I’ve been hesitant to hit the ski slopes since moving back to the East Coast. This is due to memories of terrifyingly icy runs and bitterly frigid weather from my childhood. I’ve become spoiled living in the West Coast with powder snow and often lots of it in the Cascades. I finally got up my courage to return to the White Mountains a few weeks ago and went to Attitash Ski Mountain just outside of North Conway, New Hampshire. Thankfully it wasn’t too cold, but unfortunately the ice remained, a painful reminder of when I was in the learning phase of skiing. Ouch.
It was up at Attitash that I had the opportunity to test out the Boreas-Inversion Plasma White Goggles from Optic Nerve. I’ve been loyal to my Smith goggles, tried and true, but was anxious to test out something different, specifically interchangeable lens goggles.
Interchangeable lens come with more than one lens for different weather conditions, primarily sun related. For low light conditions that happen usually later in the afternoon or are particularly cloudy days, the Boreas-Inversion goggles include a lighter lens that allows more UV light to pass through. This makes for better visibility for darker conditions. The Boreas-Inversion model offers a total of 6 goggles with various color lenses, all for different conditions. I chose a Rose lens, as it’s recommended for generally bright conditions.
Optic Nerve boasts that the lenses can be changed with gloves on, and so I put this promise to the test. Sure enough, later in the afternoon I took off my goggles on the lift with caution and began to clean off the extra set. While it was semi-awkward due to lack of dexterity from the chunky gloves, I switched to the low light lens before getting off the lift at the top. It would’ve been easier to stop, take off my gloves, switch the lenses and then continue to charge, but who wants to do that? WIth practice I’ll improve.
The goggles fit snugly on my face and around my helmet, taking a small bit of cajoling to get a tight fit. I found I had excellent sight of my surroundings, particularly my peripheral vision, helping me to avoid the icy patches on the downhill. When I did take a fall, the goggles held up well, though they seemed to bend a bit, letting some snow into the sides against my face. I don’t think I could make the fit tighter to avoid this, I think it’s just a slightly weaker frame compared to my other goggles.
What I loved:
- Excellent peripheral vision, crystal clear sight.
- Fog-free experience.
- Look forward to enjoying less glare from the sun due to the mirror coating inside the double lenses.
- Price point is excellent in comparison to other interchangeable lens goggles.
Not so much:
- Takes a bit of cajoling to get a tight fit with the strap.
- During a fall some snow came in from the sides of the goggles, frame bent with impact.
- Frame seemed slightly flimsy. See above.
Bottom line: For an entry level interchangeable lens ski and snowboard goggle, the Boreas-Inversion is a solid choice.
The Boreas Inversion Plasma White Goggles can be bought for $119 here on the Optic Nerve website.