Coming in as one of the top snow goggles in the market today for quite a few years now, we wanted to get an in-depth review going of the Oakley Flight Deck goggles. We’re huge fans of the brand as many others are as well, but what does this particular goggle have to offer as compared to the many other highly reviewed models out there? A better, fresher look? That beloved “O” on the side of the strap? Not quite. This particular snow goggle has some awesome optics technology, anti-fog, an easy lens swapping mechanism, and more. Let’s get into detail what the Oakley Flight Deck goggles are all about.
Main features of the Oakley Flight Deck
- High Definition Optics (HDO)
- Also available with PRIZM (just $20 or so more)
- Rimless lens design
- F3 anti-fog coating
- Plutonite Lens Material
- Discreet frame notches at temple
- RX eyewear frame compatible
- Easy attachment and lens swapping (lens sub-frame attachment)
- Rigid lens carrier
- Triple layer face foam (moisture wicking polar fleece)
- O Matter faceplate
- Medium to large fit
- Dimensions: 4.05″ x 7.25″
Build of the Flight Deck goggles
As always in our reviews and especially for snow goggles, we recommend the first factor to keep in mind when buying a snow goggles are their build. We mean not only the materials that are used but special technology they incorporate into the frame, lenses and strap. For the Oakley Flight Deck, the first highlight we have is the rimless lens design — not only does that give you the newer look, but a bit more vision in terms of your peripheral. There’s also an incorporated frame notch that are pretty unnoticeable for those who wear glasses (most RX eye wear frames).
In terms of comfort, we have a nicely made face foam here. This is important to us because a lot of other lower-end goggles are going to get itchy and even some pain at times especially if you’re riding for a long amount of time. The Flight Decks have three (triple) layers of polar fleece foam — a pretty fancy and expensive foam that’s moisture-wicking along with comfortable to get us covered in that regard. The strap is also silicone-backed to make sure the goggles don’t slip (how annoying is that?) on helmet surfaces when you ride.
The Oakley Flight Deck lens technology
What we like about their lens tech is the “High Definition Optics (HDO)” — as compared to many other cheaper-made lenses (for a cheaper price, albeit) that at times magnify or make objects shift from their actual position, the HDO helps give us a clearer, accurate image in front of us while we ride. It meets the ANSI standards to give us some more confidence in trusting it’s capabilities. On top of the HDO, you’re also combining it with something called Plutonite lens material which is impact resistant and blocks 100% of UVA, UVB and UVC (different types of sun rays). They also use this technology in their famous sunglasses.
We can’t forget about snow goggle anti-fog, can we? Let’s see how the Flight Deck holds up, considering a few other goggles in this price-range have some super specialized anti-fog tech (like turbo fans, 5X layers, etc.). Oakley’s integrated solution for pesky fogging in this one is called “Anti Fog F3” — it’s a coating on the inner lens. It gives us some unrestricted airflow and easy breathing. It gets rid of that ‘white wall’ effect that sometimes happens when you change temperatures. The F3 coating is thermally cured, which helps eliminate the chances of fogging (aka condensation, which is a ultimately a result of temperature change and moisture).
Additional standout goggle features
Before we conclude, let’s talk about one more main feature — Oakley prizm. Aside from being about $20 extra, is it worth going for the styles labeled with that “Prizm” word at the end of the title? In our opinion, yes it is. Prizm is Oakley’s latest creation they incorporate in almost all of their lenses for most sports. What it does is fine-tunes the vision for certain environments. Their claim is that it lets you see more detail while you ride due to reduced depth perception snowboarders and skiers often face. They spent about 15 years studying the color spectrum for various environments and attempted to find dyes that were able to absorb certain “peaks” in the spectrum that riders often face that usually go unnoticed by other lenses. This lets your lens become more versatile to adapt themselves to more lighting conditions — we’re starting to get into lens makes that is slowly depleting the need for lens swapping. There isn’t as much of a change in Total Light Transmission so your eyes don’t have to adapt to the changing conditions as often (think when you go from a shady area to a sunny area or around a tree).
For some more info, t his is a great video on prizm technology.
In conclusion of the Oakley Flight Deck goggles
As compared to others, we’d say the Smith I/O 7 give these a run for their money, or if you wanted something just a tad bit cheaper that still offers some high-end technology like this one, we love the Anon M3 as well. If you want even more popular models to compare and contrast before you make your purchase, be sure to read our 10 best snow goggles guide as well.
All in all, the Oakley Flight Deck goggles are a supreme pair of snow spectacles to keep you covered on the mountain not only in terms of aesthetics, but anti-fog, comfort, and clearer vision that most lenses out there in the market today. Oakley isn’t just a nice little brand name, and although their prices are definitely a bit higher than most because of their marketing with stars like Shaun White and the like, this technology speaks for itself, especially if you with a Prizm style — it’s more of a question of why not have this special technology to pair up with your riding to make sure your vision is as clear as can be?
