Chinese Goggles on Amazon

[phatty]

have they ever had a coupon that worked just for the lenses? Seems silly to have to buy a whole new pair of goggles to get lenses. I have 2 pair of goggles already, I just need a lens or two!

I've never seen a coupon for just the lenses. It does seem stupid. Had a night of skiing in heavy, warm rain this weekend and my clear OMs held up great with no fogging.

[AK47bp]

These work great, used them for a full season now.

Only difference noticeable to me is my Smith I/O are lighter but I also hate that plastic strap clip on the Smiths.


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[Rob D!]

Yeah, I've ended up with 3 frames just to get the lenses. Earlier in the thread I think someone was trying the Zionor lenses and I'm not sure it they worked in the OM frame.
I'm sure part of the low price is lack of QC and consistency, so I'm not surprised some people have had some problems. But I've been happy with my $20 "lottery tickets". The only issues have been self inflicted (eg. Tree branch strikes). The only Vis issue I had was one time we were actually getting frost/ice on the goggles (my OM and my family's Smiths). I used my ski pole grip to scrape it off so I could see (my glove wasn't harsh enough). Surprisingly, when they thawed, my lenses were not really scratched (non-mirored green). I was pleasantly suprised.
My 11 year old thought they were cool and I was gonna give him a pair, but they were definitely way too wide for his face.

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[Lvovsky]

first time long time blah blah... Got three pairs when the last discount code was valid. Was curious about all the UV protection hoopla so did some home tests with UV flashlight and a $20 bill: two out of three blocked the UV completely but with one google the security strip on the twenty was faintly visible.. took that goggle to an optometrist; he measured UV protection on a machine: 100% UV protection!

will buy more google for SO and gifts when the new code comes out

[jono]

It's shocking, but ANSI and CE standards for UV protection apply to even the cheapest of eyewear. Spend more time worrying about the cancer-causing chemicals in the foam. Then ask how much of the money you spend at Smith goes to cleaning out all the cancer-causing chemicals from the finest foam available in China. You'll be so entertained.

[Skidog]

It's shocking, but ANSI and CE standards for UV protection apply to even the cheapest of eyewear. Spend more time worrying about the cancer-causing chemicals in the foam. Then ask how much of the money you spend at Smith goes to cleaning out all the cancer-causing chemicals from the finest foam available in China. You'll be so entertained.

You done cancer screens of Smith and Chinese knockoffs? Or are you just working for a brand name gogg manufacturer and trying to hate on the newcomber who's eating your lunch? That booth the cheap gogg makers had at OR says they are here to stay. Time for the big boys to start charging real world prices.

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[jono]

You may need to adjust your sarcasm detector there, Skidog. You get a Chinese model? I hear they're improving but the old made in USA ones run on coffee, which is a lot easier to remember than batteries. Maybe check the local 2nd hand if yours isn't serviceable. Good luck!

[NorCalNomad]

Another negative thing I've noticed with these goggles versus my Smith's I/OX's and Optic Nerve googles. The frame sticks out further from your face, especially underneath your eyes. So they definitely reduce your peripheral vision where you need it the most (right out in front of you)

[Danno]

I wish I had a reason to put on my goggles now.

[chaka]

just posting to report that my two sons and I are all a) able to see fine now b)have no cancerous legions on our faces and c)were able to see fine while skiing with the OM goggles for a season. YMMV but spending ~75$ for three apparently high quality goggles seems like a good way to go. If you enjoy setting fire to multiple $100 bills for Oakley, Anon whatever good on you.

[nuhu]

Two questions:

1. What lens have people found works best for low-light, flat-light, stormy conditions? Do you prefer the Light-Blue (VLT 60%), Light Green (VLT 80%), Yellow (VLT 91%), or something else?

2. The codes in this thread appear to be expired. Where do the new discount codes get published?

Thanks!

[AK47bp]

Two questions:

1. What lens have people found works best for low-light, flat-light, stormy conditions? Do you prefer the Light-Blue (VLT 60%), Light Green (VLT 80%), Yellow (VLT 91%), or something else?

2. The codes in this thread appear to be expired. Where do the new discount codes get published?

Thanks!

Two Questions:

1. Does your sister have tits?


2. Can we see them?


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[Garth Bimble]

Two questions:

1. What lens have people found works best for low-light, flat-light, stormy conditions? Do you prefer the Light-Blue (VLT 60%), Light Green (VLT 80%), Yellow (VLT 91%), or something else?

2. The codes in this thread appear to be expired. Where do the new discount codes get published?

Thanks!

I like the Lt. Blue in flat/stormy conditions but both lenses I ordered were distorted. Sent the first one back, didn't want to hassle with the other. It's usable.

You'll have to PM Rontele about the codes though. He sets all that shit up.

[gregorys]

Two questions:
1. What lens have people found works best for low-light, flat-light, stormy conditions? Do you prefer the Light-Blue (VLT 60%), Light Green (VLT 80%), Yellow (VLT 91%), or something else?
2. The codes in this thread appear to be expired. Where do the new discount codes get published?

I'd guess if you read up-thread a bit, you'd find the answers. I'm 99% sure I've posted my thoughts in this thread.
But I'll just do it again.
Three lenses covers everything.
If I were to pick just two, I'd pick a very clear lens. Green/yellow/clear. >=80% VLT.
That covers everything from whiteout, night-ski, storm ski, and low light, heavy overcast etc.
Then rather than a pretty dark lens, get something in the middle. Say ~60-70VLT.
The "dark" 8-15%VLT are really only good on total blue-bird days. (Days you could simply wear sunglasses instead, if you didn't want to bother with another lens.)

Don't worry about lens color, unless you find some personal preference. I honestly don't think it matters much. (Mine are 80% Green, 65% orange and (IIRC) 8% gray.)

As for coupon codes; I haven't seen any this year. They've typically done them once or twice - a bit before ski season and once Jan/Feb. But I guess their goal is/was to get recognized as a viable goggle and then to stop having massive sales - so I don't know if they'll continue to do so, since it seems like they're fairly well known now. However, no sense in rushing to buy anything now. Amazon can have them at your door in a few days, so I'd simply hold tight. I'm pretty sure if a sale happens someone will post details here.

All that said however, I think they are pretty decent value at the $40-50 price that's the "normal" price. (Personally, I'm such a cheapo I'd probably rather stick a fork in my hand before buying more at full price, though.)

[Danno]

You'll have to PM Rontele about the codes though. He sets all that shit up.

Rontele has been really busy lately, so deepsouthmafia has been picking up some of the slack, he might be able to help.

[nuhu]

Thank you for the help!

[gregorys]

It looks like they are up again. Not quite as cheap as last year (IIRC), but pretty cheap.

Slickdeals is where the data on the deal comes from;
https://slickdeals.net/f/14546648-ou...archBarV2Algo1

TLDR;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B014XKTFI0/
Use code: I4J22UT7
$23.

Order all the pairs you'll want the first order. In the past, you got one bite at the apple and trying to order again wouldn't give the special pricing.
IMO, the best lenses are
80-100% VLT for night/storm-days/white-out etc.
50-60% VLT for non blue-bird days. (I have a brown/gold-ish tint 65% VLT)
20% and less VLT are only good for really, really bright days. These lenses will be too dark, IMO, if the light is coming and going - like days where it's mostly bright, with clouds coming and going. I'd just ski my 65% VLT's and squint when required.

Enjoy!

[I've seen black diamonds!]

I have a pair of these. They're... ok, but Smith Squads, which can often be had on sale for $50-60, are significantly better. Better clarity, better contrast. I'm not picky about goggles, but I think the cheap Smiths are worth the extra $$.

[phatty]

If you want clear goggles for night skiing, these are tough to beat for price/value. Love them for night skiing.

[Huskier]

I pick up a new pair of these every other year. $30-40. Magnetic interchangable lenses, good FOV. They do scratch easy and the polarized coating isn't great with occasional color blotches. I could buy 5 of them and still be cheaper than my old Anon M2's. Oh, and I can actually get replacement lenses if I need.

Zionor X3

[Lvovsky]

I ordered some extra lenses from the Outdoor Master website https://outdoormaster.com (NOT through Amazon). They have some coupons going on the front page:
LOVE10 buy one item get 10%
LOVE15 15% off if you order 2 items

I found SNOW20 for 20% off if ordering 3 items and that's what I used.

After check out they advertised this: "Give friends 20% off their first order, and you'll get $15 when they make a purchase. Friend must be a new customer and make a minimum purchase of $1 post discount." Here is the link: https://www.talkable.com/x/wO9b8j

[Danno]

Of the available lenses: https://outdoormaster.com/collection...placement-lens

Which would be best for flat/low light? I have the green and it's ok, but wondering if some of the other ones would be an improvement? I ski in the trees a lot, and in afternoon sun (or lack thereof when it goes behind teh mountain) and finding it a little bit of a struggle.

[Lvovsky]

Of the available lenses: https://outdoormaster.com/collection...placement-lens

Which would be best for flat/low light? I have the green and it's ok, but wondering if some of the other ones would be an improvement? I ski in the trees a lot, and in afternoon sun (or lack thereof when it goes behind teh mountain) and finding it a little bit of a struggle.

I like light green and light yellow in low light - can’t decide. I’m having too much fun swapping lenses to be honest. The 24% orange seems to be most versatile: not the best for real low light but great for getting in and out of shaded parts.

I haven’t tried polarized light yellow yet but the dark grey polarized were very comfortable. The multicolored ones are good in bright sun and have bright feel.

Try yellow or orange to see if they give you more contrast.

[gregorys]

+1 To what @Lvovsky said.

I'm pretty happy with Green - and I don't think from others I know, that yellow is much different.
I've used clear - which isn't bad, but isn't really better than green. Plus, I had at least two clear lenses (last time I got some - which was about 2 years ago)- having some significant optical distortion. Not so bad I can't wear them, but it's pretty annoying. OM replaced them, and didn't want one back, so I ended up with one that's not quite right.

I'm very skeptical that *any* passive lens tech will make a dramatic difference.

One little detail I've found somewhat annoying, on the newer OM versions. They've "tweaked" the frame so they are OTG (over the glasses) compatible. That's all good, I suppose - but the way they did it, is to "notch out" the TPU of the frame. I find I sometimes get ice pellets or even snow-flakes and air that get blown in the sides of the goggles through that notch.

Now, granted, this is a very small annoyance - but it's one I do find annoying. Sure, I could probably do a quick fix with some hot glue, and some foam, or a dozen different mods - but it's not really annoyed me enough to do it so far.

Add to this, that I think OM is going to try to avoid big sales in the future, and sell a "premium" product - and I've just been noodling around to see what else is out there. Xionor (for their version of the same goggle) has a huge, ugly logo on their strap - so at the same price, I'd just get OM. But OM at "regular" price is less attractive than on sale.

Then I found quite an interesting find on ebay.

I'm not going to post it here, but it's fully compatible goggle to both the OM and Xionor. (PM me if you want a link.)
I picked up a pair, just as a lark. (Very cheap.)

You don't get the hard-case like you would from OM.
The strap has the silicone "gripper" on the inside. No logo on the strap. (Only a black or red frame, IIRC)
It only comes with a couple of different lens options - both pretty dark. (IIRC 10-15% VLT - though I'm guessing.)

But it also doesn't have the OTG notch. Yay!

So, if you want some goggles now, and can't wait for a sale - here's what I'd do.
Order the ebay version. That gets you your dark lens out of the way and a decent frame (as long as you don't need OTG.)

Then OM has a 30% coupon out there. Buy two more "plain" PRO lenses - Mid and low VLT (like ~30% + ~80%) for around $18 each and you'll have a pretty complete setup for ~$50.

Also;
I'll probably brand myself as a loony, but I actually ordered OM's premium photochroma lens. (18-80% VLT) with that -30% coupon for $49 - which seems nuts. But still way less than something like Smith Chromapop mag photo-chroma lenses+frame ($200 on sale). It was either that or order a non-premium lens or two - because I needed another dark lens.

I've heard varying thoughts about UV photo sensitive lenses in goggles, but thought I'd try them. If they suck, I'll see about returning them to OM. I'll try to put up a review either way, once I've had a little time on them. Hopefully they arrive soon.

[eSock]

Re-upped on lens with the discount codes. My colorful ones got a gnarled up after some apres ski action so I reordered some of those and also grabbed the yellow low light lens to round out the colorful/light blue combo I've been using. These things aren't the best but they're equally as comfortable as my brand name pair and I don't have fogging problems with them as much.