When asked what we’d like to see in terms of a review or something I said “how about a run-down on a few popular spherical goggles?” If you’re considering a pair of these, hopefully this guest post helps you decide which ones are  best for you. With the intro out of the way, here is team member Kyle Bihler’s take on the Oakley Crowbar and the Electric EG2

This season I decided to put two different snowboard goggles into my arsenal. I chose the Oakley Crowbar and the Electric EG2. I wanted to have goggles with spherical lenses and both of these fit the bill. A spherical lens refers to the shape of the lens itself. Spherical lenses have a curvature of a ball, whereas a flat, regular lens is curved like a cylinder. The idea is that the spherical shape reduces visual distortion as well as glare, because it is shaped like your eyeball.

Oakley Crowbar:

Oakley was one of the first goggle manufactures to get into the spherical lens game and their goggles definitely reflect that fact. The Crowbar has continued to be a flagship goggle in Oakley’s line. They have signature struts that protrude out from the frame. This is to distribute pressure evenly across the face. The spherical lens barely distorts anything at the far peripherals. The goggle hardly fogged up. They did get a scratch or two over the season, but nothing more than you get with normal wear and tear. Awesome goggle overall.

Lens Colors: I had two different lenses for the Oakley goggles, the Black Iridium and the HI Yellow. The Black Iridium was awesome in the bright sun and was pretty good in variable conditions, but when it was totally cloudy they were a bit dark to see very well. However that is when I used the HI Yellow. This lens is fantastic in dark, cloudy conditions; it really brings out the detail in the snow that would otherwise be hard to see. Be careful in the sun though, they make everything extra bright.

Electric EG2:

Electric also has a great spherical lens goggle offering. The EG2 is Electric’s flagship model. These are easy to spot because they have a very big oversized lens. This allows for a great field of view. Your peripheral vision is hardly obstructed by the frame itself with little visual distortion. This is great because you can see every out of control skier flying your way. As far as fogging up, they never did. The goggles held up good but I would say they scratched a bit easier than the Oakley’s. I may have been to blame, cause I did eat it once on my face with the Electric’s. All in all, it is a great goggle.

Lens Colors: The lens that I had on the Electric, was the Bronze tint. This lens can basically do it all, but it is best suited in the sunny to variable light conditions. I didn’t have the luxury of having two lenses for these goggles but I would say the Bronze lens on the Electric did better in the low light than the Black Iridium.

Pricing:

Both of these are at the high end with the Oakley Crowbar going from $100 – $170 depending on lens, and the Electric EG2 starts at $140. This is on par with other spherical lens goggles. Personally, I think it is worth more to see really well out there. These two goggles both offer some of the most optically correct lenses that I have used. If you take good care of these goggles, they can last you a handful of snowboard seasons, easy.

Summing it up:

If I had to choose a winner in my little season long test, I would have to go with the Oakley over the Electric. But I’ll admit, it is probably due more to style points than a performance difference. The Crowbar looks good, is light weight and has a huge offering of lenses to suite your needs.

About the Author

Kyle Bihler is a seasoned snowboarder and member of the Eternal Snow team. Located in Reno, NV but serving everyone everywhere via the worldwide web, EternalSnow.com offers a wide variety of snowboarding gear from women’s snowboards to all types of snowboard boots, outerwear and accessories. Even in the summer, they’ve got a huge wall full of snowboards available for ya:

the shop floor at Eternal

Size: 159cm
Stance: regs 15/-15, 24″ wide (Dave), regs 18/-12, 23.5″ wide (Leo)
Shape: True Twin With Banana Rocker
Bindings: Union Force
Dave’s stats: 6′, 210 lbs
Leo’s stats: 5’9″ 180 lbs

Conditions: Boyne Mountain (Boyne Falls, MI). Hardpack & icy, super cold a little sun but mostly clouds.

Hot orange FTW!

Flex:

Dave says: No surprises, I felt the Banana was slightly stiffer than middle-of-the-road flex.

Leo says: Yup.  About mid flex for me as well.  This is mainly due to the 159cm size.  The 156 I rode last year was mid-softish.

Ollie/Pop:

Dave says: An all mountain shred stick should deliver some good pop for your ollies, nollies and playing around on natural features. My cheat sheet from Test Fest simply says “pop” so it  impressed me as slightly better than average in this department.

Leo says:  Just average for me.  I said it about last year and I’ll say it again this year.  PUT MORE POP IN IT LIB TECH!  The Skate Banana is such a highly regarded stick.  It should have the pop to match that reputation.  I want to see Ride level pop in their boards.

Handling:

Dave says: In an all mountain deck I like to have some stability and the Skate Banana delivered there. Turn initiation was good and responsive however it is a full reverse camber so there is definitely a looser skate-like feel when riding this board. I really liked the Magnetraction edges on all of the Mervin boards we rode at Test Fest and the Skate Banana was no exception.  It held a pretty decent edge event at speed and on the firm hardpack or icy spots, thanks to the MTX.

Leo says:  The 159 definitely handled better than the 156 I rode from last year on faster runs.  Still wouldn’t be my choice for steep runs, but completely doable.  The Banana Rocker is a great camber profile and I have no complaints about it.  Super fun for messing around.  Definitely not as pronounced as some Burton rockers with that crazy scoop in the middle so it doesn’t feel too loose.  Edge to edge has always pleased me on the Skate Banana and it is responsive.  Magnetraction is great for hardpack/icey conditions.  Some say it feels grabby at times.  I don’t really notice it.  That shouldn’t deter anyone from getting a MTX board though.  Just go over the edges with a normal edge tool and you’re good to go.

Jibs/Playfulness:

Dave says: It’s reverse camber of course you can press, butter and jib. The reverse camber combined with a pretty good amount of pop really lets you make the whole mountain your park.

Leo says:  Well, it is called a SKATE Banana.  I don’t know about you, but I’d definitely call BS if it didn’t lend to my freestyle antics.  I only hit some wide boxes on this thing.  Felt good underfoot.  Presses and buttering was fun.

Pricing:

Dave Says: The nanner retails for $489 which is the new black in terms of price points. It seems like a reasonable price, and at least it is competitive with other boards.

Leo says: I have nothing.  David said it all.

Dave’s Take: It was nice to be on a board that wasn’t a 155 so this one fit me a little better than most we rode. Overall it was a loose, playful full-reverse all-mountain stick. Full rocker makes it a little forgiving but the MTX gives it some bite. I still hesitate to recommend reverse camber for beginners, so this would be a good board for intermediate riders looking to progress their riding all around the mountain.

Leo’s Take: I usually hate hype.  Here’s why: when something gets as much hype as the Skate Banana and Union bindings, it raises my expectations greatly.  What normally happens is I end up comparing it to my favorite products in the same category.  The Skate Banana isn’t a bad board by any means.  It’s actually a really fun board and I wouldn’t mind having one.  I do recommend it a lot to people.  The thing is, I have several other true twin rockered boards on my list in that price range that I would much rather have.  The Skate Banana, in my opinion, is not “The best friggen board ever!” like I was led to believe.  It’s just another solid fully rockered, true twin option.  The deciding factor for me on this board would be the magnetraction.  So if you have a short list of boards similar to the Skate Banana that you are trying to decide between, consider the terrain you ride most.  Lots of hardpack and ice?  The Naner should be on the very top of that list.  I recommend this board for intermediate-advanced all-mountain freestyle riders. 

This being my first year back after a 10 year hiatus I was riding an early 2000’s M3 155. It was regular camber, a little long, stiff as all get out and just not very user friendly. But it was cheap! After about 6 times out around southern Michigan I was sick of the old tech and wanted to step up to something fresh with some new technology and bit more user friendly. I was advancing quickly and felt that a board that was more my style would bring that skill level up a little more. I had considered numerous brands; all with reverse camber, 152-154, twin, softer flex and no 80’s inspired neon graphics! I landed on a K2 Jibpan.

Flex: I would put the flex of the Jibpan at a 5 out 10. It’s a bit stiffer than the WWW K2 was offering previously but still flexible enough to press it like all get out and it contours well around anything that will stand in your way.

Ollie/Pop: I think that the pop on this board is one of the areas where it really shines. Due to the use of carbon torsion forks and Wh4 core this board has plenty of pop. Coming off booters you can bust a skateboard style ollie with ease and gain a few inches in your vertical without any problems. Pull your back foot out of the binding and give it a skateboard inspired kick and you will be surprised to find yourself 6-8” off the ground while waiting in line for the lift hoping for another grom to get taken out by the chair.

Handling: This is where the Jibpan sets itself apart from other park influenced boards out on the market. K2 has marketed this board as a park stick but I think it leads itself to be an all mountain shredder. It is comfortable at high speed and due to the jib rocker set up it is almost impossible to catch an edge. Butters are effortless. Another thing I like about this board is the reduction of length from the nose and tail to reduce swing weight. If you look at the board you can see where K2 has removed some mass from this board. This allows riders to reduce size while still retaining the effective edge of a longer board. This makes it more stable yet lighter and more useful in the park. On the other hand; because of this design you can carve this thing out and rip the mountain without ever setting foot in the park and end the day with a smile on your face.

Jibs/Playfulness: This board presses well. It’s not as easy as some limp noodle park board but if you press correctly it will hang with the best of them. It’s also very easy to throw around; you can walk it around with little effort and you can come off of anything wrong and pull it back together with little effort. So its playfulness translates into “forgiveness” for us intermediate riders who need to be forgiven for the level of suck we distribute in the park.

Pricing: Retail on this board is $499; but it’s a 2010 so you can easily find it for the low $300’s. I picked it up from Evo for a low amount and because of that it is WELL worth it. At $499 there may be a better board but this board is still available from many reputable online retailers for the lower price. Snatch it up for the lower price for sure!

Summing it up: Overall this is a great board; perfect for the intermediate rider who wants to gain confidence on the slopes and start playing in the park. Conditions were the common southern Michigan groomers. We did actually get 1 day of great snow so it was a somewhat “powder day”. It handled all of these very well. I have always been a fan of K2 since the early days when fat bobs ruled the local hills. The graphics are very cool but also subtle with no screaming neon or 80’s cheese ball. Being an intermediate rider I was able to use this board for whatever I wanted to learn. Presses, butters, rail hits and jumps; it handled it all with ease and kept pushing me for more. It may even give you too much confidence as was my case. This board inspired me to reach beyond my ability level one fine Friday morning and I proceeded to crack 3 ribs! My cracked ribs are my only gripe. This board rules; buy it, shred it, love it!

Here’s the edit, filmed with dual GoPro® HD HERO™ cameras. We set up one stationary cam and one on a boom stick so whichever one of us wasn’t riding could film and try to get some different perspectives/angles. It’s a learning experience figuring out which angles work and produce good footage, but overall we got some decent shots. Now we just need to start stomping some better tricks.

I am not quite there with the 270 on thing yet, but the great thing about video is that you can see what you’re doing wrong. I’m doing several things wrong! First, I’m not rotating my upper body and I’m trying to spin the whole thing with my legs. The second thing I’m doing wrong is a direct result of this poor form: I’m not spinning my upper body so I wasn’t looking over my shoulder properly, thus leaning too far up the rail and slipping out.  Better luck next time!

Features: Belt loops are always nice in case you want to go a little gangsta. Butt pockets for whatever but probably won’t stow anything in there but nice for styling. No cargo pockets, and this is another change for me because I’m used to carrying all sorts of shit with me on the hill.

Tech: 10,000mm waterproof/5,000gm breathable, critically taped seams and Velcro waist adjustment to keep them on your hips.

Comfort:They are not insulated so on colder days you’ll definitely need a base-layer pant. On warmer days though the venting is superb with mesh-lined thigh vents on the inside and outside of the leg so even on those 84 degree days in April you can still get enough air flow. I rode these last weekend at Breck it was 40+ degrees and I had both vents opened and was perfectly comfortable.

Fit: The Radar is a normal fit pant and maybe even slightly small by some standards. I normally am between L and XL so I ordered the XL. They fit like pants are supposed to fit, not like my Burton Vents which had a much baggier fit in the waist and upper thigh. I don’t have any trouble fitting these with a base layer, but in the past my pants have always been thugged out enough that I could wear cut-off sweatpants or gym shorts underneath; I won’t be able to do that with these.  On the other hand, they’re not so big that they get in my way, and they fit just right even sag a tiny bit off the hip.

About Signal Snowboards: Signal is a snowboard brand, factory and lifestyle run by a bunch of riders, musicians, artists and heavy coffee drinkers!

All excuses to keep you off the mountain. Forget about them.  Put your motherf@cking rage face on and get after it. There’s always* an excuse to go snowboarding. This little promotional vid from Protest Boardwear, a Dutch outerwear company, nails it.

It’s kinda creepy (I half expect some creepy upside-down dripping vampire toddler to stop-motion crawl up the stairs) but also pretty intense, and the contrast is great.  I have been unable to confirm rumors that they manufacture clog-style snowboarding boots.

*Note: your boss might not share the same zeal for sliding sideways that we do, so exercise good judgment and don’t abuse your pow sick days.

• High Def capabilities with @ 60fps available.  I hear 60fps is really where you can get the benefit from slow-motion. It’s not an absolute necessity, but it’d be very nice to have.
• Removable/expandable storage; face it SD cards are dirt cheap you should spend your money getting features and then buy the appropriate memory cards later. For this reason I have ruled out Flip cameras and basically any other non-removable or HDD storage.
• Optical zoom preferable to digital zoom.  Digital zoom blows goats. I have proof.  Of course a camera can utilize both optical and digital zoom, but it should have decent optical zoom capabilities maybe 5x-10x.
• Small or small-ish because I don’t want to lug around a brick.
• A viewfinder screen would be nice for obvious reasons.
• Cheap.  Everyone has their own definition of “cheap”, mine is generally pretty stingy.

Some people have suggested the GoPro Helmet Cams. I don’t want to be that guy who rocks the helmet cam everywhere he goes so I didn’t really consider GoPro as an option. But the more I look at these sorts of things, the more inclined I am to shell out the money for a GoPro as opposed to anything else on the market.

It shoots 1080p, has much better field of vision up to 170 degrees at 720p, decent zoom capabilities, 60fps capability at 720p, super small it’s only 2.4″ wide, waterproof, etc. Honestly, nothing else even comes close to the same capabilities at the same price-point.

What camera do you use or recommend?

Adult admission is $12 and kids enter for free! There’s going to be a rail jam contest, vendor tents, loads of giveaways, used and closeout gear sales, etc.  If you’ve got used gear you can sign up and try to sell it there for a small fee, or if you’re looking for gently used equipment, you can probably snag some great deals there as they are advertising over $1 Million in discount gear.

Date and Times
Friday October 8th – 3pm to 10pm
Saturday October 9th – 10am to 10pm
Sunday October 10th – 11am to 5pm

Location
Renaissance Schaumburg Hotel and Convention Center
Minutes west of Chicago/O’hare Intl Airport
1551 N. Thoreau Dr, Schaumburg, IL 60173
Convention Center Phone Number: 847-303-4100

The only issue is the sizes available… I’d be very comfortable snapping up a 61w but they don’t make one; the Heritage comes in 59 or 63 wides.  I’m leaning towards the regular-wide 162cm, although some people over at the forum think a 159 wide would be fine. But I just don’t know if I feel comfortable downsizing that much from a 63 regular camber and 61 wide flat-rocker.

Maybe I’m too anal, because 80% of my shred happens on molehills in Michigan and I’ve been playing around doing more park the last season or two, so with that in mind, the 59w would be perfect but I have the Machete to take all that park abuse, I don’t need another “all-mountain” board that I’m only gonna rock in the park.

So many decisions to make, and the Heritage is a limited edition if you want one you better find one ASAP. I know we’re still 5 or 6 months from snow, but if you wait too long you might miss out altogether.