paras

Hey Guys,

I have a pair of Smith Phenoms with the Sensor Mirror. During bluebird days, or flat-light days, I'm blinded and I can't even see little jumps. I turn into a mess on the mountain and usually end up waiting for the night to come before I head back out. Ridiculous? Yea.

So, I decided to start looking at different lenses and the ones I'm down to are:

Ignitor Mirror
Green Sol-X
Platinum Mirror
and on some sites, I find Blue Mirror (which I think might be - or is similar to Green Sol-X)

There is not that much info out there on lenses, let alone actual stores to visit to try them out. My main issues are, I want something with contrast (need to see little jumps and midget children in white jackets), can be used during the bright hours, and is based on an amber tint (from the other threads I've been reading here). Green Sol-X, would that be considered amber (maybe the light coming in is amber and it's reflecting the green/blue?)

Any input would be awesome, thanks!

See: http://smithoptics.ca/technology/#/S...+Options/view/ for Smith's description of these lenses.

JoeR

Your question is confusing. The Sensor Mirror is meant for cloudy/flat-light days; you're probably not going to find a Smith lens more suited to those conditions. For bright days, I use the Ignitor Mirror because that's the other lens that came with my I/O goggles. (I'm not planning to buy a third lens.) It's more of an all-around lens than the Sensor. For superbright days, you could get one of the Sol-X lenses.

By the way, the Smith lens info identifies the base tint of each lens, so you shouldn't have to guess.

Qball

I use the platinum mirror for sunny/partly cloudy day but also work fine on overcast days if there's no fog. The sensor mirror is best for flat light stormy days

buggravy

I've got all of the lenses in question, and I'd recommend either the Platinum Mirror or Green Sol-X for a bluebird/mostly sunny conditions lens. The Ignitor is probably the best general purpose, but since you've already got the Sensor I'd go with either of the 2 I mentioned above.

drunkinmonk

i have all 3 of them and the sensor. I normally just use two out of the 4 manly the greenx sunny days then my sensor flat,cloudy, snowy and night conditions. Sensor is normally on my IO for 80 percent of the time. I mainly ride at night. Platinum and ignitor i cant see too much difference.

Qball

I have the platinum, ignitor, and sensor. I use the sensor most of the time because it's usually cloudy and crappy in the NW. I don't really like the ingitor, none of the details really pop like they do with the sensor and if it's too bright for the sensor, the platinum is better than the ignitor.

qwezxc12

FWIW, I like the Igniter for sunny days, and the Sensor for overcast/flat conditions... which in the NE is too often, unfortunately. I don't swap lenses... I picked up a second pair of Phenoms with the Sensor lens at TJ Maxx for $39.00

paras

Wow, awesome advice guys!

@JoeR: I think I may be confusing the meaning of "flat-light" - I thought flat-light is when light appears to come from every possible direction. I used to board mainly at night. The last few times I went in the day, there are no shadows and everything is evenly lit. If that's what you mean by flat-light, I guess my sensor mirror is failing me, unless there's too much light getting through for my eyes to handle.

I'm definitely wanting to get a pair of the Green Sol-X. Curious as to how much 'blue' (if any) it reflects...cause it's a rainbow green...saw some blue reflection on the sides.

Definitely going to check them out at the store.
Appreciate it

Qball

If it's sunny the sensor won't be dark enough and you'll be squinting all day. Flat light is when it's overcast/foggy and it's difficult to distinguish any details in the snow surface. Basically really really bad flat light conditions = whiteout.

JoeR

Sort of, but the point is that it's dim, not bright. You probably wouldn't feel "blinded" in flat-light conditions, at least not at first, even with no goggles at all. Bright sunshine and flat light are almost opposites, so one lens is not going to be really good for both.