Gear Guide -Clear Vision With Oakley’s Prizm Lens

July 11th, 2021

 

Stale Sanbech, team rider and one of the many elite athletes Oakley rely on for feedback . Photo: Oakley

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Mountainwatch | Gear Guide

When Oakley released the PRIZM  lens in 2014 the general feedback was that it lived up to the hype and offered clarity and picked up contrasts on flat light days.

Seven years later, PRIZM lenses are synonymous with premium quality, the increased contrast and colour saturation they provide makes seeing bumps and contours in the snow far easier.  Prizm achieves this by emphasising and boosting certain wavelengths along the colour spectrum. It breaks light into individual colours and boosts certain ones while filtering out others to achieve the perfect balance in snow.

 

Valentino Guseli, clear vision and contrasts to smash a Thredbo pillow line. Photo: Andrew Fawcett

Oakley category manager, Hans Arnesan confirmed this, saying of the PRIZM lenses, “we can leverage specific colours that give important visual queues for better reading the mountain.”

“Unlike traditional lens dyes that filter all colours equally, PRIZM lens dyes are unique in that they enable us to strategically manipulate the light coming through a lens.”

All PRIZM lenses are made of plutonite, Oakley’s proprietary lens material. It’s a high grade, highly impact resistant polycarbonate.

 

How it works: Photo: Oakley

Check out any goggle cabinet in a good snow retailer and you’ll be spoilt for choice with an array of tints and lens categories. The different lens categories in all goggle brands are determined by Visible Light Transmission (VLT), with VLT percentages indicating the amount light that can penetrate through the lens.  The lenses are categorised as to S1, S2, or S3, depending on the VLT:

S1: Stormy weather, VLT 43-80%

This lens type provides crystal clear view when the visibility on the slope is poor. You want to be equipped with S1 lenses when snow falls heavily or when you find yourself riding past the sunset.

S2:  Variable / unsettled weather

An all-round lens, capable of dealing with varying light conditions. Provides good vision in both sunny and cloudy weather, and helps when afternoon shadows start to creep onto the slope.

S3:  Bright / Sunny weather, VLT 08-18%

Next to blocking 100% of the harmful UV rays, high tint offers maximum glare protection. Allows you to see comfortably when the weather is very good.

 

Dark tints of the Black Iridium lens are perfect for a bright, sunny day. Photo: Matt Wiseman

Oakley has a number of lenses across the categories with a variety of tints that cover all conditions you’ll experience here and overseas.  Check the chart below to ensure you have something that will enhance your vision in all conditions.

Our experience using the PRIZM lenses in a variety if conditions is that a mirror lens like the black PRIZM’s is a must for the amount of sunshine we have in Australia and for the versatility the S2 lenses, either Saphire or Jade, is handy for those in and out days and afternoon shadows.

When we can travel again and are hunting out powder on storm days overseas, a rose lens is a must. In our experience in Japan, the clarity of the low-light PRIZM lens makes the difference between an awesome day or one that is pretty tough.

 

 

Bernie Rosow, Jade iridium lens, perfect for partly cloudy powder days. Photo: Peter Morning

 

Our experience using the PRIZM lenses in a variety of  conditions is that a mirror lens like the black PRIZM’s is a must for the amount of sunshine we have in Australia and for the versatility the S2 lenses, either Saphire or Jade, is handy for those in and out days and afternoon shadows.

When we can travel again and are hunting out powder on storm days overseas, the rose or high pink lens is a must. In our experience in Japan, the clarity of the low-light PRIZM lens makes the difference between an awesome day or one that is pretty tough.

Either way, using a PRIZM lens will enhance your on snow experience.