AS eyewear turns away from the nearly invisible trend of rimless and begins to focus upon full-rimmed styles that are obvious, bold, and colorful, frame companies are beginning to offer new design concepts. One that has some impressive built-in style and attitude is the goggles arena.
Ogling Goggles Goggles are a pair of tight-fitting eyeglasses designed to protect the eyes from hazards such as wind, glare, water, or flying debris. To be effective, they fit close to the eyes’ orbital rims and often have side shields. While they can be worn with clear lenses for daily ophthalmic use, they are most popular as sunwear for active outdoor types.
Image and More Your patients take on a whole new persona when they slip on a pair of goggles. Goggles are bold, they’re hip, they’re protective, and they’re unique. Just the word “goggles” conjures up images of action, adventure, exploration, and the star power of an Olympic swimmer, downhill skier, or a cyclist in the Tour de France. Here’s a look at what some of the leading sunwear manufacturers have on tap.
adidas Eyewear, Silhouette Optical Global Licensee The company recently launched Burna, a fog-free snow sports goggle. This goggle uses the ClimaCool™ ventilation system that channels air through strategically placed vents that directs it across the lens and away from the face. This manages moisture, which facilitates fog-free, clear vision. A soft, wide foam padding around the eye rims molds to the face to render protection from wind, dust, dirt, and other debris. The new Rx Performance Insert™ offers a convenient method for Rxing this goggle. The cylindrically shaped Vision Advantage™ polycarbonate lenses of the Burna are steeply curved sun lens filters that envelope the eyes and provide protection against sunlight including ultra-violet (UV) A, B, and C radiations.
Wiley X Eyewear by Protective Optics, Inc. Goggle styling in a sunglass is what Wiley X’s Climate Control eyewear offers. The AirRage is the Filter 8™ polarized version of the Climate Control series that serves well for skiing, riding mountain bikes, motorcycling, and other aggressive outdoor activities. This wrap frame has a modified teardrop lens shape and tapered temples that attach to an elastic strap. For added protection, the AirRage has a removable Facial Cavity™ Seal that hugs the orbital rim of the wearer to ward off wind, debris, and precipitation. Its “top- down” ventilation system promotes air circulation behind the lenses to resist fogging. Advertised as shatterproof, all Wiley X lenses are made of Selenite™ polycarbonate that exceed ANSI Z87.1, Z80.1, and Z80.3 standards. Their design helps eliminate distortion, giving the wearer clear, crisp vision. And, of course, all Wiley X lenses block 100% of UV rays. These features, combined with a wide range of performance-enhancing tints, work together to provide protective eyewear with high optical quality.
Panoptx Eyewear The protection and function of a goggle without the bulkiness are featured in Panoptx’s Velocity CV SR100 series. With a patented removable Orbital Seal Eye-cup™ that clips in place, Panoptx Velocity Series Eyewear creates a windproof, protective seal around the eyes. This contoured eyecup is also vented. The models for skiing and snowboarding have an easily removable eyecup to convert the eyewear into pair of premium sunglasses for everyday use. For motorcycling, fishing/ boating, skiing/snowboarding, and general everyday use, Panoptx offers the Bora, Churada, and Whirlwind in unisex styles and the Solano for women. All Panoptx lenses are made using NXT™ material. Originally created for windshield material in military helicopters, it is amazingly shatter resistant and able to withstand a direct blow from debris that can shatter or crack other lens materials. All Panoptx lenses, except those made expressly for the marine market, are anti-fog treated.
Liberty Sport A stylish selection of protective eyewear for many sports enthusiasts is featured in Liberty’s REC Specs MAXX series (Style Nos. MAXX 20, 21, 30, 31, 40, and 50). The MAXX series includes six impact-resistant styles. Four styles have temples with strap-on headband and two styles are goggles with the headband attached to the frame front. All MAXX frames are tested and meet ASTM F803 impact-resistance standards for racquetball, handball, tennis, basketball, squash, soccer, and paddleball when fitted with the appropriate polycarbonate lenses. They are also the only protective sports eyewear to receive the American Optometric Seal of Acceptance.
Rudy Project North America Unifying advanced design technology and materials, the Klonyx Snow from Rudy Project is a ski goggle that blends cutting-edge ergonomic features with maximum peripheral vision. For example, its removable Nose-Protector™ ensures comfort and protection for snow enthusiasts while offering breathability. Its removable optical insert holds a wide range of prescription powers so Rx wearers can enjoy it as well. Rudy Project’s Double Lens (DL) Technology has an outer lens made of scratch-resistant polycarbonate and an inner lens made of acetate. DL Technology prevents fogging by providing an insulated thermal barrier created by a sealed internal chamber bet-ween the outer and inner lenses. The high-resolution Kayvon™ Red equalizer lens filter guarantees protection from UV rays and enhances edge detection contributing to the reduction of reaction time. Ideal under poor lighting or poor visibility due to haze, fog, or flat light conditions, this filter renders optimal eye protection while offering excellent visual clarity on sunny days as well. The interchangeable outer lens offers versatility.
Julbo The newest addition to Julbo’s line of mountaineering eyewear is the Explorer. Because mountaineers are highly susceptible to eye damage from overexposure to sun and reflections at high altitudes, the glass was designed in conjunction with the French National School of Alpinism in France. The retro, wraparound profile design functions fashionably in high alpine environments. Airflow is incorporated into the design to prevent fogging. The temples are adjustable to 360° and have an attached cord to provide a tight, but soft and comfortable fit. The Explorer is available with Julbo’s 6.00D-base curve polarized photochromic Cameleon® lens that adapts to changing light-ing conditions. The Explorer also comes with Julbo’s glass Altitude Arc anti-reflective lenses offering 4% light tranmission, Active brown-out tint and flash mirror treatment, and Alti Spectron X6 anti-reflective polycarbonate lens with flash mirror treatment and 5% light transmission.
Zeal Optics Innovation is at the forefront with Zeal’s PPX Goggle. Not only does it offer polarization, but it has UV-activated photochromic capabilities as well. Top this off with a lightweight yet sturdy frame and you have everything skiers need to protect themselves on the slope. The goggles come in 20 style and color choices. Also available is an Rx insert and an exclusive high contrast polarized-only option. As rimless styles become less available and in demand, you can give your patients some style and a touch of attitude with goggle-style eyewear.
Dee Carew is a licensed optician and optometric tech at Maumee Center for Eye Care in Maumee, OH.
