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Anyone uses the new oakley prism lenses.

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Looking at these has anyone got them yet? What lens do you have and can you give an opinion on how good they are or is it all marketing hype?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
@roscoeh, You will find a couple of other threads on here regarding the Prizm lens. The answer is it depends Very Happy

In general if you switched from a poor goggle to the Prizm lens, then you would probably notice a spectacular difference in contrast. However, if you moved from another good quality lens, even another Oakley, to the Prizm then there is a much smaller but still noticeable improvement.

The main advantage is that the Prizm lenses cover a wider range of conditions than the standard Oakley lenses. As a Oakley fan, I've got all the Prizm lenses for my Flightdecks (Black, Jade, Sapphire, Rose, Pink). The middle range Jade/Sapphire have had the most use, as they cover the majority of conditions, but they don't handle the extremes as well as the Black or Rose.
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Thanks,

I am moving from an old pair of crowbars with fire iridium and persimmon lenses. The foam has deteriorated to the point where they are not very comfortable.
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Thanks,

I am moving from an old pair of crowbars with fire iridium and persimmon lenses. The foam has deteriorated to the point where they are not very comfortable.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Thanks,

I am moving from an old pair of crowbars with fire iridium and persimmon lenses. The foam has deteriorated to the point where they are not very comfortable.
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Thanks,

I am moving from an old pair of crowbars with fire iridium and persimmon lenses. The foam has deteriorated to the point where they are not very comfortable.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
The Rose is v v v good,,trying the hi pink this year . less relevant the brighter you go in the series.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
@PowderAdict, in your opinion is the Prizm a noticeable enough difference to warrant the £20 price difference? I really need a medium lens (I currently only have pink and black), so would you say buy the Prizm or the standard?
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I've got the black and the rose. The black is excellent on bright days but perhaps too dark for areas of heavy shade as the afternoon moves on. The rose is great in low light, but okay up to fairly bright. I think however that I would have been better with one of the middle lenses (jade/sapphire etc) which would probably be the everyday lens.
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I have the jade and rose, and found the jade as a great overall lens, did well in sunshine, and even in snowing conditions; only used the rose when the day promised to be low light all day. Rose was nice, but not hugely better than the jade. In terms of the super contrast that Oakley promises - I am not convinced, but had to upgrade my old Carrera so went for it..
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@Tubaski, yes I am thinking the exact same thing as you. I got the black and the rose included when I bought the goggles and didn't really think anything of buying anything else, obviously Oakley aren't stupid and the only lens they don't include is the one you're going to wear most of the time. Evil or Very Mad

I just happened to be lucky last year that on my first three trips it snowed like hell so the rose were in all the time, and my other 2 it was mostly bright so I used the black. (The only exception being one day on EOSB where again it was total whiteout and you couldn't see anything regardless of lens choice).
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.



@dp, I would say that the Prizm lenses are easily worth the extra. I always take the view that if you buy the best (for a given value of best), then you can't complain. By which I mean, if when I'm skiing and I have poor visibility, for whatever reason, I know it is not down to my goggles.

The Prizm lenses wider range means you are more likely to have the right lens for the conditions, than you are with the non-Prizm lenses. I am aware that the "I bought my goggles for £10 from Lidl/Aldi/Decathlon 5 years ago" people find this ridiculous Happy

This is the most current Oakley chart I can find, which shows the Prizm against some of the older lenses.


Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Sat 14-01-17 17:46; edited 1 time in total
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So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
dp wrote:
@Tubaski, yes I am thinking the exact same thing as you. I got the black and the rose included when I bought the goggles and didn't really think anything of buying anything else, obviously Oakley aren't stupid and the only lens they don't include is the one you're going to wear most of the time. Evil or Very Mad

I just happened to be lucky last year that on my first three trips it snowed like hell so the rose were in all the time, and my other 2 it was mostly bright so I used the black. (The only exception being one day on EOSB where again it was total whiteout and you couldn't see anything regardless of lens choice).


It was the low vis on some days at the EoSB bash that finally convinced me I needed new goggles (In fact specifically when I fell over three times on Col just because I couldn't see the bumps). A white-out is a white-out and no goggles are going to let you see through it though - that said, I've skiied in low vis since, and the new goggles are a distinct improvement.
Annoyingly I bought mine over the summer before Oakley released the Prizm Pink lens, otherwise I'd have probably gone for that and one of the Torch/Jade/Sapphire
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
I'd always agree that you should try for the best vision you can to help you in any conditions.

One area that's not often mentioned is colour blindness of men as you are looking at colour spectra that fall into that range with essentially red to green sensitivity. It's quite possible that one person's experience with a particular lens colour may not be matched by another's so there can be scope for different choices in the same conditions. That's entirely expected and could be worth each person understanding their own characteristics in picking a lens colour.
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
That new chart is a bit cheeky from Oakley, as I'm quite sure when I bought mine, the rose prism went down to the level of the HI yellow.... I guess they want to sell more...
One question to me though that our eye/iris should adjust to the amount of light coming in, which could be why I didn't even feel a big difference between the jade and rose.
I can however confirm, that in the white out the prism didn't make it better.
I think having more lenses is a great idea, but on many days the light condition will change throughout the day/run, so having a wide range mid lens is probably the most useful, and for this the jade has been good. At the time I was debating to get the black and rose prism (to cover the entire range in the graph at the time!) as the two option with my airbrake, but I followed the advice of somewhat counterintuitively recommending the jade and rose (there were only three at the time). Now I would take the jade and pink I guess...
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Poster: A snowHead
@PowderAdict, thanks for the chart. I have bought a Jade lens. I was after a middle light condition lens, like I said it is quite clever of Oakley to provide you with the 2 extremities lenses (low light and bright light) so you think you're getting a good deal by getting 2 lenses included with your goggles, where in reality the lens you really need to have is the one you have to buy extra. So Oakley are, to the discerning owner, adding £80 to the price of an already £215 pair of goggles whilst still making it out to be a good deal! Shocked

I do completely agree with you. I am generally of the opinion that I wouldn't spend £80 to upgrade from a £60 lens for a small improvement, but if I'm going to spend £60 I may as well spend £80 and get the best. As I have previously posted on here, to the I bought my goggles for £10 in Aldi brigade, when I am sliding quickly down a mountain on a pair of fibreglass planks I really want to be able to see absolutely everything in as much clarity as possible. Goggles not only protect your eyes, they protect your whole body, by letting you spot hazards in the snow.

I'm considering buying a clear lens as well. I feel like clear might be best in very cloudy, almost whiteout conditions as there is no light loss at all. But at the same time, I'm resenting the concept of having to drag 4 lenses around. You could end up spending more time adjusting your kit to the conditions than you do skiing...
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I have the Airbrake XL with the sapphire and pink lenses, love 'em. Been using the pink ones these past few days in the snowy/windy conditions we've had here, best low light lense I've ever had (previously had some yellow tint or other, Oakley pink iridium, Oakley hi persimmon and Anon orange). Used the sapphire in the blue sky and overcast days over Christmas, again best I've had (previously Oakley black iridium).
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 Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
I have found this thread very useful. Having invested in some Oakley Airbrake goggles last year, which came with a yellow and black/dark grey lens, I really struggled with them. I struggled with contrast in bad visibility and normal conditions, I used them in Sauze in mid March and Tignes at Easter (when it was actually snowing in April). I had to revert to my Scott goggles with an orange lens at some points, as these were actually better.

It sounds like I need to purchase some jade/sapphire/rose prizm lens to use in my Airbrake goggles. Any ideas on which one would be best to go with the other two lenses which I have?
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Bianchigray wrote:
I have found this thread very useful. Having invested in some Oakley Airbrake goggles last year, which came with a yellow and black/dark grey lens, I really struggled with them. I struggled with contrast in bad visibility and normal conditions, I used them in Sauze in mid March and Tignes at Easter (when it was actually snowing in April). I had to revert to my Scott goggles with an orange lens at some points, as these were actually better.

It sounds like I need to purchase some jade/sapphire/rose prizm lens to use in my Airbrake goggles. Any ideas on which one would be best to go with the other two lenses which I have?


I would get the Pink Prizm and one of the mid range : Jade/Sapphire/torch depending on which colour you like!!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@dp, The only time I ever use my clear lens is for night skiing with a head torch. Even on really overcast days I find that the hi-yellow goggles give more contrast on the snow. I got a clear lens for my old Oakley goggles for under £25 though so it is not expensive.
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dp wrote:
@PowderAdict, thanks for the chart. I have bought a Jade lens. I was after a middle light condition lens, like I said it is quite clever of Oakley to provide you with the 2 extremities lenses (low light and bright light) so you think you're getting a good deal by getting 2 lenses included with your goggles, where in reality the lens you really need to have is the one you have to buy extra. So Oakley are, to the discerning owner, adding £80 to the price of an already £215 pair of goggles whilst still making it out to be a good deal! Shocked
.


In defence of Oakley, I have bought my Airbrake (it was a Shaun White signature edition) with the Jade and Rose as a package; of course other Airbrakes came with different combinations, or commonly with only one Prizm and one older lens; so was a question of hunting for the one that had my combination of lenses in a package, instead of going for full custom selection.. (also prices in the US are considerably better if that is an option... Wink )

In terms of the jade being green - actually it doesn't really appear as green when using it, so wouldn't worry too much (i haven't seen the other new similar range lenses yet..)
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szladob wrote:


In defence of Oakley, I have bought my Airbrake (it was a Shaun White signature edition) with the Jade and Rose as a package; of course other Airbrakes came with different combinations, or commonly with only one Prizm and one older lens; so was a question of hunting for the one that had my combination of lenses in a package, instead of going for full custom selection.. (also prices in the US are considerably better if that is an option... Wink )



OK that's a valid point, I didn't realise different lens packages were available when buying the goggles

I have to admit that I bought mine in the Snow+Rock outlet at Bridgend for about 90 quid so I got what I was given! Madeye-Smiley
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Yeah just to be clear I bought mine with the black and them the rose as an addtional lens. So can't really blame Oakley for that either.
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Ah OK sorry this is me assuming (and you know what they say about that)

I bought whichever box was in the outlet store and assumed that the Airbrake was the Airbrake was the Airbrake and it came with a case, a black lens and a rose lens... like mine did.

My bad

Although there's still many areas where Oakley do take the proverbial
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I got some Prisms last year (rose lens) and think they are great with one caveat. The frame on the flightdeck is so big i have had to buy a new helmet because they steamed up as there was no air flow. The helmet I've gone for is the Oakley Mod 5 which has vents that run from the bottom of the goggle, through the top, into the helmet and out of the back of the helmet.

i don't know if it works yet because I haven't tried it!
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@roscoeh, Skied last week with new prism lenses, new Oakley goggles in both blue sky bluebird (sapphire iridium) and whiteout for/ snow (pink iridium), awesome performance, visibility much improved over the polarised Oakleys I've had in my A Frames for last few years. Pleased I've got them.
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 And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
I have just got some oakley fightdecks with prizm torch irridium. Glad it seems to cover the whole range although I have to admit that was done in ignorance rather than with knowledge.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Slightly off topic, but did anybody else experience with the Airbrakes, that when it snows, the snow that ends up on top of the lens melts and flows onto the inside of the lens, and if cold enough, freezes on it - was a bit perplexed - have never experienced similar in my previous googles...

Small piece of advice - avoid putting the prizm lens under heat - as I was taking a break, thought I will dry out a bit the googles with the frozen water inside in the toilet with the hand drier (was a mild type, not the super strong), and the lens went completely opaque - was shocked for a minute - but as it cooled off, fortunately it cleared right up.. pheuuuu
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You know it makes sense.
@szladob, yes I have experienced this too. Never had it freeze but it's still a bit annoying that it drips cold water on you for hours.

Somebody did tell me that this isn't the worst thing in the world as it essentially keeps the inside of the goggle lens cool, which stops it steaming up. No idea if that's a design feature or not but it does seem to have that effect for me.
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