Positive Reviews:absolutely solid - if you know what you need | | Rating: |  | I've ridden the Crowbars in HI Yellow, HI Persimmon and Blue Iridium. All are amazing lenses for their respective conditions.
The HI Yellow's are great for overcast, snowy, foggy, rainy and night conditions. (Basically, the HI Yellow will slay any sort of low-light conditions.) The blue reflective coating makes them look better than a standard yellow lens as well.
The HI Persimmon is a great all-round lens. They're not perfect for bluebird days, but you won't squint too much. They're not perfect for night riding, but you wont' really strain your eyes for terrain clarity. They are, however, perfect for everything in between.
The Blue Iridium are a fantastic bright conditions lens. They are more versatile than Black Iridium or Fire Iridium, which are exceptional for bluebird but more or less one trick ponies for sunny days. The Blue Iridiums are a bit more versatile if the clouds roll in.
Don't get a lens just because it looks cool, and it will pay off for you with perfect clarity.
Oakley's Snow Goggle Light Transmission Ratings (DIFFERENT from what's listed on their website, which pertain only to sunglasses and not their goggles!)
Clear - 83%
HI Yellow - 81%
HI Persimmon - 63%
Persimmon - 62%
Pink Iridium - 57%
VR50 - 50%
G30 - 30%
Blue Iridium - 30%
VR28 - 28%
Gold Iridium - 20%
Black Iridium - 18%
Fire Iridium - 16% | | 66 at Backcountry.com on 01/22/2007 | Quality Control | | Rating: |  | I have the HI Persimmon, the Persimmon, and the Fire Iridium lenses. The Fires are perfect for blue bird days No squinting with those bad boys. the HI Persimmons are amazing for everything between night, and overcast/snowy days. They are probably the most versatile lens I have had for my Oakleys. The Persimmons I mainly use for powder days in the trees, because I like to cut things close with the trees, and sometimes close is a little bit too close resulting in a smack in the face by a tree branch. They are a good cheap lens that I am not afraid to thrash. They also seem to be good for mild lighting conditions. Oakley has the best eye wear in my opinion, and I am looking forward to using my lenses again next season... But if you are looking for a goggle, you should go with Oakley. These lenses are great for the areas that they are specified in, for sure. | | lon2521470 at Backcountry.com on 04/10/2009 | Had to have two! | | Rating: |  | I was forced to buy a new pair of goggles for this year after a new puppy to a liking to my Dragons from last year. What I didnt like about those (small lens, low peripherals) is what drove the Oakley purchase. These are awesome, huge viewing area fit well with my helmet (Giro 9 audio) and good style. I went with the HI persimmon, was going to wait for an end of year sale to pick up a HI yellow lens, but found a HI yellow pair on Steep n Cheap and couldn't wait so now I have two pair, oh darn. Oakley has always been at the top of the heap in terms of quality and customer service and nothing has changed. | | Matthew Bernard at Backcountry.com on 11/07/2008 | Clear lens works best for me in whiteout conditions | | Rating: |  | Hi Yellow has an 81% light transmission. Clear is 93%. It's a huge difference to me in white out conditions. The Hi-yellow lenses drove me nuts.
Maybe the yellow tint is better at picking up contrast but it's a major reduction in visibility compared to the naked eye. Obviously the blowing snow makes the naked eye bit problematic hence the clear lens.
Even without direct sun, if the cloud cover thins to the point where brightness increases then it can be too bright for the clears. Often this is only momentary so I just suck it up rather than switch in a diff lens.
I have a set of Fire Iridiums for sunny days but I usually wear sunglasses. | | Tony Jones at Backcountry.com on 03/23/2009 | mad quality | | Rating: |  | the lens of the crowbar is functionally the best part of the goggle. everything looks incredibly clear because of the HDO optics, and they snap in and out with ease for lens-switching. I personally use the fire iridium and HI yellow for bright and cloudy days respectively. I used to have a black iridium lens too that was great for bright days. I recommend the crowbar and all its lenses 100%.
another sick lens that dogfunk does not carry (or is out of stock) is the ruby clear lens. It looks like a regular clear lens from the inside, but has a red mirror on the outside. Sweet! | | Matt B at Dogfunk on 01/02/2010 | Great Replacement Lenses | | Rating: |  | I have a pair of Oakley Crowbars with High Intensity Persimmon lenses, and I wanted to get an additional pair of lenses that would be great for those bright blue-bird days. The High Intensity Persimmon lenses are really good in a wide variety of conditions, but one of the few if not the only weak spot of the lens was that it isn't great for really bright light. So I got the Fire Iridium lens and it is great for those sunny days. These lenses are not that hard to replace, just be careful when handling them and avoid touching the inside part of the lens. | | Jacob Frackman at Backcountry.com on 01/05/2010 | HI persimmon = pure function over fasion | | Rating: |  | WOW-EE-WOW-WOW!...its just one lens! how can it do so much!!! it takes the blinding sun factor out of bluebird days...increases contrast and definition in fog, snowstorms, and overcast...and at night it lights up the mountian like a bulb! (ok that last one is exagerrating but it works great at night) ONLY COMPLAINT is that it is very see-thru from the outside, and im all super-ficiall like that so i dont like see thru lenses...but for a see thru lense it has a cool, blue semi-reflective finish | | ylue&bellow at Backcountry.com on 03/02/2009 | H.I. Yellow | | Rating: |  | | I have the H.I Yellow, VR28 and the Persimmon. All are amazing both in clarity and durability. But I must say the HI yellow is the most versatile in all conditions. The contrast is great during whiteouts and works well during bluebird days. I will probably order a second set just as a backup. the VR28 is great in in shadows but flattens out too much of the contrast of the snow for me to identify bumps. | | Anonymous at Altrec on 11/10/2009 | Great Goggle Lenses | | Rating: |  | I have grey polarized, and hi amber polarized. They are expensive lenses, but i love the clarity and field of view. I love the polarized tints too. The hi amber is probably the most rounded lens of any lens out there. I got the grey as a spring ultra bright day lens. The choice is yours, check out oakley.com they have a cool lens tint thing you can see what the tints look like. | | jonathan.f2360420 at Backcountry.com on 10/21/2009 | Best All-Around Lens, No Doubt! | | Rating: |  | HI persimmon: prob the best overall/all-around lens oakley makes. PERFECT for overcast days which the east coast is infamous for, and still holds up to sunlight without blinding you (like the HI yellow or pink iridium would) and still brings out the light during night skiing (not extreme low light, but as long as your resort has some spotlights, which most do, you'll be fine. If you can only have one lens...... HI PERSIMMON! | | ogfeez at Backcountry.com on 10/02/2008 |
| Negative Reviews:almost better than not wearing gogs | | Rating: |  | persimmon lens is ok, and thats it...it doesnt excell in any condition but doesnt lack in any either, except one...ill just go over the spectrum -BRIGHT SUN: stay away! this is not dark enough by far, after a bluebird day everything looked pink...i immediately went and got a darker lens -STORM/SNOW/FOG: contrast is laughable but at least the lens is light enough to see in those condtions, the mountain wont look like its shrouded in shadow -OVERCAST: contrast sucks again, but the shade of the lens is good for overcast -NIGHT: hard to decipher anything different, ice/snow/guy dressed in white/jumps, its all hard to see cuz theres no definintion or contrast, but at least the shade is light enought to see at night BOTTOM LINE: this lens kinda sucks, but it will work if your pinching pennys and need an all around lens, just stay away from the sun and be prepared for everything to turn orange :-) | | ylue&bellow at Dogfunk on 04/08/2009 | rip off | | Rating: |  | you can by this lense at any shop that salls the goggels for 160 with no % off and u can all was wangle 10% off making it less then wat these guys are selling it for | | pfft at Backcountry.com on 07/09/2009 |
Neutral Reviews:Great optics, poor craftsmanship | | Rating: |  | The lens optics are great, however the lens split after 1 fall. Oakley didn't stand behind thier product and honor the warranty, so I had to buy the replacement. Love the optics, but am hugely disappointed in oakley. | | michiganwolves at Backcountry.com on 03/02/2009 |
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