you should never ever ever touch the inside lens of any goggle. outer lens - fine, fog it with your breath and wipe it with your tshirt... inner lens filled with snow? tap it out and put em back on and let your body heat push it out. never touch the inside.

smith I/Os are good goggles. i would say that 30 second changeable lenses and 40-50$ replacement lenses is kinda the requirement for me now.

 

Ah yes - I have learned the hard way on touching the inside of the goggles. There was ice so I tried to clean it off. Anyway, thanks for that tip - I won't make that mistake again. Still, I am on the market for a new pair and will check out the smiths. Tx

 

Hmmm....my Oakley lenses have taken some pretty good beatings, but they're not scratched to hell. I even wipe them off with my jacket regularly. Of course, I'm talking about the outsides here. I treat the insides better than I treat any other piece of snow equipment I own. Any lens will scratch eventually I know, but I have not had bad luck with my Oakleys. Maybe you got a bad pair. :dunno:

 

The secret to goggle lenses, they're a wear item, they're going to scratch regardless of brand. When they scratch you replace them or change goggles. The only way to keep them scratch free is to not use them. I've found O lenses to actually be pretty good for scratch resistance (Wisdom HI Yellow), definitely more durable than the mirrored Dragon DX lens and Smith (OSX already showing cosmetic scratches after 4 days).

 

oakley lenses are the best on the market. no matter what you do you cant break them. They have been tested and are practically bullet proof. you probably have an iridium lens. the coating scratches easy. just get one with out it.

 

Tell that to my mate with a snapped pair

 

Oakley is the only lens on the market you can shoot with a .22 and it will deflect. You are a fucking moron.

 

Why so nasty? This thread is a simple request for recommendations. If no recommendations then please refrain from commenting.

I have bought oakley in sunglasses for years, now goggles. The last 2 pair sunglasses and goggles have been very disappointing, it seems there is more focus on the styling than the durability. The scratched lens is the lighter yellow one of the style which came with 2 interchangeable lenses. I still have the reflective iridium one to go, I guess I will see how well I can preserve them!

Theres no point in being able to 'deflect a .22' when they need to be thrown out after a few weeks use due to scratches. I am an intermediate snowboarder so I need good visibility in order to stay upright.

 

Erm, if your Oakley lenses are scratching I don't think you're going to be much happier with buying a lenses from another company.

They'll scratch exactly the same if not worse than Oakleys lenses. You need to learn to handle your goggles a little better (eg - keep them inside the protective bag anytime they aren't on your face).

All lenses get scratched eventually, especially if you snowboard a lot, nothing you can do about that.