitate one second to purchase another set.


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## HiImBrian (Oct 11, 2012)

Tech420 said:


> Never heard of if being any type of "fad". If I lost my current pair I wouldn't hesitate one second to purchase another set.


I wasn't calling goggles in general a fad, but simply asking if the I/Os were as good as they are hyped up to be (it sounds like they are). You can't tell me that Oakley A Frames weren't a fad! Everybody and their mom used to own a pair of those just because of the almighty Shaun White. To each their own really.


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

The I/Os are great goggles. One big advantage they have over a lot of the oversized goggles is that they tend to work better with most helmets. They have a much better field of vision than a standard goggle, but they still don't have the FOV of something like the Fishbowl. When I put on my Fishbowls, I have to really strain my eyes to actually be able to see the frame. It's literally like you're a goldfish in a fishbowl looking out.


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## mrjimyjohn (Dec 18, 2010)

linvillegorge said:


> The I/Os are great goggles. One big advantage they have over a lot of the oversized goggles is that they tend to work better with most helmets. They have a much better field of vision than a standard goggle, but they still don't have the FOV of something like the Fishbowl. When I put on my Fishbowls, I have to really strain my eyes to actually be able to see the frame. It's literally like you're a goldfish in a fishbowl looking out.


Have you ever tried the VZ Skylabs? They're supposed to be just as wide as the fishbowls but shorter... I think I might give those a try as they're significantly cheaper than fishbowls.

Sorry op, I'm done threadjacking.


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## poutanen (Dec 22, 2011)

Sassicaia said:


> Polarized lenses essentially eliminate glare/reflection. If you are on the water boating thats great because you will greatly reduce the reflection of sun off the water. If you are on the mountain boarding its dangerous because you will not be able to see ice patches. You need light to reflect off ice in order for you to clearly be able to see it and a polarized lens essentially kills that ability.


BAH! Can't say I've really ever seen much "ice glare" before I started using polarized goggles. And I used to ride icy Ontario! Not much ice where I ride these days...

I'm happy with my Rose Copper polarized lenses for bright light situations...

What brought me to this thread is I need some new low light goggles and haven't bought in a couple years. I'll probably be buying smith goggles so trying to decide between a couple lenses specifically for highlighting the snow on overcast days.

- Red Sensor Mirror
- Sensor Mirror
- Gold Sensor Mirror
- Gold Lite

To be honest the best low light goggles I've used were a pair of $30 blue blockers (orange lens) I bought about 7 years ago. I'd just like to find a pair of them again!


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## SpeedDemon (Feb 12, 2011)

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the Electric EG2 goggles yet. I've been using a pair for a few years and love 'em for their excellent peripheral vision.

Electric does sell various lens tints for them too and while not as quick to change out, like on a Smith I/O, it's still plenty easy.

Here's a pic of me with them using the Gold Chrome lens which is good for bright sunny days (Mt Bachelor Feb 2012):


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## ChiTownRon (Aug 19, 2012)

Never knew polarized lenses where bad when it came to ice glare. I bought some Smith Optics Scope's that were on sale for like 30$. They came with the sensor lens. Should do me good for now. Like the above posted said, kinda surprised not a lot of people mentions electric's eg2 or eg2.5. Those will probably be the next goggles I end up buying.


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## mb889 (Feb 14, 2012)

I have one each of IO, IOX,and EG2. Best peripheral vision of the bunch is the EG2. The lens feels a little closer to the face to me. I feel that the lens quality is better on the Smith though. JMHO though, there's some great stuff out there but fit on your face is important. It can make the best goggle out there pretty crappy.


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## scrotumphillips (Oct 27, 2012)

poutanen said:


> What brought me to this thread is I need some new low light goggles and haven't bought in a couple years. I'll probably be buying smith goggles so trying to decide between a couple lenses specifically for highlighting the snow on overcast days.
> 
> - Red Sensor Mirror
> - Sensor Mirror
> ...


I really like the Sensor Mirror that comes with I/Os. They are noticeably better when it is dark or overcast than the standard RC36 the I/Os also come with. They are the only other lense tint that i have tried, but they definitely make a difference in flat light.


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## beehive (Dec 11, 2010)

try I/O from Smith. Probably the best goggles with the best visibility I tried to date. They currently have a new version of I/O, which looks even better


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## aiidoneus (Apr 7, 2011)

linvillegorge said:


> VZ Fishbowls :thumbsup:


I Agree.


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## wrathfuldeity (Oct 5, 2007)

poutanen said:


> BAH! Can't say I've really ever seen much "ice glare" before I started using polarized goggles. And I used to ride icy Ontario! Not much ice where I ride these days...
> 
> I'm happy with my Rose Copper polarized lenses for bright light situations...
> 
> ...


smith blue sensor for low and flat light conditions


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## BigmountainVMD (Oct 9, 2011)

I just picked up a pair of Smith IOXs that came with a Green Solex and a Blue Sensor lens. I was impressed with the peripheral vision. Forcing my eyes all the way to the right and left (to the point of being painful), there is only half a pinky finger width of frame visible. The shortcoming on the IOXs in my opinion is the downward peripheral vision. Definitely not the best if you have a big nose can can't push them down without closing off your nostrils. Awesome lenses though and comfy as hell.


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## BFBF (Jan 15, 2012)

SPY platoons.

Oversized with an insane field of view.
Helmet compatible

Comes with 2 lenses... A dark and lowlight that can quickly be changed out.


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## Sassicaia (Jan 21, 2012)

poutanen said:


> BAH! Can't say I've really ever seen much "ice glare" before I started using polarized goggles. And I used to ride icy Ontario! Not much ice where I ride these days...
> 
> I'm happy with my Rose Copper polarized lenses for bright light situations...
> 
> ...


What you are picturing as "glare" is more a more a slight reflection that ice gives. If you look at ice in the day light it reflects light which helps you determine where ice is when bombing down the hill and adjust your speed and balance. Take that reflection away and you put yourself in a much more dangerous situation. Lenses are meant to improve/enhance your vision not take things away that are helpful to you.

Polarized is not meant for this sport.


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## linvillegorge (Jul 6, 2009)

Gotta agree with Sass regarding polarized lenses. I quit using the polarized lens in my Smith Phenoms after damn near killing myself with near bails at high speed when I hit ice patches I didn't see coming. Ice on the slopes is invisible through a polarized lens.


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## extra0 (Jan 16, 2010)

tried the I/O and and didn't like them. Excellent optics, but the sensor mirrors kept fogging between the lenses. At first, I thought it was just a defective lens, but 3 different sensors later and still the same problem. I also had to wear the frame kinda high in order for them to fit my nose right...which puts too much of the frame bottom and nose piece into view. 

tried the EG2. They seemed ridiculously huge, but I really hated the thickness of the face foam and how far it pushes the lens away from the face. Also tried the VZ Skylab. Same overly thick face foam issue and the peripheral vision was actually quite bad. Both goggles seem geared closer to asian faces or people with tiny noses.

going to the store to try on goggles is a pita. They have them locked, so you need a salesperson and they're frequently impatient/rushed because of other customers. You may need to buy them, try them...then return them.

I'm hoping zeal works better for me


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## HiImBrian (Oct 11, 2012)

I was at Keystone this past weekend and was finally about to try on all the helmets/goggles I had been reading about:

Electric EG2 and EG2.5
Dragon APX
Smith I/O

Initially, I thought I'd go there and leave with a pair of EG2 gogs, but after trying them on I was pretty thrown from them. Like some of you have already mentioned, they are huge...and not in a good way. The peripherals seemed no better than my old Spy Soldiers except for looking up (which is pointless imo). I felt like the EG2.5 gog was a much better fit size wise, and has the same down and side peripherals as the EG2. As mentioned above, the foam on these was way larger than needed. Less foam puts a goggle closer to your face and therefore better view right???

The Smith I/O seemed no better than my old Spy Soldiers. I think it's silly how they advertise frameless when really the frame is just on the inside of the lens.

The Dagon APX also did not excite me very much. I tried on the large and the small version. The foam was way too thick and the peripherals were nothing to brag about.

Conclusion:
For now I'm sticking with my Spy Soldiers, not because I think they are the best goggle on the market, but because I can't justify some of these newer goggles as $100+ better.


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## Trbo323 (Nov 24, 2010)

HiImBrian said:


> I feel like I keep hearing "Smith I/O" everywhere I go. Is this just the new fad, or are they really worth it?
> 
> Also, I've always found ebay to be the cheapest place to by goggles. Anybody have any comments on this?


I have some I/Os, they have been extremely good to me. I moved to them from a pair of bolle's nothing wrong with the bolle's but the smiths offer much more peripherals and fit to my helmet better. not to mention being able to change the lenses out so fast depending on conditions sure is nice. The only down side i have found to the I/Os is at least for me and the way my face is shaped, when i get hit with a cross wind the smiths do allow a little more air in through the goggle. Its not to the point of being a problem but it is noticeable 

anyone tried the Dye goggles yet? I come from a paintball background where dye makes some of the best lenses in the game so I was rather excited to hear they were taking a stab at snow goggles. They seem expensive (which, truth be told is par for the course for Dye) but if they have taken what they have learned in paintball and applied it to snow goggles they should be a good pair of lenses


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## ShadowCloud04 (Sep 6, 2012)

I have some Electric EG2 and I really like them. They have a very large field of view and in my opinion they look amazing. Mine are also compatible with my bern watts helmet.


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## sb60 (Oct 5, 2010)

I think the Oakley hi yellow lens is amazing for low light.


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## smokebelch109 (Nov 6, 2012)

Im happy with my Oakley Splice's tried on the Dragon APX's and I/O's and they just didnt seem as comfy, I tried them all on at a Ski-faire and liked the way they changed lenses easily. got for £78 which i thought was a pretty good deal compared to most UK prices

Best advice, i can give? use these forums to pick the top 3 to 5 goggles you want to check out then go to a shop and try them on. Only you can decide!


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## huckit (Jan 9, 2012)

Trbo323 said:


> I have some I/Os, they have been extremely good to me. I moved to them from a pair of bolle's nothing wrong with the bolle's but the smiths offer much more peripherals and fit to my helmet better. not to mention being able to change the lenses out so fast depending on conditions sure is nice. The only down side i have found to the I/Os is at least for me and the way my face is shaped, when i get hit with a cross wind the smiths do allow a little more air in through the goggle. Its not to the point of being a problem but it is noticeable
> 
> anyone tried the Dye goggles yet? I come from a paintball background where dye makes some of the best lenses in the game so I was rather excited to hear they were taking a stab at snow goggles. They seem expensive (which, truth be told is par for the course for Dye) but if they have taken what they have learned in paintball and applied it to snow goggles they should be a good pair of lenses


Yeah, I just picked up a pair of T1's made by Dye. So far, AWESOME. Have I used them on the snow yet? Sadly, no, because there isn't any snow up here yet. Also, from what I'm reading, polorized lenses may not be the way to go... they came with two sets: polorized and not. 

Brian- ebay is a great place to buy goggles. I picked up my T1's for pretty cheap. But, my splice's I got from a local shop. If the price isn't to much different, support your local shops when possible!


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## Tsukasa (Oct 16, 2012)

HiImBrian said:


> I was at Keystone this past weekend and was finally about to try on all the helmets/goggles I had been reading about:
> 
> Electric EG2 and EG2.5
> Dragon APX
> ...



I have a bern helmet like this one https://www.google.ca/search?q=bern...GFw4HoBQ&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAQ&biw=320&bih=356#i=17

And was looking at the apx and eg2,but not sure if they would fit with my helmet. Did you try them with a helmet ?


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