Gear Spotlight: Oakley Flow Scape

Goggles are sometimes misunderstood as fashion items, but our vision is one of the most important aspects while skiing. Simply remember the last time riding in a complete white-out. However, it’s not only about the contrast in difficult light, equally important is how well we perceive our immediate surroundings in our fast-action sport. A lot of this happens unconsciously, but how we sense the borders of our field of view, plays a role in how we choose our line, set our next turn or tweak our position during a trick. The better our vision, the better our choices will be.

Oakley is one brand that invests a lot to improve our vision in challenging situations. In fact, they have their own department that conducts general studies in vision, the Visual Performance Lab (VPL). The latest result of VPL is a new conical lens and frame design applied to the Flow Scape series, which brings the lens much closer to the face and thus opens up the skier’s field of view like never before. Oakley claims a 60% larger field of view than their previous top model, the Line Miner Pro. It’s a new benchmark in pure range of vision—and it’s not only big, it’s also outstandingly clear and free of distortion.

This latest progress in goggle design comes from the use of a new production process enabling Vision Rapt Face Foam, which is exclusive to the Flow Scape series. In contrast to classic foam that cushions the plastic frame against the skier’s face with a conventional design—which basically has the same thickness all around the frame—Vision Rapt Face Foam applies 3D-molding in order to use the right amount of thickness in every spot, hence bringing the frame and consequently the lens closer to the eyes. This reduced distance of the lens opens up a bigger field of view with the same surface area, but requires improved sculpting of the lens in order to keep distortion as low as possible. Of course, Oakley managed to handle this task which is helped by the introduction of the newest version of their Switchlock technology for effortlessly interchangeable lenses with reduced thickness.

The Flow Scape series comes in a variety of styles including several Signature Models—the Colby Stevenson Signature Snow Goggle deserves a special mention with its stylish strap pattern—and every goggle comes complete with two different lenses to ensure perfect vision in a wide variety of conditions from foggy to bluebird. Of course, each lens is built with Oakley’s Prizm technology for enhanced contrast and extra clarity even in the most challenging light conditions.

Oakley Flow Scape Colby Stevenson Signature Snow Goggles

€385 on Oakley.com

2 lenses included: Prizm Snow Black Iridium & Prizm Snow Iced Iridium

• Flow Scape: all-new conical lens & frame design with Vision Rapt Face Foam for 60% bigger field of view vs. Line Miner model.
• Updated Switchlock Technology for quick & effortless lens change—reduced bulk results in even less impact on lens clarity and distortion.
• Prizm lens technology fine-tunes contrast and reveals more detail in snow, sun and shade. Anti-fog treatment is fused directly to the outer lens to minimize distortion.
• 100% recycled material used for frame, sub-frame and outrigger, 75% recycled material used for strap (100% of the polyester, 0% of the silicone/elastane).