Goggles

[liquidfeet]

I love goggles. At the end of the season they can be found for a cheap as $5! So, I collect them. Sometimes I even pay premium price. How many do you have? What determines which ones you buy? How does lens color affect your choice?

And, most important, of course, how many goggles do you own?


(I have 5 pair - enough to stock any visitors to my house who have never skied and who need a pair.)

 

[ISki]

1 pair. I bought a 2nd lens for it, a darker one. It's not dark enough though. I'm on the hunt for some good DARK googles because I dropped my much loved retro ski sunglasses over the summer (Vaurnets!!! Cateyes!, circa 1977! I'm not kidding when I said I hang on to equipment forever! ) on concrete and they broke. :( :( :( I'm going to replace them with very dark googles. My eyes would tear up when I skied in sunglasses.

I choose by UV protection, fit, lens color, lens darkness, ventilation, price, and frame color.

 

[Jilly]

Well I guess I have a quiver of goggles too. There is a old pair of Carrera's, my CSIA Bolle's, last years Oakley Crowbars and a pair of Smith's that work with my helmet. I also have 2 pairs of sunglasses - Uvex with 3 shields and a new pair of uvex's with 3 lenses. I broke the nose piece on the uvex shields, but Hubby has a pair and doesn't like them. He is just about as bad. Except most of his goggles are so scratched you can't see through them. Now how about gloves/mitts. Anyone else got a quiver of them too??

 

[volklgirl]

Yes and yes :o .

Goggles: Oakly O-Frames (2 pair, persimmon lenses), a pair of Smith Mirage (they don't work with helmets though), an old pair of Smiths with purple frame and strap, a pair of junior Brikos (for loaning), a pair of junior Carreras (they fit but don't match anything ).

Glasses: my everyday Smith Toasters that actually fit my little-kiddie-sized face and comes with 3 sets of lenses, and my fuller coverage skiing/biking Bolle Paroles with 4 sets of lenses.

Gloves & Mittens: Grandoe leather mitts (mmmmm soft and toasty), Kombi leather mitts, just got Reusch Racing leather mitts (padded knuckles for wacking gates), Spyder leather gloves, and Marker leather spring gloves. Plus others I just keep on hand to loan out.

OMG! I'm a gear whore!!!

I even have a quiver of speed suits (4 padded, 1 unpadded) - man, hubby spoils me!

 

[liquidfeet]

Volklgirl and Jilly,
Yes, yes, I have lots of gloves and mitts too. But multiple speedsuits takes the cake.

 

[Shellski]

I used to only have 3 pairs, but my sisters dog chewed the foam off my Oakley A-Frames. I had to replace them, so when I saw some Alpina goggles heavily discounted at a ski gear sale I bought two pairs of different models, I haven't used them yet.

I would have quite happily bought another pair of Oakleys, but I have tried out my husbands Carrera Kimeriks outside in the snow, in bad light conditions, and they leave the Oakley lenses for dead. The difference is startling. I was going to get a pair of Kimeriks myself, but I have heard good things about the Alpina Quadraflex lens, so I will give that a go.

I'm thinking of getting a pair of Oakleys for bright sunny days though, I like the A-frame shape, it fits my face and helmet well. So then I will have 5 pairs.

 

[ski diva]

I must be a brave person to put this on here, but I love these goggles. Don't they make me look like a World War I flying ace? I picked them up at Snowmass a few years ago, and I can only wear them on very sunny days when it isn't too awfully cold -- two things that don't happen together too often in Vermont. They're made by Costa Del Mar, and they're polarized, which is really good for reducing glare. I also have a pair of Uvex goggles (not sure which model) which work well for me, too.

 

[Molly]

Don't they make me look like a World War I flying ace?

I love those!

 

[volklgirl]

Those just rock!!:D

 

[Quiver Queen]

I've been so frustrated over the years in my inability to see much of the time while skiing--when it's warm, when I'm working hard, in the bumps, in the deep stuff, you name it. I had to wear glasses, which would fog up on inside and outside, then the goggles, which would fog up inside, even if they were the $200 Smith Turbo's with the battery-operated fan. While in tears in a Vail back bowl I decided something had to change, so the day I got back I went to the optometrist & got contacts just for skiing (they cause major problems if I try to use them for work) and my world changed. My eyes are very sensitive to any wind, so normal sunglasses won't let me see unless I'm standing still. Now I use regular style goggles only for snow gun days. For other days I have PanOptx "windless" sunglasses--originally designed for motorcycle riding but modified for skiing--but that's certainly not to say they don't look just a little bit goofy. (I was happy to see SkiDiva's picture--I thought I was the only one!) It's just that if I look at myself in the mirror while wearing the PanOptx I have a sudden urge to get a tattoo, wear black leather with fringe, hop on the back of some man's Harley Davidson, and answer to "Hey, Broad!"

 

[ski diva]

It's just that if I look at myself in the mirror while wearing the PanOptx I have a sudden urge to get a tattoo, wear black leather with fringe, hop on the back of some man's Harley Davidson, and answer to "Hey, Broad!"

Really? I feel like I should hop on the Sopwith Camel with Snoopy and go hunting for the Red Baron! :D

Seriously, though, I love it when I get to wear them. I think they're fun.

 

[ISki]

Way to go Ski Diva!

And, uh, yeah, I wear a search engine when I ski. :o

 

[liquidfeet]

I am noticing that a buncha you Divas wear very old goggles while skiing. My very old goggles lost their spongy foam liners -- they disintegrated into crumbs over the years. So I threw them away.

How have you avoided this problem?