• For more information on how to avoid pop-up ads and still support SkiTalk click HERE.

Review of 4 goggles...so do you see colored blobs in your vision on flat-light days, also?

Henry

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Sep 7, 2019
Posts
1,229
Location
Traveling in the great Northwest
This is about both the goggles and how my vision is with the lenses on days with very flat light. I see blobs in my vision when in fog or other very flat light. I know that some other skiers see this also. My ophthalmologist thinks it may be due to my early-stage macular degeneration, but I'm not sure, the blobs appeared 5 years ago before the MD was apparent. Any lens with a rose tint or red or rose flash causes the big rose blobs. Yellow lenses create small yellow blobs. Amber or orange lenses work best for me in low light.

SPY OPTICS MARAUDER ELITE: SPY is a label of the well known Bollé group. The Marauder goggle lens is cylindrical, and the Marauder Elite is toric, shaped like a combination of cylindrical and spherical. The vision is very clear and it has a very wide field of vision. The frame is very well made with both magnets and locks holding the lens in place. Switching a lens is easy and secure. The problem is that there are very few replacement lenses for the Elite version, and Marauder lenses don't fit Marauder Elite frames. I tried the Happy Low Light Gray Green lens. It has great contrast if even a very weak shadow shows, but it isn't the best if there is no shadow. I'd like to try the Persimmon lens, but they aren't available for the Elite. SPY has their "Happy" lenses which are said to improve one's mood, and they have the Happy Boost said to increase color perception. Both are very good. For my eyes these worked very well until the no-shadow very flat light, everything looked even when it wasn't--no blobs. 4-stars due to the lens limitation.

SMITH I/O MAG: Well known and highly regarded goggles. The Chromapop lenses are the favorites of many. The lenses are held in by magnets and a clip that is kind'a fiddly to get unlocked, but it works well. The design changed in 2020...before that the frame had 8 magnets, and 2020 to present the frame has 7 magnets, and the lenses aren't interchangeable between pre-2020 and 2020 to date. For me the Chromapop Storm Yellow Flash worked pretty well except the red flash on the outside of the lens causes some pink blogs. 3-stars due to the lens change and lens color limitation for me.

OAKLEY PRIZM: Prizm lenses are liked very much by many, but any rose lens creates huge distracting rose blobs in my vision. Not for me! No stars for me, maybe 5 stars for you.

DRAGON NFX2: Medium sized frame, lever locks to hold the lens in place, easy to change. The Lumalens series of lenses shows up contrast very well. Lumalens Amber is the best lens yet for my vision. Amber seems to work quite well for me, and these give me the least blobs to date. I like Dragon goggles very much. 5-stars.

XEVO XR2: These are locally assembled and seem to be high quality. I'll test them next week. Everything looks well made, and priced moderately. The lenses are interchangeable, but it's not easy to do it.
Discount code POWDERPOOBAH worked for a 50% discount last week. https://www.xevooptics.com/


Any of these are very good goggles. My favorite is the SPY Marauder with the wide variety of lenses. Also my favorite is the Dragon. I suggest a test where anyone buying goggles gives them a look through a shop window in snow country on a very gray day. One foggy day at Whistler 6 of us went into a shop, and with permission of the clerk, took several goggles to look out the window. There were 3 favorites among all we tried. My eyes aren't your eyes...find what's best for you.


 

Zirbl

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Dec 22, 2021
Posts
1,010
Location
Austria, Italy
Discontinued now, but POC used to do a lens they called "smokey yellow" - they described it as somewhere between yellow and green. Might be of interest to you if you can get hold of old stock.
 

Tom K.

Skier Ordinaire
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Dec 20, 2015
Posts
8,402
I ski in a lot of fog. Seriously, a LOT.

Best lens for me is Anon's Perceive Cloudy Night with 72% VLT.

And beyond a doubt the easiest lens change in the world. You can kind of toss the lens at the goggles.

FWIW, I've got very mild MD in one eye, and I get no blobs from this lens, or Anon's Amber, or the slightly darker lens I have that I can't recall the name of.
 

Rdputnam515

Getting off the lift
Skier
Joined
Feb 2, 2021
Posts
707
Location
Front Range, Colorado
I have not had the Xevos out in flat light yet but in Bright sun to partly cloudy the photo-chromatics do work well. I have been pretty happy. The wife has been too.
 

DerKommissar

Getting on the lift
Skier
Joined
Mar 31, 2022
Posts
262
Location
St. Louis, MO
I bought the spy marauder this season and love them. I also likely have very early stage MD- my father has progressed to wet recently, grandfather had dry, and I had a predictive test on sensitivity to changes in brightness that picked it up. No visual issues currently, and no evidence of drusen in a scan. I do not see any blobs with these goggles. The field of vision is fantastic, as is the clarity and the lens changes. They have only fogged once, when I got way over my head into tight glades off of the east river chair at CB. That one was my fault. :)
 
Thread Starter
TS
H

Henry

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Sep 7, 2019
Posts
1,229
Location
Traveling in the great Northwest
I tried the Xevo orange low light lens. It's OK, pretty average which is good. As my vision changes the very low light vision gets worse...if the light is really flat then contrast disappears more than I remembering it in years past. I'll try the yellow low light lens and see if that's any help, or if I'm just stuck with the vision I have. Very flat light might be a reason for an early lunch.
 

Dos-Equis

Getting on the lift
Skier
Joined
Jul 30, 2019
Posts
219
Location
Washington DC
I ski in a lot of fog. Seriously, a LOT.

Best lens for me is Anon's Perceive Cloudy Night with 72% VLT.

And beyond a doubt the easiest lens change in the world. You can kind of toss the lens at the goggles.

FWIW, I've got very mild MD in one eye, and I get no blobs from this lens, or Anon's Amber, or the slightly darker lens I have that I can't recall the name of.
Interesting, I use a one clear lens on super cloudy days. Do you find you get an advantage with the night lens over a clear one?
 

Tom K.

Skier Ordinaire
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Dec 20, 2015
Posts
8,402
Interesting, I use a one clear lens on super cloudy days. Do you find you get an advantage with the night lens over a clear one?

Probably not, but our conditions are often what I call The Foghat.

Foggy -- sometimes crazy -- for the upper 25% of the mountain, then zero fog below, so clear would be tough on my old peepers.
 

Atomicman

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
May 6, 2017
Posts
843
I have 2 pair of Xevo with every lens they make. They have not been in use for 2 years now. Optics are mediocre.

I was using Oakley flight Deck with Prizm Hi-Pink or Prizm Snow Persimmon (Better Contrast than Hi Pink0 For low Light/Flat light. Sapphire Iridium for brighter days.

But I have not used the Oakly's either since I bought the Revo Bode Miller #6 with Photochromic & Magnetic Polarized lenses. No. 6 has a frameless design for endless field of vision on the slopes. No. 6 also includes an interchangeable yellow tinted lens for low light conditions such as thick fog or for overcast days. These goggles feature Revo’s signature Blue Water SuperNova+ photochromic lens technology for crystal clear optics in any alpine condition.

All other goggles, Xevo, Smith, Oakley , Briko, Uvex have not seen the light of day since I bought the Revo's. They are outstanding in every respect. No fogging, Perfect in all light. Totally comfortable and a large field of vision. 1st Photochromic I have used that are not too dark with a little bit of light. First & Foremost........ the optics are outstanding! Also strap stays on my helmet with no mechanical attachment. Unfortunately they don't yet have a clear lens for night.
 

Tom K.

Skier Ordinaire
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Dec 20, 2015
Posts
8,402
the Revo Bode Miller #6 with Photochromic & Magnetic Polarized lenses.

1st Photochromic I have used that are not too dark with a little bit of light.

Interesting. I bought a pair of photochromic goggles this year -- admittedly inexpensive Glades -- and find that while they change tint very nicely, they are always at a tint that is one level darker than I personally prefer.

Revos sound great.
 

Plai

Paul Lai
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Nov 25, 2015
Posts
1,965
Location
Silicon Valley
+1 Revo Bode Miller #6. I've got two lenses, low light and regular. Both let in a lot of light and don't have any of the artifacts I've seen using other chromatic polarized lens. Besides the correct light level coming through, the lenses makes everything pop, more definite, so there's better certainty on decision making. Kinda important tree skiing.

I've been a long time polarized lens user (for sunglasses). My favorite was the Smith TFL lenses. Just the right amount of light; most other sunglass lenses too dark. When Smith went to the chromopop, I started seeing artifacts (glare, blobs) at certain angles. Given this experience, I didn't expect to like the Revo lenses/goggles. Now, I'm on a hunt for Revo sunglasses.

And yes, I'm also prone to macular degeneration.
 

salvatore

Out on the slopes
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Mar 26, 2022
Posts
550
Location
East Coast
For those using Revo goggles, can you speak to the differences between the blue and orange lenses (Photo Solar Orange vs. Blue Water) and why you chose one over the other?

I've had numerous Revo sunglasses over the years, and have always appreciated the quality of their lenses. As I age, vision becomes more and more important on the mountain, and frankly it has become perhaps the most important element (now that my boots are dialed in, of course!). Any improvement in that regard is most appreciated.
 

Jeronimo

Out on the slopes
Skier
Joined
Mar 31, 2020
Posts
937
Location
Maine
I ski in a lot of fog. Seriously, a LOT.

Best lens for me is Anon's Perceive Cloudy Night with 72% VLT.

And beyond a doubt the easiest lens change in the world. You can kind of toss the lens at the goggles.

FWIW, I've got very mild MD in one eye, and I get no blobs from this lens, or Anon's Amber, or the slightly darker lens I have that I can't recall the name of.
I 2nd this. Anon M4 is the best goggle I've ever used. Lens change is like perfection. I'm really curious about their polarized lenses now though.
 

BS Slarver

Making fresh tracks
Skier
Joined
Nov 20, 2015
Posts
1,527
Location
Biggest skiing in America
I WAS a Anon M4 fanboy, great lens but after 2 years the strap and foam on my Anon’s are shot. I just spent the better part of the morning on the warranty / help / chat line, what a joke.

Can’t support them any longer and can’t justify $ 300 + every 2 years for goggles

Smith with their lifetime warranty would have already taken care this. I don’t mind paying a premium for gear especially if works.

Jake B would not approve
 

Tom K.

Skier Ordinaire
Skier
SkiTalk Supporter
Joined
Dec 20, 2015
Posts
8,402
I WAS a Anon M4 fanboy, great lens but after 2 years the strap and foam on my Anon’s are shot. I just spent the better part of the morning on the warranty / help / chat line, what a joke.

Can’t support them any longer and can’t justify $ 300 + every 2 years for goggles

Smith with their lifetime warranty would have already taken care this. I don’t mind paying a premium for gear especially if works.

Jake B would not approve

Gotta say, this is all true. Just a week ago, I noticed that the foam around my nose was starting to delaminate. Sent Anon/Burton an email and it's been crickets for nearly a week......

Through some good fortune, I just ended up with a pair of Smith Squad XLs that seem to have a very nice dark lens, and an equally nice storm/yellowish lens.

CHANGING THE LENSES SUCKS ROCKS, THOUGH, in comparison to the Anons.
 

fatbob

Not responding
Skier
Joined
Nov 12, 2015
Posts
6,288
.

Through some good fortune, I just ended up with a pair of Smith Squad XLs that seem to have a very nice dark lens, and an equally nice storm/yellowish lens.

CHANGING THE LENSES SUCKS ROCKS, THOUGH, in comparison to the Anons.
The great advantage of the XL is that you can usually find a good closeout deal on last year's frame colour so you can run 2 pairs of goggles and bank a couple of spare lenses.
 

Sponsor

Staff online

Top