Monday, February 6, 2012

Goggles

I've spent many days out in the snow, usually with a pair of goggles on my face. I've tried the cheap $35 versions up to the higher end $200 version. My general opinion is that the $50 range is the right area to be buying goggles. They tend to work just as good as the more expensive goggles do, they have many of the same anti-fogging features, they cost significantly less so you're not worried if they get destroyed by a wayward student, and tend to last about 3 to 4 years. A few years ago I ran into a case of my goggles dying while on the mountain. Instead of wasting the day in the lodge, I decided to buy a pair at the mountain. In a stroke of luck, the resort was having a massive sale on everything. I was able to pick up a pair of Anon goggles. For the last few years, these goggles have been probably the best pair of goggles I've owned. This last weekend I had the opportunity to teach a class of upper level skiers, all of whom wanted to work on their steep skiing skills. Riding the chair up, everything was good, we reached a steep run to enjoy, and I went first to show what we wanted to work on. Three turns in I find my goggles are fogging pretty badly. By the fifth turn I can't see anything and decide I need to stop. I end up cutting a little too hard, falling, sliding to the bottom of the icy face, and pretty much yelling back not to do that. Taking the goggles off I see that my favorite pair of goggles has now died; moisture can be found between the layers of the lens and that was what frosted up my view. One of the students loans me his extra pair of Smith goggles and we continue the class. I have now been searching my local outdoor stores for a new pair of goggles. It seems none of them carry Anon anymore. Instead I can find Electric, Dragon, Smith, Oakley, VonZipper, Scott, and Spy. Having had a few sets of Spy, I wasn't very impressed with them and will not be buying them again. Anyone know what happened to Anon? Or better yet have a suggestion for an alternate pair of goggles?

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