Outdoor Master Pro Plus Goggles
Wil Rickards
The big question is, can a $100 pair of goggles do everything we need? Will these goggles protect and serve?
Let’s give this more context; skiing is a stupidly costly activity. It also happens to be the most legal fun you can dream of having. So how do we make it more affordable? How do we prevent having to take out a second mortgage to go on a ski vacation? How do we make skiing more inclusive?
We follow the example set by “brown baggers”; we bring our lunch; yes, it is a term used in resorts. We cut every corner we can financially and hope that more companies like Outdoor Master show up to the party.
Goggles serve several uses. They shield our eyes from the sun, save us from dealing with streaming tears, and protect us from skirmishes with trees. They can also fog up, decrease the quality of our vision and flail around on our face. Typically, I have disliked goggles and prefer to wear sunglasses where possible. There are a couple of reasons. Firstly, I ski in the backcountry a lot; typically, for every 5 minutes of gravity-assisted ecstasy, there is at least half an hour of grinding up the hill. Read this as goggles steam up with my sweat-inducing uphill struggle. Secondly, I don’t want to spend large sums of money to find goggles that work well. Well, that has changed!
Outdoor Masters have dealt with my two major gripes. First of all, they have weighed in with a goggle that costs less than most quality budget sunglasses. Secondly, they have a system of quickly changing out the lenses, which are also reasonably priced. If I carry a spare lens, I can swap them out before the downhill, place the old set in their cloth bag, and put them somewhere warm. By doing this, they dry out, ready for the next swap out.
Changing lenses is so easy
So how does this interchangeable system work? Magnets! Replacing the lens is as easy as pulling it off the frame. Many lens options cover you for all light conditions. I tend to take one for bright sun and one for flat light.
The optics are crisp; I have enjoyed their clarity and love the increased contrast in flat light. The design matches the helmets I have used with them; a variety of climbing and skiing domes. While I tell my son that I do not care how I look. Let’s be real; no one wants to be called a “gaper” and realize that the name-calling wanker is right. It amuses me, though, that mean kids refer to the space between helmets and goggles to accuse novices of being crap skiers.
Both the bag and hard case that comes with the goggles work well. I would go as far as to say that the case is one of my favorites due to its low profile. The bag and case may also play a large part in why we have not yet scratched or broken any lenses. Between my son and myself, we have used them for most of this season.
So the bottom line is that if you do not have the money to buy the latest and greatest, or more to the point if you do not want to, then these puppies rock. They do everything a pair of goggles more than twice their price does. The lens interchange system is especially effective and straightforward, and there is plenty of choices for additional lenses.
Throw in the fact that you will often find them on sale on the Outdoor Master website, and you have a real winner.
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