UKH

Just looking on the Screwfix website for safety googles for strimming and the like - my dad always asks for the most exciting birthday presents! - and was impressed by the look, price and compactness of many in comparison to ski googles. My clear Bolle ski googles are so old the foam over the vents has powdered away, so now snow can just fall into them! So I was wondering if anyone who only uses googles for UK winter climbing/walking has tried safety googles instead of ski googles? Are there any big differences? Do they steam up more than ski googles? etc.

I rarely use googles when out, even for skiing, but I know how desperate it can be when you don't have them in awful weather so need a pair. I've used some Bolle safety glasses for cycling at the recommendation of someone on UKC and they're great when you don't want sunnies on, they even look cool! So wondering if safety google would do the same for winter climbing.

In reply to TobyA:
Hi
I done exactly what you are asking with a spare pair of bolle safety glasses "a decent pair" only a few weeks ago on a gully climb. They frosted up bigtime as soon as the spindrift hit them it stuck like glue and steamed up too even though they aren't ment to steam up.
It was a nightmare. Ski goggles are top of my list to buy asap.

In reply to TobyA:

I can highly recommend the smoked lens Bolle Contour safety glasses too. I wear them on the bike in preference to my Oakleys, frankly. £9 a pair, and £8 for the clear ones. Just bought another couple of pairs.

However, having been out in rubbish weather on the bike last weekend, they do steam up as soon as you stop, and if it's cold, steam up at traffic lights and the like. Not sure they'd be any good in a gully without a decent airflow. Mind you, a cycling cap stops rain going down the inside, so that combination might work.

However, bets bet is to get down to TK Maxx. They always have goggles for about £10 it seems. The 'Sinner' ones I have do well.

In reply to TobyA:

I've yet to find any ski or safety goggles that don't steam up when you're breathing hard (most of the time for me!). The Petzl visor (vizion?) on the other hand is brilliant for face and eye protection - never steams up despite my snorting

In reply to ryan p:

Cheers Ryan - thats a pretty definite no from your experience then!

In reply to nniff:

It was your recommendation that made me buy exactly them, but yes - even though they are wraparound I sort of presumed they would be leaky in a snow storm so haven't thought to try them on the hill in winter conditions. Great for biking though.

Might check in TKmaxx - thanks for the tip - although I don't want big huge, mirrored or very dark ski googles as you often see. Decathlon do some cheap ski google so might be worth a look there too. I think my old Bolle's were sold for night skiing in particular, hence were clear. It's quite normal to ski under lights at Finnish resorts so you could easily find clear google in Finnish sports shops. But it seems in the UK orange lenses are sold for UK low light conditions.

In reply to iksander:

I had one for a couple of seasons and really liked it. I found even flipped up it gave lots of protection - like you can see here youtube.com/watch?v=AdLYodSttjg& but the actual visor bit snapped at the hinge attachment. It was 30 quid to buy a replacement visor part - just that flexi bit of thin perspex or whatever it was! Having paid less than that for the whole thing in some sale, it just seemed outrageously expensive so I've never got round to fixing it.

In reply to TobyA:

I wouldn't bother taking mine out again anyway. Not even as a backup as they frosted far to fast and to be fair it wasn't even that cold only windy as hell

In reply to TobyA:

I hate goggles but since getting a pair of these have worn them more than ever before: http://www.facewest.co.uk/Julbo-Plasma.html

In reply to TobyA:

I have a pair of bolle tactical goggles. Fogged eveytime I've used them. Now switched to a cheap pair of julbo ski goggles and been very happy.

In reply to J_Trottet:

Interesting, so there does seem to be something about ski goggles. I've seem military dudes wearing Bolle tactical ones and the look just like my clear Bolle ski ones, but somehow they must be different. Cheers!

In reply to TobyA:

Without knowing much about the bolle tactical ones, my guess would be that the ski ones have a double layer lens. I have plenty of good mountain biking goggles with antifog lens, but theyre single layer and useless in cold weather. The double layer lens makes a big difference. Unfortunately it can be tricky to get hold of them in clear tint.

In reply to TobyA:

Costco also do budget price goggles this time of year: had a Bolle set that's been fine for a few year's general use.

You can also pick up some bargain beer at the same time

In reply to TobyA:

I tried using safety glasses as a last resort before having to get the goggles out the bag but found they were forever steaming up or being plastered with snow while climbing. You might be able to minimize the steaming up a bit by applying anti-fog coatings the night before.

I ski a lot (up as much as down) as well as climb and find good goggles go a long way! I get what you mean about not having them on if you don't need them but I find they do a much better job than single lense glasses.
I spend a decent amount of time on the hill before it's light which gave me the idea of using my mtb goggles which have a clear lense. They give pretty good vision even in minging Scottish conditions and they tend to be a bit less bulky than ski goggles. Maybe worth a look?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/goggles?f=2258

In reply to TobyA:

Clear Goggles? http://m.needlesports.com/2068/products/julbo-plasma-goggle-clear-category-...
Worth every penny if they keep you seeing where your going in winter.

In reply to TobyA:

Do you know about the biker tip of rubbing a tiny bit of washing up liquid onto visors to help reduce/prevent them from steaming up?

I guess it might work with goggles and safety specs etc too....?

In reply to TobyA:

Mr Sheen spray polish on both sides of a pair of B&Q £3 safety specs. Sorted.

In reply to TobyA:

Glad that I have my uses!

Not had a problem with my Sinner ones form TK Maxx - yellow lens - slightly darker than clear, but a whole lot better than a face full of snow. However, I've got one of those Grivel Salamander helmets with a clip-on peak (it's not really a visor). It directs spindrift coming downhill away from your face and, if something solid comes down, it folds down to protect your nose and then pops back up again.

Some say that slings get tangled in them, but I don't try and take long slings off over my head and have never had a problem. Naff all use for walking off into a blizzard though.

In reply to Jim Fraser:

Is this years of experience Jim, or a good sounding idea you've been meaning to try out? And does it have to be Mr Sheen or would Tesco generic polish be as good!?

In reply to TobyA:
Always wear safety glasses now (not goggles) after being hit in the eye with a golfball sized piece of ice - amazing pain and worrying trip to A&E, but all fine. I use them for safety and not blizzards, but they are pretty good with the latter. I tend to only wear them belaying and seconding as no ice coming down when leading and they do tend to steam up leading but typically not when seconding/ if they do steam up I just push them down my nose a bit and look over the top. Glasses are really easy on and off and in the Napoleon pocket before you set off on the lead. The best bit about wearing safety glasses is you can still look up when small bits of ice are coming down and watch for the big ones to dodge. For me they are as essential as a helmet now. Any cheap pair is fine, but I use the sunglass type as they are more comfortable.

In reply to TobyA:

I've used some kind of bolle safety glasses in a few blizzards. They have protected the eyes, and are very light (thus always get carried in winter), but they've usually got wet inside as I'm putting them on and then given crap vis. The strap also came off last time I used them as well (they can be used like sunglasses, which was what I did last time - I don't know if that makes them more likely to come off and get lost though - probably). Misting up was not really an issue, as it was big droplets instead (so if there weren't droplets, I don't know how susceptible to misting they were)

In summary they're okay, but leave things to be desired.

In reply to TobyA:
I've been using these for a while: driving snow, helicopter ops. My experience of motorcycle visors tells me that cheap polish does not work but that particular brand does. There may be other brands that work.


(Also bought a pair of yellow-tinted to experiment with at night when using LED headtorch. This is to avoid blue light after effect.)

In reply to iksander:


I made the mistake of wearing the Vizion visor on one of those days when the spindrift seems to be blowing simultaneously up as well as down the route, and going 50mph in both directions. Great for settled conditions, though wearing a head torch means you can't flick the visor up. I'm a fan of straightforward safety specs, unless truly awful conditions, when the trusty ski goggles come out.

Amazed how few winter climbers wear eye protection, especially given the risks on ice routes. But having had a substantial corneal abrasion due to a chunk of ice pinging back out of a placement, I suppose I'm more painfully aware of the risks. The alternative is to close your eyes every time your tool is about to hit the ice, which is a right faff.

In reply to TobyA:

I got these a couple of years ago:

http://www.screwfix.com/p/bolle-pilot-safety-goggles/1227F?kpid=1227F&c...

Used them in a hoolie on the cairngorm plateu for about 5 minutes before giving up and just pulling my buff over my head. There's a reason clear ski goggles are £40 and not £12.

They make great safety glasses for work though!

I am using Bolle Mojo Ski Goggles for climbing in shitty conditions.
Clear double lenses and comfortable thick padding foam.

Ones like that:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Boll%C3%A9-Bolle-Mojo-Ski-Goggles/dp/B00A9T9C4C

A tip buying goggles is to try those with and without a helmet. A lot of non-ski goggles are not comfortable or leave open gaps then worn with helmets.

Double lens is important to keep steam away. It work in a same way as double glass in windows: keep warm air inside, a buffer between and a cold air outside.

In reply to Jim Fraser:

Does the Mr sheen need to be applied as a one off, or every time you use them?

In reply to nutme:

Another vote from Bolle Mojo ski goggles.

I went for the 'lemon' coloured lenses. I stop noticing the colour two minutes after putting them on, but there does seem to be an advantage in terms of contrast in snow-clad landscapes, yet at the same time they let enough light through even in a blizzard on top of Cairn Gorm. No steaming up either. Can't say I've tried them around twilight or dawn though, and everything looks rather blue for a couple of minutes after taking them off.

Having just spent a week on the Ben using these in pretty foul conditions, I can heartily recommend them: http://www.bolle-safety.com/safety-spectacles/silium-silpcsp. The CSP coating is miraculously effective against fogging. Far better even than my previous safety specs. No substitute for ski goggles if conditions truly awful though.

In reply to hpil:


Not every time. They are not getting battered with road dirt at #%*mph like on a motorcycle visor so that little coat of wax seems to last a while.