Goggles, trendy safety gear

Snowboarding goggles are an extremely important safety aid as well as a performance-enhancing tool. The safety aspect is easy to understand. If you are rushing down a hill at a high rate of speed it is easy to see how you could catch a twig or other piece of debris in your eye. Even rain, snow and falling down can cause damage to your eyes. For this reason alone goggles are essential gear.

While safety may be the reason for purchasing your goggles, their function is what makes them really useful to the snowboarder. Eye protection that doesn't allow you to see what is going on around you is useless. In order to improve your ability to see your surroundings there are many options available to give you the best possible performance.

When shopping for goggles there are a few options that you do not have a choice about. Your goggles must fit your helmet properly and they should offer 100% UV blocking. UV rays can cause snow blindness and permanent eye damage over time.

The rest of the choices you make are totally up to you but should be guided by how you ride. One of the first options to consider is if you want a single or double lens. Single lenses are more affordable but double lens will not fog up nearly as fast.

The difference between the heat from your body and the air temperature causes your goggles to fog up. This implies that the key to avoiding the fogging of your lenses is to keep the temperatures on either side as close as possible to each other. The best way to do this is with venting and by using chemical treatments. Venting not only reduces fogging but it also provides fresh air for your eyes thus keeping them from becoming sore or tired during the day.

After selecting the number of lenses you need to decide what color of lens you would like. Each color of lens effects how well you can see in various light conditions.

Gold is the most generic filter as it blocks the blue spectrum of light thus making it suitable for use in almost any type of lighting. For sunny days you will want mirrored black iridium lens as it reduces glare and doesn't distort colors. Another option for bright sunny days is bronze colored lenses.

A good generic lens is silver-green as it enhances the contrast between colors. In low light conditions, such as overcast days, you can use either rose or purple colored lenses. These colors of lenses help you see details in the shadows and contours around you.

As with so many other things, planning is the first step towards a great day. Now that you know a little about goggles and what effects them you will be better prepared for snowboarding in any condition and will have the correct lenses for your style of riding. Remember you can't look good on the hill if you can't see well.

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