Gear Test: Oakley Splice Goggles

The Splice Splice is Oakley's top of the line snow goggle running from $110 to $240 depending on what lens and color you get. The pair I have are $140 yellow frame/ High Intensity Yellow version I picked up for free at an Oakley dealer clinic. Bright yellow is not my style, but free is very much my style. I have been skiing and snowmobiling since I was 5 and have never had a pair of goggles that cost more that $40. The pair of Scott goggles I was using until I was given these I paid $40 for 7 years ago. They have been worn for countless ski days and a few snowmobile days and I only had to glue to foam back to the frame once a couple of years ago. They have never failed me or have I ever thought I need a new pair. But I will never turn down free and I figured the least I could do is write a post on these since I got them for free.

I was interested to see what that extra $100 got you. Oakley is known for their great optics. They have brought a level of clarity to composite lenses that no one before them had. I will admit, these are a bit sharper and more clear than my $40 Scott's. But I don't know if it they are $100 sharper and clearer. They do fit well with very little pressure on my nose as advertised. They stayed tight on my face, they didn't fog up even after I wrecked and filled them with snow. The top vents iced up, but they still didn't fog. I have the high intensity yellow lenses which are supposed to be great for the gray, overcast, low light conditions we frequently have here in the Pacific Northwest.

I have worn these a couple of days up now, and have no complaints. The lens tint works well in low light conditions, they are comfortable, fog free and have great, crisp, clear optics. The only problem is, that describes my $40 Scott goggles as well. The $40 Scott's don't have as clear of lenses, aren't as comfortable, or as fog free, but I don't know if the Splice's better performance equal a price almost 4 times as much. Bottom line is that if I were shopping for new goggles, I would probably still buy the $40 Scotts and throw the $100 I just saved in the ski trip fund.

Dave