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Best Goggle, Lense and Balaclava and WHY
We sell all kinds of goggles and almost
every brand including Scott, Smith, 509, Dragon, Thor, Pro Grip, Spy and
a few more. Every year we try out the newest models. A few years back
we would have a goggle with a tinted lense for day time riding and a goggle
with a clear or yellow lense for at night. With good
goggles this meant having to spend $75+
on each of them and having to pull over at dusk so everyone could swap.
Nobody wants to just swap lenses and its not fun to do in the dark in
the cold with frozen fingers.
Additionally:After several years of testing many goggles and lense combinations with different helmets, balaclavas, temps and light conditions we have found the top of the line Scott Goggles with a light sensitive lense (available separately if you can find one) and a Klim balaclava to be the best combination. The Scott 89XI was our favorite for a couple year then came along the Voltage Pro Air and Pro Air Sno-x and now the Hustle-our new favorite. The Pro Air Goggle is 1" shorter in height then the previous 89XI goggle so it fits in helmet openings better than the real tall goggles without pushing down on your nose and restricting your breathing while you ride. The Hustle is just a little smaller yet but it has the adjustable fit system which I will discuss below. They all come with a flexible but strong nose guard to prevent you from being hit with snow and ice chunks. You can trim the nosepiece to fit if necessary. If you can get a light sensitive lense it automatically tints for you in bright conditions, like on the commercials on TV for Transition Lenses, then back to clear at dusk or night. Otherwise most are sold with a rose lense which works great for most people. Other lenses are available. Scott also makes anti fog wipes, anti fog spray and now a automatic fan is available for the goggle if you need it. Most people don't have a problem with fogging using our recommended combination. The reason we chose the Klim balaclava is because the top half is all moisture wicking material with a stretch panel on the back to keep it snug on your face. The bottom half is a wind blocker so your neck stays warm if you tuck it in. On real cold days you can tape off the front vents on most helmets to restrict the cold air from hitting your mouth and chin or add on one of those half masks. The eye opening is just the right size with just enough stretch that it can be warn above or below the mouth. Have a look, it can be purchased here: Scott Goggles The picture below is the Scott Voltage Pro Air Goggle (same is the Pro Air Snow Cross) shown with the stock photo and an amber lense it comes with. Once again we recommend the Light Sensitive lense that is sold separately if you can find one as they have been discontinued.  NEW FOR 2011 and 2012 For the 2011-2012 season is the Scott Hustle Snowcross goggle-our new favorite. The frame height is about 1/8" less than the Voltage Pro Air and the top vent has been moved for a better fit and more visibility. It also has the nice reduced contoured nose foam and the Hustle foam is also adjustable on the bottom on both sides of the nose for the perfect fit-called the "Fit System." So far, this goggle frame fits into more helmets better than any other goggle we have tried over the years. The stock photo is below with the silver chrome lense option. The goggle does come with the nose guard pictured below and a smaller nose guard is also available. 
 The Hustle Sno-X Goggle available on our Scott Goggle page here SCOTT Fit System - 2 adjustable face foam cams with 4 positions each. This is what makes this goggle fit the best and become our new favorite. Scott fit system video And the Klim balaclava. 
Most goggles have too much lense that is not used resulting in a large frame, poor fit, wont fit into helmets well, smashes against the lower part of your nose instead of being up on the bridge and all of the rest of the problems. If your goggles are smashed up against the top of your helmet opening then they can breath properly which can cause fogging. I've been riding with the new Pro Airs and Hustle Goggles since we were given samples at a dealer only ride, the UP300, last year starting in the fall with the dirt version and then all winter with the snow version. The snow version has extra foam on the top and bottom and the dual pane lense. For a better fit in some helmets, you may want to trim off some of the extra foam on the top of the goggle. On the Hustle goggle, you may want to trim a little on the lower foam around the nose too. Additional features: Many of the new Scott goggles have contoured foam around the nose and a few models, like the Hustle are even adjustable with a flat blade screw driver to insure the best fit and seal around your cheeks and nose. By having the contoured nose foam the goggle is less likely to restrict your breathing. Some goggles appear that they will work fine when you try them on at the store and they are high up on your face and the bridge of your nose however when you get home and put them in your helmet they feel terrible, usually because now they are lower on your face. They dont seal on your face and smash you nostrils down. You should always buy your helmets and goggles together as a set to insure the best fit and venting to prevent hard breathing and fogging over. Goggle comparison: The right model of Scott's, in short, with a light sensitive lense (read the first post if your not familiar with the LS lense) or stock rose lense or just a clear lense is usually the best goggle to have. Let me explain. We sell all the major goggle brands. 509's have really great graphics and for those who have not had on better goggles may not notice any downfalls right off the bat especially if your not trying them on with your helmet. They sell great over the internet. However, many people complain that they restrict there breathing and have an optical problem like trying to look through water. You can see this same problem in most regular snowmobile helmets at will call it the 10 and 2 O'clock positions. They don't currently have a light sensitive lense so you need 2 goggles or lenses for day and night riding. The 509 Aviator goggle is so huge and heavy it wont even fit into most helmets. I would say its more for the guy who is all about bling and or just hasn't had anything better yet. Now on the other hand, when people are in the store making a helmet and goggle purchase and trying them all on the Scott's are the easiest sell. Even if its a $80 Scott goggle and a additional $24 light sensitive lense or $18 clear lense. Scott has a triple layer foam on the upper end goggles and a contoured nose. Both work. Now they have added adjusters on the lower face foam and frame for a perfect fit. The frame is not too tall which is the problem Oakley, Spy, Dragon and some other mfgs have. Every year we get new goggles to test and were always having the best results with the new Scott's or were putting our old Scott's back on. Lately they have put on better graphics so that helps them compete with some of the better graphic out there but even if they were plain black I would still buy the goggle that works/fits the best and helps me see in all light conditions day or night. With all of this being said, certain helmets have small openings and venting problems that can effect the goggles ability to vent too. There are also different shaped heads, cheeks and noses that can also play a roll. But, for the average size Joe or Shelia who is an aggressive rider, Scott's are the ticket. If you want to know the ups and downs on just about any goggle call me. Light Sensitive lense comparison: Every goggle company will say they are working on it however this has been going on for years now. To my knowledge Scott and Pro Grip were the only 2 companies to have a Light sensitive goggle. The Scott lenses tinted 3 times darker than the Pro Grips and everything still looked natural. The Pro Grip ones change all the colors and things looked orange or yellowish. Scott ran into trouble with there current mfg of the LS lenses and is having trouble finding another company who can duplicate the difficult process so I think the other companies are really going to be behind if Scott is having difficulties getting it done. Just grab a Scott LS lense if you can find one and pull half of it out of the box and take it out in direct sunlight. You will see it change right away to a dark blue. Then pull the rest of the lense out for comparison. Its simply amazing. Breath Guards: Most breath guards do not fit in the new open face helmets and goggles with the nose guards very well. When used with an MX style helmet they can actually have a worse effect by funneling your breath up on both sides of your nose and actually cause your goggles to fog worse. Fog evader and most neoprene masks that go over your nose can have the same negative effect. If you want to break the wind more simply tape off your front vents from inside your helmet or pop the nose piece out and put plastic behind the foam. Our current favorite helmets: AFX FX 19-our current #1 choice at $99, the FX 17 $79 or the 509 $179ish (they are basically identical minus the graphics) or the new UFO for $450-500. Scott fit system video Scott Goggles AFX Helmets |
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