For this weeks Staff Picks I’ve gone with the Julbo Aerospace Goggle.
The major selling point is what Julbo call the SuperFlow System. This system allows you to pop the entire lens in and out of the frame. When I first heard about this I thought it was probably a bit gimmicky and would just leave a small gap between the lens and the frame somewhere but wouldn’t, in reality, be that effective. I’ve certainly read plenty of descriptions of goggles which read something like ‘large airflow system prevents fogging’. I’ve probably written some, yet I’ve never owned a pair of goggles immune to fogging.
Although I don’t own a pair (yet) and haven’t used them, the SuperFlow system is definitely much better than I thought. It moves the lens just under a centimetre away from the frame all the way around, though the pop out system attaches to the rest of the goggle at the sides. This is clearly a bigger gap than any other goggle I’ve seen, and even then they tend to have foam or mesh which will slow the airflow. I’m yet to discover whether they are completely immune to fogging, but I have no doubt that at least they will clear quickly without having to take them off and wipe them if they do fog.
The mechanism for popping the lens out is admittedly not perfect. I’ve sat at my desk and popped the lens in and out with the goggle in front of me, on my head and on my head wearing gloves (my colleagues think I’m losing it). Once you’ve had a look and seen how it works it’s easy enough to do in front of you and pretty easy to do with the goggles on your head. I did struggle to pop it out with gloves on (Hestra Army Leather Gore-Tex if you were wondering) whilst it was on my head, but then realistically if I need to pop the lens out I’m almost certainly going to be in a position where taking a glove off (can be popped 1 handed) is not going to be an issue. Popping the lens back in is easy - just push it back in and squeeze the edges together.
The other feature I really like about these is the photo chromatic lens which darkens and lightens depending on the light level. The Aerospace comes with an option of a cat 1 – 3 Zebra Light lens or a cat 2 – 4 Cameleon lens. This means you don’t have to faff around changing lenses on chair lifts, in the chalet, in the hut, at the bar etc. This should also mean that the lenses last longer – I’m careful not to scratch my lenses, but after 3 or 4 seasons they are looking worse for wear and I think the best way to keep a lens new is to keep it in the goggle.
Now with all this snow around when can I get out skiing?
View the Julbo Aerospace Cameleon
View the Julbo Aerospace Zebra Light
ABOUT STAFF PICKS
Throughout the week the staff at Facewest are constantly coming across all the stuff that’s on our website. As a result we often discover handy little features or particularly innovative or well designed aspects on many of the products we stock. Each week throughout the winter season there’ll be a short blog post from one of the staff at Facewest on a product they happen to have come across which really stands out, for whatever reason, as a great bit of kit.