Choose the Right Lens
Choosing the right lens for the conditions you will encounter is key!
The important thing to think about when choosing lenses is not what they look like, but what you want them to do!
Do you remember days with flat light, and you couldn’t see a thing? After a while you were just tossed around, so you skipped the rest of the day…
It wasn’t your fault, it was your goggles, but we have the solution – lenses for all conditions. Read on and choose the right lenses!
The most important question you must ask yourself is: where will I use the goggles and what type of weather or sunlight will I have? Be honest now, we all like to remember those clear blue skies but that is not always the case, is it?
- If you will have snowy or cloudy or mixed conditions most of the time (or ski in the north with less light) you need to get a pair of contrast enhancing lenses. The solution is our orange base lenses with various mirrors/coating depending on how light/dark you want them. If you only get one pair of lenses get an orange base.
- If you only ski in sunny and bright conditions (like spring skiing) and never in the shade you can choose a neutral grey base lens.
- If you have the possibility, get two pairs of lenses (or more depending on your budget) to cover as wide a range as possible.
Another important point - don’t choose a lens that is too dark. Unfortunately many people do that mistake. The goggles are there to make you see better. All our lenses provide 100% UVA/UVB protection so that is nothing you need to worry about. We have taken care about that.
Visible Light Transmission
When there is low light, you need an lens that allows a lot of visible light to be transmitted to the eye. In strong sunlight, you need a lens that blocks a larger portion of visible light. This is what is called VLT – Visible Light Transmission.
The higher the percentage, the more visible light is transmitted through the lens, and the opposite. Lenses for downhill skiing are tested and categorized in to 5 categories based on VLT.
Cat 0 – Snowy, foggy, and overcast conditions, or sunset/nighttime use
Cat 1 – Cloudy weather and low light conditions
Cat 2 – Sunny and partially cloudy conditions
Cat 3 – Bright and sunny conditions
Cat 4 – Extremely bright and sunny conditions
In cloudy weather and low light conditions...
...choose Filter Category 1
In cloudy weather and low light conditions – you need a contrast enhancing lens that decreases blue light and increases orange and red. The correct lens must have a high Visible Light Transmission value to pass enough light to the eye in overcast and difficult conditions.
Orange contrast enhancing ZEISS lenses without mirror. Perfect for very low-light conditions.
In sunny and partially cloudy conditions...
...choose Filter Category 2
In sunny and partially cloudy conditions - you need an all-round lens. A lens that both enhances contrast and that lets enough light pass through. Moving from shade to sunlight you need a lens that can do all.
Orange contrast enhancing ZEISS lenses with Multi-Layer Blue Mirror is our “lighter” lens for all around use. An all-round favorite.
In bright and sunny conditions...
...choose Filter Category 3
ZEISS lenses only
