As lighting conditions shift when you're mountainside, switching out goggles to match your surrounding illumination can be a huge pain. But Oakley Prizm React technology, coming out at the end of November, eliminates the hassle. By packing three differing lens tints into piece of headgear, snow-bound adventurers can now toggle to the right tint at the push of a glove-friendly button.
The dark, medium, and light lens tints were designed to give mountain riders all-day comfort, the California-based company says. Using the Oakley Prizm technology that tunes optics for the snow environment, the rimless design creates a larger field of view that fits with Oakley’s Fall Line XL MOD3 and MOD5 products.
Using electronics integrated into the frame to maintain the look and feel of normal goggles, these new goggles house a dedicated lens changing button on the right side of the inner frame between the foam and strap for an upward change in tints. With one push, you can increase the tint and reduce the amount of light that enters through the goggles.
A separate button on the left side of the lens decreases tint to increase the amount of light. The frame will vibrate to indicate a transition to a different tint, with one, two, or three vibrations signifying the current tint level.
A waterproof USB port on the right side of the inner frame, next to the power button, allow for a micro USB charging cable. But you won't be using it much since Oakley says a battery charge can last for more than a week.
For $300, these goggles are mountain-ready—no matter what kind of day it is.
Tim Newcomb is a journalist based in the Pacific Northwest. He covers stadiums, sneakers, gear, infrastructure, and more for a variety of publications, including Popular Mechanics. His favorite interviews have included sit-downs with Roger Federer in Switzerland, Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, and Tinker Hatfield in Portland.
