PROTECT YOUR EYES
OPTIMIZE YOUR VISION WITH GOOD GOGGLES
Let’s be clear on one thing: if you can’t see, you can’t ski. And when you can’t see well, it takes all the fun out of your day on the slopes. A big part of skiing is controlling the space that lies below and around you to help you make the right decision to control your line. Make yourself a favor and invest in a good pair of goggles.
-> Make sure your goggles fit with your helmet. A gap between the top of your goggles and the rim of your helmet will let the air get through, causing an uncomfortable draft.
-> Make sure they fit snuggly around your face, providing a seal so you don’t get watery eyes, but without restricting breathing. The frame’s softer materials also help protect against injury to your face during a fall – or the snow from going in around the frame if you head plant !
-> Goggles with good vents, double lenses and an inside layer will prevent them from fogging up. Be very careful to only use the cloth that comes with them to clean the inside as well as the outside of your lens because they are very fragile. Don’t ever use your gloves or tissues, they will scratch the lens.
-> The traditional cylindrical lens (the ones that look flat) is starting to get replaced by the spherical lens, with the idea that being shaped like an eye, it gives less distorsion, more clarity, and therefore better vision.
-> Lenses are classified from 0 to 4, with 0 suited for night skiing, and 4 the darkest lenses for the brightest conditions. The best all-round lens if you only have one pair of goggles is a 2-3.
-> You can ruin your goggles in a split second if you don’t take good care of them: don’t put your goggles down on their lenses at lunch time or when you are back home after skiing, but store them in a soft bag, a hard case, or protect them with a GOGGLE SOC.
-> I recommend the Oakley Flight Deck: the wide frame gives you a broader peripheral vision – simply the best one on the market. They fit well with every helmet, are perfect if you wear prescription glasses, they don’t fog up, and the Prizm lens amazingly increases contrast in blizzard and foggy conditions, and gives you great definition. Go with the Sapphire Iridium or the Torch Iridium, they are basically the exact same lens but with a different cosmetic. Pick the one that matches your outfit (for a change !). They are incredibly versatile and work well in both sunny and cloudy conditions. I don’t even bother swapping to the Rose Prizm for ultra flat light. Whatever the mountain throws at you, you will be able to handle it.
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