Best flat light lens

[Tony Storaro]

Well I've gone regular Chromapop.

Which one?

 

[fatbob]

Sun Black and Storm Rose was the package with the goggle. I'll have to see if the Sun lens works for me on the brightest days howver as usually I'm a Cat 2 Amber for preference.

 

[David Chaus]

For anyone interested in Abom heated goggles, they have a sale, 25% off goggles and 50% off lenses.

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Abom heated anti-fog goggles use state-of-the-art technology to keep your goggles fog-free for snowmobiling, snowboarding and skiing. Check out our optics!

www.abom.com

 

[NESkier_26]

1. Ditto on polarized lenses, glad that somebody understands the physics. Chromapop is not really picking up contrast, all the talk about spectral light filtering is a bunch of marketing BS. My strong impression is that Chromapop lenses are made of Trivex (NXT) as opposed to polycarbonate, which has higher dispersion and lower clarity. A clearer picture from Chromapop is perceived as increased contrast. The rest is just blue light filtering, which is mostly what the Oakley Prism does. Blue light scatters more strongly, thus decreasing visual contrast.

2. I LOVE photochromicI understand the conundrum about skiing into the shadows and not having the lens to react fast enough, but come on, you are not changing lenses on the fly while you are skiing. With the photochromic lens if it becomes cloudy in the afternoon I am covered without having to ski down to the base or having to carry a fragile lens in my pocket. The now discontinued POC NXT photochromic goggles remain my strong favorites over anything else on the market. For now I have to survive with a non-photochromic Smith Chromapop 4D. I like the expanded field of view of the 4D lens though.

I'm going to try photochromic lenses this year as well. I've had Smith iOX goggles since the pre-Chromapop days, and have subsequently bought several low light Chromopop lenses. I've been underwhelmed by the low light performance (good but not great in both the pink and yellow lenses to my eyes), fogging problems (exacerbated by COVID masking), and NEVER find myself shifting out lenses (I deal with the extra sun as a trade-off for superior vision in the shadows).

I've just bought (but haven't yet used) Bolle Nevada goggles with a photochromic Phantom+ lens. The pluses:

• Trivex (NXT) lens
• Solid top VLT of 51% (claimed)
• A unique 50% polarized filter that is supposed to help with glare ice (we'll see)
• Strong online reviews
• A nice low price point as compared to the $250 - $300+ premium market

I'll provide an update next month once I've had several days of experience with them.

 

[jgiddyup]

I've only read the last two pages and it was likely mentioned earlier, but the wife and I both switched to Oakley high intensity yellow back in 2015 or 2016 and haven't given thought to light conditions on the mountain since.

 

[Keys2Ski]

I’ve had cataract surgery as well. My iol has a blue light filter in it, so my surgeon said to stay away from green mirrored sunglasses and goggles. So far I’ve only used clear lens on really cloudy days, yellow lens on super flat days and rose for cloudy mixed with sun. I do have the multifocal iol lenses, so I’m pupil dependent, the bright the light the better my vision. I think I may have to research more options as well, by trying them on too.

 

[David]

I’ve had cataract surgery as well. My iol has a blue light filter in it, so my surgeon said to stay away from green mirrored sunglasses and goggles. So far I’ve only used clear lens on really cloudy days, yellow lens on super flat days and rose for cloudy mixed with sun. I do have the multifocal iol lenses, so I’m pupil dependent, the bright the light the better my vision. I think I may have to research more options as well, by trying them on too.

This is me for sure. I bought Julbo photocromatic goggles last year that I like in a mix of sun & clouds but not in dead flat light. They have 2 lenses with 1 for contrast enhancement and 1 for light enhancement. I picked up the light enhancement lens that I'm trying tomorrow (opening day here) since it's supposed to be cloudy.

 

[Keys2Ski]

This is me for sure. I bought Julbo photocromatic goggles last year that I like in a mix of sun & clouds but not in dead flat light. They have 2 lenses with 1 for contrast enhancement and 1 for light enhancement. I picked up the light enhancement lens that I'm trying tomorrow (opening day here) since it's supposed to be cloudy.

Let me know. I got the Alcon restor 3.0 multifocal lenses installed a few years ago. Before exchange, I couldn’t stand to be outside without sunglasses, now I actually forget that I have them. I prefer not to wear them because my vision is so much crisper in bright light. I may just ski in clear lenses from now on

 

[David]

Let me know. I got the Alcon restor 3.0 multifocal lenses installed a few years ago. Before exchange, I couldn’t stand to be outside without sunglasses, now I actually forget that I have them. I prefer not to wear them because my vision is so much crisper in bright light. I may just ski in clear lenses from I've tried cleat lenses

Let me know. I got the Alcon restor 3.0 multifocal lenses installed a few years ago. Before exchange, I couldn’t stand to be outside without sunglasses, now I actually forget that I have them. I prefer not to wear them because my vision is so much crisper in bright light. I may just ski in clear lenses from now on

Years ago I skied in clear lenses but after my cataracts I can't anymore. I'm really hoping that they work but my Giro Vivid Infrared - 58% VLT lenses work pretty well in flat light.

 

[Keys2Ski]

What iol did you have installed during cataract surgery?

 

[David]

What iol did you have installed during cataract surgery?

I'm not sure of what kind they used but they did not add any strength as my cataracts came on really early for my age due to a specific medication.

I used my new photocromatic Julbo lens today in dead flat light & snow. It was hard to see because it was snowing hard with really wet flakes and I needed to use a thumb squeegee every other turn. But when I had clear vision I was really happy with them today. They are the ones that look red from the outside but Julbo says they use a yellow tint from the inside to enhancethe light. I'm very optimistic after a short wet day and I'm eager to get more days in them we get maybe 10 sunny days all winter here so they'll get a lot of testing this year...if it ever stays cold!

 

[Keys2Ski]

David, did you receive an implant card to carry around with you for medical purposes? If so, that card will tell you the type of lens you have. Check the back side

 

[David]

David, did you receive an implant card to carry around with you for medical purposes? If so, that card will tell you the type of lens you have. Check the back side

No I did not. Not sure why I would needed one though?

 

[Keys2Ski]

It’s an implant, so foreign to your body. I guess In case of emergency, it’s good for someone to know that you have iols instead of natural lenses. How important is that on the medical scale idk vs a pace maker probably not so high.

 

[Rdputnam515]

I’m trying the Zeiss Sonar lens this year, I have not found one I’ve liked yet

 

[Rdputnam515]

@David

No love for the Sonar lens? I’ve not tried it yet

my dad just had the cataract lens replacement surgery recently and is amazed by the results. He doesn’t need to wear his glasses anymore (he says) he wore glasses all 45 years I’ve know him lol

 

[tomahawkins]

Probably unwise, but I started searching ski forums to learn about the science behind flat light. Came across this thread -- entertaining at least, maybe there's a couple nuggets of truth in there.

Sounds like the consensus within the scientific skiing community is that flat light is caused by a combination of little light reaching the ground and being immersed in cloud particulates that cause scattering of higher frequency light, i.e. the blue side of the spectrum. So the theory is to filter out the blue with lens tints on the other side of the spectrum, namely yellow and orange. If this is the case, why don't we see red flat light lenses? (Maybe that's what pink is.)

If the main problem is we're dealing with not enough light, instead of filtering out more light with a lens tint, why don't we add light instead? How about skiing with a red or orange headlamp?

Anyone serious about flat and low light conditions needs a Rockwell Collins synthetic vision system. Just need a live updated mogul terrain database.

 

[Rdputnam515]

Probably unwise, but I started searching ski forums to learn about the science behind flat light. Came across this thread -- entertaining at least, maybe there's a couple nuggets of truth in there.

Sounds like the consensus within the scientific skiing community is that flat light is caused by a combination of little light reaching the ground and being immersed in cloud particulates that cause scattering of higher frequency light, i.e. the blue side of the spectrum. So the theory is to filter out the blue with lens tints on the other side of the spectrum, namely yellow and orange. If this is the case, why don't we see red flat light lenses? (Maybe that's what pink is.)

If the main problem is we're dealing with not enough light, instead of filtering out more light with a lens tint, why don't we add light instead? How about skiing with a red or orange headlamp?

Anyone serious about flat and low light conditions needs a Rockwell Collins synthetic vision system. Just need a live updated mogul terrain database.

This is what I saw as well.

Zeiss claims this is the purpose of the Sonar series of lenses. Will they work? Dunno, but it’s worth a try lol

 

[Atomicman]

The only low light Prizm is the Hi Pink. Some people west claim the Rose is, but they have two miles less atmosphere. It’s not true low light for the East, too dark.

I find the Prizm Rose has an odd glow in a whiteout to certain parts of snow. I’d rather have the Persimmon in questionable low light but Prizm is nice. Haven’t tried the Hi Pink.

There used to be an optometrist on epic who had a shop in Park City I think. He would have specific recommendations with an eye test.

They have Prizm Persimmon & it is 38% VLT and HI Pink Prizm is 46%. Almost the same. I own both! I find the Persimmon has better contrast and still let's in a fair amount of light.

 

[tomahawkins]

How about skiing with a red or orange headlamp?

I'm thinking something like:

ScanPro IC Red Night Hunting Headlamp Kit | Wicked Lights

The ScanPro iC Red Intensity Control Long Range Night Hunting Headlamp is designed from scratch and purpose built to meet the specific needs of night hunting.

www.wickedhuntinglights.com