Hi all,

as I review my trips this season, 1 equipment item stands out that I need to improve (OK, I already bought new skis) and that is my ability to see. I wear Oakley OTG goggles. At slower speeds and especially when I have face protection on, my glasses fog up to the point where I have to stop and remove my goggles to let them de-fog. Note, its not the goggles that fog, but my glasses. At the end of the season I started going without the glasses, just goggles. This leaves me with clear, but impaired vision. So what solutions are there for me to compare and price over the next 7 months:

1) Goggles with a fan built in - about $150
2) Goggles with an Rx insert - also about $150 but I'm not sure that it will solve the problem.
3) Better de-fog application - I use the paste cat crap which doesn't last long
4) Is it not the goggles but the helmet that's causing the problem - I have a Boeri helmet and the Oakley's fit very snuggly under the rim. Would other goggles or a different helmet give more air flow?
5) Other?

Has anybody had to solve this problem?

Steve

4.5 My helmet (Leedom) has an intake vent just above the goggle frame. I've ripped the foam off the goggle frame on that side so that airflow is past my face upwards into the helmet.

6. Face pro that doesn't vent upwards but downwards instead. The one I use: http://www.pinchoriginal.com/

7. Contacts + goggles (my choice for week long trips).

2. I use goggle with RX inserts (Smith something or other). They fog pretty quickly when I'm standing still but clear almost immediately when I start moving (a detachable lift and even most fixed grips are fast enough to clear them). For the most part it's not that big of a deal. When I say they clear almost immediately, I mean by the time I've gone 10-15 feet.

3. That's disappointing. That's exactly what I bought for this, but haven't had a chance to try it yet.

4. It probably not the helmet. I don't wear one and have the same problem. Though I suppose it might be making it worse if your glasses don't clear up as fast as mine.

Are contacts an option? I started using them specifically for skiing about 15 years ago when my eyesight got to the point where I had to squint my way down the mountain. They have been great, and I now use them for other sports too.

Comprex,

4.5 I'll take a look at my helmet when I get home. If memory serves, a large layer of foam is right above the goggles.

6 face pro looks interesting, but you're right about venting upward if you just pull up a neck gaiter or mask

7 Contacts, I have avoided contacts for 30 years but I guess i should consider them.

Thanks, Steve

curih,

I was looking at the inserts this morning. It looks like you still have 2 sets of lenses which is why I think I'll have the same problem. Did you look at actually replacing the goggle lenses? It looks like that would work with some prescriptions.

Steve

Yes, you do still have two sets of lenses. Hence my comments about having similar issues. I haven't tried anything that replaces the actual goggle lens. At the time I bought these the only ones like that I'd seen were the Uvex ones that look like the bastard offspring of a scuba mask and racquetball goggles. Another potential downside there is that when they inevitably get scratched, you need a new prescription lens. With the inserts you can just get a new regular goggle lens (mine actually came with an extra lens). BTW, I looked; they're Smith Fuse.

On a related note, I got mine from sportrx.com. Had a good experience with them. When there was a question about the prescription, they called to confirm. And when the goggles ended up being backordered, they called to find out what I wanted to do and refunded the extra that I had paid for faster shipping.

I always pull my goggles over my glasses before I go outside. I try to keep my goggles down so my glasses never get cold. I find that it's cold glasses under goggles that are the problem. This works about 80% of the time.

My ultimate solution is going to be some Smith turbo goggles, as soon as I can catch them on Steep and Cheap. I almost scored a set but when I went to get my credit card the goggles were gone.

Contacts are probably the only workable solution but I just can't get passed the idea of sticking something on my eye. Plus the added expense of contacts, I have eye insurance and it covers glasses but not contacts.

LHC,

Yeah, I always thought the aim was NOT to put stuff in your eye.

I do think its an airflow thing, so the turbo goggles might do the trick. Not sure how they fit with a helmet though since it looks like the fan is on top. Have you tried a pair on at a store?

Steve

I never tried a pair. Now that you mentioned it, I guess I should but none of the local shops stock them.

I have been skiing for nearly 40 years and have had similar problems from time to time.
This year I bought the newest version of the Smith Turbo Fan and it has helped a lot. I also found an anti-fog spray for my glasses and that too has helped when fogging conditions were really bad. But the Smith turbo fan goggles now have a two speed fan, and the high speed works wonders on fogging glasses.
Getting rid of the fog is critical. One trip to Snowbird many trails ago I had my goggles and glasses not only fog up, but when I took them off I realized that the fog had frozen into a thin ice coating. No wonder I could not see anything and thought I was in a cloud. Muy bado.
The Colonel

The major fixed expense with contacts would be the eye exam, but you need one for glasses anyway and they can do the extra stuff for contacts at the same time for a small extra cost (usually $20-30). Once you have a contacts prescription, you can buy the contacts in whatever amount you want. I happen to buy a multi-year supply all at once for about $250 online, but the cost could be as little as $20-40 if you just wanted a few months supply (a two month supply = 60 ski days if you only wear them for skiing, which might be a multi-year supply for some skiers).

In my case, the multi-year supply lasts a loooong time since I mainly use them for skiing. I can go a full ski season (25-30 days for me typically) on 2 sets of the 14-day contacts (using Acuvue Oasis right now). That's about $20 worth of contacts. Say about 70-80 cents per ski day (or 35-40 cents per eye per ski day!). The cost is peanuts compared to other ski expenses and the payback is huge.

It is funny how some of us look at equipment and costs for skiing, and how eye wear factors in. After going years without contacts, I got them and my skiing improved just because I could see the terrain so much better (including peripheral vision which you don't normally get with glasses). And recently I have been spending more $$ on sunglasses and goggles, with multiple lenses for various light conditions, to optimize vision as much as possible. If a lense gets scratched or beat up, I replace it. It took me many years to fully realize that vision is a large part of the ski experience (both performance and enjoyment) and now I put it in the same gear category as skis and boots. Before, I would drop big bucks on skis and boots, but use the same crappy pair of scratched goggles year after year.

So I'd say if you realize how important skis and boots are, and they do impact your skiing performance, then treat eyewear the same way. Don't settle for compromised, scratched, or fogged up eyewear, and be sure you have the right lenses for the day's light conditions. This might mean ditching the eyeglass/goggle combo in some cases, but I think that can only be beneficial. I couldn't imagine trying to ski with eyeglasses nowadays.

One thing to add after reading skier219's post.

If you aren't going the contacts route, I found peripheral vision to be better with the inserts versus my regular glasses and OTG goggles. This is mainly because the lenses in the inserts are much larger than anything I'd ever consider buying for regular glasses.

The obvious downside to these is that if your eyesight is really bad, you still need to carry regular glasses for when you go inside. For me, my uncorrected vision is still around 20/50 so it's not a big deal.

I quit using goggles. Bought a pair of Bolle Paroles with a Rx insert. They are wrap around glasses, and come with four different colored lens. They have never fogged up on me.

Cheers,

My goggles only ever fog when I am extremely sweaty and over dressed and usually only on a fairly humid day. If I dress appropriately they have never fogged.

I admit that the colder and windier it is, the less of a problem. As I said though, its my glasses that fog, not the goggles. Do you wear glasses?

Nope, no glasses, I just squint.

[/quote]
Nope, no glasses, I just squint. [/quote]

Yeah, that's what I do when I have to take my glasses off