Do most of you recommend goggles for downhill? Anyone have a favorite? I have to wear glasses to see, so are there any that are better for people with glasses? Thanks for any info!
Goggles?
- Thread starter KleinGuy
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I do recommend goggles, and with that I suggest either an OTG (over the glasses) setup, some prescription inserts, or contacts and standard goggles.
For brands, I don't recommend Smith. The foam on mine was stiff and fell apart after a year. I had constant fogging issues. The lenses got scratched up in a hurry. They looked awesome but I can't recommend them based on my experience. I now have a pair of Spy goggles, purchased off chainlove, which fit me much better, don't fog, and look dorky. The only issue is that there seems to be a seam in the lenses, right in front of my eyes. It's not too noticeable while riding, but pre-trail you can see it. I don't know if it's a bad lens or a "feature" of the tear-off system.
For brands, I don't recommend Smith. The foam on mine was stiff and fell apart after a year. I had constant fogging issues. The lenses got scratched up in a hurry. They looked awesome but I can't recommend them based on my experience. I now have a pair of Spy goggles, purchased off chainlove, which fit me much better, don't fog, and look dorky. The only issue is that there seems to be a seam in the lenses, right in front of my eyes. It's not too noticeable while riding, but pre-trail you can see it. I don't know if it's a bad lens or a "feature" of the tear-off system.
I've always found goggles uncomfortable, so I just stuck to sports sunglasses. I'm envious to see all other folks wear big googles, but I never got accustomed to them, even when I go skiing. I most extreme conditions I do use them, but just feels awful.
Thanks for the replies! Go figure you don't recommend Smith. I can get a bro deal through them. I may just do that first to try out goggles to see if I like them or not since it won't cost me much.
scott has some specific goggles for people who wear glasses, but the major problem i found with the OTG method is, that although the goggles might not fog, the glasses do, especially in cold, wet conditions.
there are some prescription goggles, but my ametropia is so strong, that i would have to carry my standard glasses with me all the time or leave the goggles on all the time. and they are REALLY expensive.
http://www.pro-vue.com/moto.html
i now use contact lenses, which are IMHO the cleanest, safest and and cheapest option.
there are some prescription goggles, but my ametropia is so strong, that i would have to carry my standard glasses with me all the time or leave the goggles on all the time. and they are REALLY expensive.
http://www.pro-vue.com/moto.html
i now use contact lenses, which are IMHO the cleanest, safest and and cheapest option.
if you can get a deal, it may be worth it to try, especially if you can get some OTG goggles. I had the sweat intake X models with gold lenses. I think there was some incompatibility with my helmet which may have been responsible for the fogging, and I feel like scratching happens no matter what if you're not super careful, so your luck may be different. Still, the foam split on mine after getting stiff and I was simply not thrilled overall. My spys I got for half the price of the smiths and are so far pretty good and suffer from no fogging.
Make sure the fit of the goggle is tight on your face and fits inside the helmet. You'll probably be fine with Smith, and if you aren't, I know they have a lifetime warranty where they'd probably replace mine, but it was the kind of situation where buying the Spys for $15 would be cheaper than sending out the Smiths for replacement and buying clear lenses.
also, I rode with prescription sunglasses for years and was reluctant to try goggles because I technically need glasses as well, but my prescription is light enough that I can get away without. The difference is worth it, in my opinion, but you can certainly get away with sunglasses/glasses if that's all you have. I highly recommend some kind of eye protection though.
dragon mdx goggles 
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I've tried contacts....but they didn't work long. I have EXTREMELY dry eyes and even with the contacts made for super dry eyes, I always blink them out within the first hour. Its sucks. I wish I had the money for lasik, ha.
Had really good luck with Utopia Too Dirtys. They are fairly big, and they take some getting used to, but then it is all good. I do not use goggles when I am on technical trails generally, but on the open jumpy stuff at Whistler, they are a necessity - especially this time of year when the place turns into a dust bowl.
I think I am going to try these as soon as I get my RX.
http://www.888rxgoggles.com/
Anyone use these before?
http://www.888rxgoggles.com/
Anyone use these before?
i ride with contacts and goggles. and zero issues. without riding glasses or goggles, the contacts have been ripped off my eyeballs on two occassions now.
But my lenses dont fog up under the goggles, and I use Oakley Crowbars. Contacts are definitely the way to go if you want to ride DH but require glasses.
But my lenses dont fog up under the goggles, and I use Oakley Crowbars. Contacts are definitely the way to go if you want to ride DH but require glasses.
I wear glasses all of the time, but when I ride DH I switch to googles, and contacts.
I have run crowbar mx since they were released and prior to that I ran MX 0 frames.
I have tried POCs, smith, dragon, electric, adidas, none have the optical clarity of the oakley goggles or the fit,
I HIGHLY recommend the oakleys and stand behind that.
I have run crowbar mx since they were released and prior to that I ran MX 0 frames.
I have tried POCs, smith, dragon, electric, adidas, none have the optical clarity of the oakley goggles or the fit,
I HIGHLY recommend the oakleys and stand behind that.
for me they are. i use acuvue oasys for astigmatism
they work ok for me. but i do have to take care to hydrate properly, because i get very dry eyes when i dehydrate. and then the lenses start to rub, bearable, but rubbing nonetheless.
i also recommend to plan when to put them in, because you do not want to plop them in with greasy and/or muddy fingers. in my experience it is always a bit difficult to wash your fingers properly in the parking lot of the local DH track before you stick them in your eye. i usually go and get a cup of coffe somewhere and use the restroom there.
edit: i don't wear lenses when not riding. and i also prefer glasses for car driving.
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I wear contacts need goggles that have just the right amount of airflow to keep the lens clear but do not dry out my eyes.
I used to wear Oakleys a long time ago. They worked ok but the single and dual layer foam pretty much didn't aborb sweat and felt wet after a while.
I went to Utopia Too Dirty goggles back aroun 2004 or so. I have 3 pair that I have been using since then. They are really nice in that they have triple layer foam that keeps the sweat away. Utopia went though some issues and len's and tear off's were hard to get over the past couple of years. I still wear them on occation as I have a stockpile of len's.
This year I bought a pair of Smith goggles due to being out of tear offs. The pair I got have a roll off system pre installed. They also have triple layer foam and have a bit more airflow. Overall, I am really happy with them. The roll off system seems to be the best built of any that I have seen.
Funny story is that Kenny Watson (formerly of Utopia) was saying on the Pulp MX radio show that he bought Oakley goggles and installed Utopia straps on them for some of his riders. I found that interesting since I have seen some Oakley sponsored MX guys using Scott and Smith Goggles with roll off systems and Oakley straps since Oakley still doesn't have a roll off system.
For DH, you can get away with tear offs in pretty much any conditions since you only need 5 minutes worth of clear lens. On a 2 hour hare scramble, you wouldn't be able to see through a stack of tear offs thick enough for that long.
I used to wear Oakleys a long time ago. They worked ok but the single and dual layer foam pretty much didn't aborb sweat and felt wet after a while.
I went to Utopia Too Dirty goggles back aroun 2004 or so. I have 3 pair that I have been using since then. They are really nice in that they have triple layer foam that keeps the sweat away. Utopia went though some issues and len's and tear off's were hard to get over the past couple of years. I still wear them on occation as I have a stockpile of len's.
This year I bought a pair of Smith goggles due to being out of tear offs. The pair I got have a roll off system pre installed. They also have triple layer foam and have a bit more airflow. Overall, I am really happy with them. The roll off system seems to be the best built of any that I have seen.
Funny story is that Kenny Watson (formerly of Utopia) was saying on the Pulp MX radio show that he bought Oakley goggles and installed Utopia straps on them for some of his riders. I found that interesting since I have seen some Oakley sponsored MX guys using Scott and Smith Goggles with roll off systems and Oakley straps since Oakley still doesn't have a roll off system.
For DH, you can get away with tear offs in pretty much any conditions since you only need 5 minutes worth of clear lens. On a 2 hour hare scramble, you wouldn't be able to see through a stack of tear offs thick enough for that long.
I'm heading to Blue Mt. tomorrow andjjust noticed my goggles are a bit scratched up. Are there any household agents/etc that are good for buffing those out? I like wearing goggles (smith optics currently), but I fog them out really quickly.. and I know these scratches are not going to help that.
Perhaps something toothpaste?
Perhaps something toothpaste?