Hi,
So for the first time in about 10 years i upgraded my goggles from a cheapo pair of Bolle's to the Smith I/OX with Blue Sensor Mirror and Green Sol-X lens options. This came after much deliberation, trying on the Dragon APX's the EG2's and the Oakley Canopy's, I really liked both the I/OX and the Canopy but the I/OX was quite a lot cheaper and came with 2 lenses which won it for me. There are a fair few aspects to cover here so I am going to keep them brief and segment it in to: Fit - Fogging - Peripheral Vision - Durability - Lens Tints - Lens Changing
Fit
Firstly as a man with an XL noggin these things a amazingly comfy on my head, no pressure marks after a full day of wearing from 8am till 5pm nonstop, did not have to take them off once, the foam is comfy, great at wicking but if they oversized the last layer of foam, the one that touches your face, it may improve the comfort as occasionally i felt the 2nd layer itching me slightly around the very edges of the goggle as it is coarser to aid wicking.
Fogging
Ok I tried to fog these things up at -10 celcius... stuck my scarf on, tucked it under my goggles and breathed upwards out of my mouth doing my very best to fog them... The anti fog black magic trickery on these things are unreal. Yes i was able to make it fog but only barely in the bottom half of the goggle! Even with all this effort the fog dissipated within seconds every time. The fact that you cannot wipe off this anti fog technology is just the icing on the cake really. Under normal conditions it never fogged once.
Peripheral Vision
Whilst not the widest peripheral vision i tried on, that award goes to the Oakley Canopy, it absolutely felt large enough and unless you actually go looking for the goggle frame you arent going to notice it either horizontally or vertically.
Durability
Ok so here...day 1 I scratched my mirrored lens through very minimal contact when resting them on my leg. I'm not even sure what i caught it on tbh... I learned very quickly to be abit more careful with them as they are fairly fragile. As for the rest of the goggle, the clip system at the back is sturdy and easy to use, the rubberised grip on the straps are great and the straps themselves feel very sturdy but are going to start looking scruffy if you catch velcro straps on them from your jacket sleeves etc.
Lens Tints
Blue Sensor Mirror - Honestly you could use this lens all day every day. I had total bluebirds not a cloud in the sky to complete whiteout and flatlight to test these in and they are fantastic. Maybe slightly squinty at some points during the bluebird but nothing excessive or unbearable, tbh the only reason i swapped to the Sol-X was out of curiosity, i felt no genuine need to swap. Just FYI - There is no miracle cure to solve your flatlight definition woes but these do help and i actually found that i could see definition better in flatlight with them on than when i took them off so the definition enhancing sales jargon does hold some merit! If your conditions are ever changing and you just want to stick with 1 lens...this one is a winner.
Green Sol-X - Awesome to look at, bust them out on the 2nd bluebird day and loved it. in total bluebird conditions during the day they are definitely more relaxing to wear than the Blue Sensor and work really well but as the evening rolled in and the sun set behind the mountains definition disappeared rapidly.
Overall I'll still wear the Sol-X from time to time when its a totally stunning day and i feel like a change but the Blue sensor mirror will be on 90% of the time.
Lens Changing
So in the I/OX model you have 2 extra steps added to that of the I/O model in order to pop the lens out in that you have to turn each of the goggle straps 90 degree's aswell as pop 2 notches on the top of the lens and then you just yank the lens out pretty easily. This does make it slightly more fiddly but nothing too gruelling. Probably takes a minute or so to change the first few times then decreases slightly as you get past the learning curve of pinching the nose of the goggle frame and learn that you can be fairly firm with the lenses... I was quite sheepish at first as I didnt want to break them!
Overall i love the I/OX if you are going to buy a pair just be sure to take care of the lenses as they are prone to scratching, as for the rest of it, huge thumbs up from me! Hope you enjoyed :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
So for the first time in about 10 years i upgraded my goggles from a cheapo pair of Bolle's to the Smith I/OX with Blue Sensor Mirror and Green Sol-X lens options. This came after much deliberation, trying on the Dragon APX's the EG2's and the Oakley Canopy's, I really liked both the I/OX and the Canopy but the I/OX was quite a lot cheaper and came with 2 lenses which won it for me. There are a fair few aspects to cover here so I am going to keep them brief and segment it in to: Fit - Fogging - Peripheral Vision - Durability - Lens Tints - Lens Changing
Fit
Firstly as a man with an XL noggin these things a amazingly comfy on my head, no pressure marks after a full day of wearing from 8am till 5pm nonstop, did not have to take them off once, the foam is comfy, great at wicking but if they oversized the last layer of foam, the one that touches your face, it may improve the comfort as occasionally i felt the 2nd layer itching me slightly around the very edges of the goggle as it is coarser to aid wicking.
Fogging
Ok I tried to fog these things up at -10 celcius... stuck my scarf on, tucked it under my goggles and breathed upwards out of my mouth doing my very best to fog them... The anti fog black magic trickery on these things are unreal. Yes i was able to make it fog but only barely in the bottom half of the goggle! Even with all this effort the fog dissipated within seconds every time. The fact that you cannot wipe off this anti fog technology is just the icing on the cake really. Under normal conditions it never fogged once.
Peripheral Vision
Whilst not the widest peripheral vision i tried on, that award goes to the Oakley Canopy, it absolutely felt large enough and unless you actually go looking for the goggle frame you arent going to notice it either horizontally or vertically.
Durability
Ok so here...day 1 I scratched my mirrored lens through very minimal contact when resting them on my leg. I'm not even sure what i caught it on tbh... I learned very quickly to be abit more careful with them as they are fairly fragile. As for the rest of the goggle, the clip system at the back is sturdy and easy to use, the rubberised grip on the straps are great and the straps themselves feel very sturdy but are going to start looking scruffy if you catch velcro straps on them from your jacket sleeves etc.
Lens Tints
Blue Sensor Mirror - Honestly you could use this lens all day every day. I had total bluebirds not a cloud in the sky to complete whiteout and flatlight to test these in and they are fantastic. Maybe slightly squinty at some points during the bluebird but nothing excessive or unbearable, tbh the only reason i swapped to the Sol-X was out of curiosity, i felt no genuine need to swap. Just FYI - There is no miracle cure to solve your flatlight definition woes but these do help and i actually found that i could see definition better in flatlight with them on than when i took them off so the definition enhancing sales jargon does hold some merit! If your conditions are ever changing and you just want to stick with 1 lens...this one is a winner.
Green Sol-X - Awesome to look at, bust them out on the 2nd bluebird day and loved it. in total bluebird conditions during the day they are definitely more relaxing to wear than the Blue Sensor and work really well but as the evening rolled in and the sun set behind the mountains definition disappeared rapidly.
Overall I'll still wear the Sol-X from time to time when its a totally stunning day and i feel like a change but the Blue sensor mirror will be on 90% of the time.
Lens Changing
So in the I/OX model you have 2 extra steps added to that of the I/O model in order to pop the lens out in that you have to turn each of the goggle straps 90 degree's aswell as pop 2 notches on the top of the lens and then you just yank the lens out pretty easily. This does make it slightly more fiddly but nothing too gruelling. Probably takes a minute or so to change the first few times then decreases slightly as you get past the learning curve of pinching the nose of the goggle frame and learn that you can be fairly firm with the lenses... I was quite sheepish at first as I didnt want to break them!
Overall i love the I/OX if you are going to buy a pair just be sure to take care of the lenses as they are prone to scratching, as for the rest of it, huge thumbs up from me! Hope you enjoyed :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: