Product test
Spherical mips and toric shapes: High-tech from Giro for piste and freeride
by Patrick Bardelli
How good are last winter’s best ski goggles? I put them to the test
27.10.2022
Translation: Megan Cornish
Last year, the Out Of Electra Black was awarded the gold medal at the world’s largest sports trade fair. A chip in the ski goggles automatically adjusts how much light passes through the lens. Or, in other words, say goodbye to annoying lens changes at the edge of the piste.
Skiing in the sunshine is awesome. In foggy conditions, however, it becomes a different sport. For me at least. If I can no longer see the contours in the snow, my skiing style becomes passive and I lean back more quickly, losing control of my skis. The result? It’s less fun, much more strenuous and the risk of injury increases. That’s why good ski goggles are an essential part of your equipment. But which ones are good?
A chip replaces interchangeable lenses
Out Of has another solution to the problem of changing visibility: a chip and an LCD lens. The chip works continuously to adapt the light transmission of the LCD glass to the ambient light. It doesn’t need battery power; a small solar cell supplies the chip with the necessary energy.
This works amazingly well and the goggles adapt to lighting conditions in fractions of a second. When the sun shines, they darken; when clouds roll in, they brighten. Last year, the Italians’ new technology won the gold medal in the winter sports category at ISPO, the largest sports trade fair in the world.
Electra Black specs
My first impression: very expensive, but very good
And we’re back to talking about price, or rather our own value system. Are you willing to invest over 400 francs in ski goggles? They may be very good ski goggles, with innovative technology that actually works. But they’re still just ski goggles.
Or to put it simply: yes, I’d like these goggles. They really impressed me on my two test days. But first I have to save up after buying expensive ski pants last winter, among other things. But who knows, maybe the Electra Black will soon be available with a bit of a discount. Hello, Black Friday.
Patrick Bardelli
Senior Editor
Patrick.Bardelli@digitecgalaxus.chFrom radio journalist to product tester and storyteller, jogger to gravel bike novice and fitness enthusiast with barbells and dumbbells. I'm excited to see where the journey'll take me next.
Winter sports
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