Posts Tagged goggles
New Ski Gear on the Slopes in Utah
Our bus had to stop and put chains on the tires as we made our way up to Solitude Ski Resort in Utah. Some 10 inches of snow fell overnight and it kept coming on and off. An ideal day to check out some ski gear in the real world!
Ski gear is a big leap of faith when it comes time to buy—and an expensive one. So I always advise people to pay up to rent good demo skis and boots from a quality ski shop for a day on the slopes before dropping a grand or two on actually owning them. Yesterday I got to do that in hyperdrive: as part of the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market, I was able to visit a booth, pop on some new equipment, and whip down the mountain to see how it performs.
Good skis keep getting better
I’m so old I learned to ski when step-in bindings were a new novelty, so believe me when I say these planks may cost more now, but they’re so much better (especially for beginners and intermediates) that it’s night and day with what was out there 15 or 20 years ago. I tried out some K2 skis on two trips up the lift that performed incredibly well in the deep powder and made me look far less rusty than I really am. I then took two long multi-trail runs with some Volkl Amaruq skis that look almost as cool as they perform. Set up with premium Marker bindings, they rode like a dream. Just one problem though, which they can’t control…
Ski boots and comfort never seem to meet
One thing that hasn’t changed since I started night skiing on Virginia icy slopes in the 198os: ski boots are ridiculously uncomfortable. All the companies are bragging about how stiff their boots are. Yeah, I know, if they’re too flexible and cushy you’ll lose control, fall more, and possibly get hurt. But do they really need to make you feel like your feet are in a multi-pronged torture vise?
The new Garmont Delirium boots I tried out—lace-up liner and all—performed admirably, as they should at more than $600 a pop, but I couldn’t pay attention to how well the Scrarpa boots performed because they are apparently sized for people with narrow feet. (With all those buckles and adjustments, can’t you make them work for multiple widths?)
For me, the Dynafit ones were a bit better and the Black Diamond boots almost, almost felt like something I could wear for more than three runs without wanting to unbuckle them and head for the bar.
Other cool ski gear
I brought along some $15 Nike ACG gloves I got at Dick’s Sporting Goods knowing they’d be the weak link in my battle against the cold. So after two runs I made my way over to the Dakine booth and picked up some Wrangler waterproof leather ones. Toasty fingers after that.
I really liked the Native Eyewear goggles I took for a few runs (pictured at the top). Great optics, comfortable fit, and a mechanism that lets you easily change the lenses by just popping a hinge at the top. These are next ski season, so keep an eye out then. They come with two lenses (one for low-light conditions) and can be hooked onto a helmet.
I used four different sets of poles throughout the day and like most skiers, didn’t pay much attention to three of the four. The Leki $100 ones were a different story though. They have actually made ski poles innovative, which isn’t easy, by making them adjustable to your height as well as building in a cool pop-in, pop-out mechanism whereby they are either attached to your gloves or they’re disconnected. No pulling straps on and off your hands all day. Safer too as they’ll release if you crash and burn.
Tune in tomorrow and I’ll run down some cool things coming up for the rest of the time, off the ski slopes.
Posted by Tim L. in Adventure Gear, General Gear on January 20th, 2011
Bolle Sunglasses and Goggles
“Jackie O!” was what my husband exclaimed when he first saw me sporting my new Bolle sunglasses. Indeed, these shades (style name: Queen) have bigger lenses than I typically wear — but not nearly as oversized as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis did in the 1970′s. I absolutely love the style — I feel rather Hollywood movie star when I’m wearing them out and about. While the sunglasses may not take to the hiking trail or the river quite like my sporty and versatile Native Eyewear shades do, I’d happily wear these sunglasses to the pool and the beach, to shopping malls and city streets. They hug my face, don’t slip down my nose and successfully keep me from squinting in the sunlight.
Not only are the Queen glasses hip, but they protect my eyeballs, too. I appreciate the polarized lenses that reduce glare, as well as the extra anti-reflective coating on the backside of the lens that further reduces eye strain. The polyarbonate lenses are super lightweight and offer 100 percent UVA and UVB protection from the sun’s rays. Thermogrip® rubber temples and nose pads deliver a solid (but comfortable) grip.
Manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the Queen style in dark tortoise (pictured) is $139.99, but I found them on Amazon for $111.99.
I also tested some Bolle goggles on the slopes of Keystone, Colorado, a couple weeks ago. While the bright orange stripes of the Quasar Coral Snake frame with Fire Orange 50 lenses aren’t exactly my first choice of hues and style (should have asked the friendly Bolle marketing rep to please send a pair in solid black without the mirrored lenses), I very much appreciated all the fancy features of this technologically advanced goggle.
First, they cover a lot of my face — which is good when the wind is whipping at 11,000 feet in elevation. In comparison to my years-old Bolle goggles (which are narrower in solid black with rose-colored lenses) they just seem to offer more protection. Though I get the feeling I’m channeling Shaun White, or some other sort of rad teenage snowboarder when I’m wearing them, I do like how “solid” and protective they feel.
Second, in a side-by-side comparison with my older Bolle goggles, the orange Quasars blocked out a lot more of the sun; in my old pair I squinted when facing the setting sun, whereas with the Quasars I didn’t have to. The thick, triple-layer face foam is super comfy and cushy, and special coating on the lenses prevents fogging and most scratching (love that, since somehow we lost the nifty pouch that came with the goggles for storage — darn).
Overall, I appreciate the quality of these goggles, but the style is better suited to boys or men. See my husband sporting the goggles while tubing in this Keystone video — he can pull off the look so much better than this 40-year-old, non-flashy, mother of two.
These Quasar goggles (pictured above) retail for $119.99, but I’ve seen them as low as $79.99 on Amazon.com.
Browse a great selection of Bolle styles (and sale items) at Campmor.
Posted by Kara in General Gear on March 5th, 2010
