Oakley Prizm React: One Goggle Is All You Need

If you can’t see, you can’t ski.
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Oakley Prizm React offers the versatility of three lens tint settings in one goggle.
You control the light that reaches your eyes without interrupting a day on the slopes.

We sat down with Nico Colombatto at ORWM 2018, pictured right, to learn more about the new electrochromium lens capabilities of Prizm React.

What is an elctrochromium lens? Depending on the environment and weather, you no longer need to bring different lenses or frames to filter light. All you need is the Prizm React.

With the electrochromium lense built into the React, you now have the ability to control how much light comes into contact with your vision.

The googles offer four different eye transmissions from 40 percent (low light for cloudy days) to 10 percent light filtering capability. When you push this button on the right side of the goggles, a vibration occurs twice to let you know it’s going to the next darkest setting. You push it once more, and it will transition to the darkest setting at 10 percent light transmission.

How long does it take to transition the light filters? It takes about seven seconds for the googles to get dark, seven seconds to get light. The battery will last about a month. If you need to recharge, there is an internal USB port in the frame. It takes two hours for the glasses to be fully charged. The React has no external battery, a long battery life and it’s all built into the frame unlike anything on the market today.

If you are wearing heavy gloves, how do you change the filter on the lens quickly? The size of the button to transition the lense filter is affixed to the outside of the frame and is large enough to “smack,” to instantly change the lense filter when you are skiing. No need to take off your gloves. You can easily access the button.
What is the biggest talking point about the Prizm React? The glasses have a prism lens on the outside so Oakley can create the contrast — but the big talking point is there is no external battery. It’s all built into the frame. Having the two buttons, you can go from one to two and two to one, or go up from one to three on the filter strength depending on the weather. Our competitors only have one button so you have to cycle through the whole process to go back to clear. And they only have external batteries. Oakley is the only brand on the market with Prizm lenses and no external battery.

What is special about a Prizm lense? Rather than having just a grey lens, Prizm brings down light overall. If you walk outside without glasses, you have 100 percent light transmission. When we turn a grey lens on, all the light drops down to about 20 percent, making everything darker.

With a Prizm lense, we are able to create peaks and valleys, so we are actually getting rid of the noise that is absorbing certain colors and promoting ones that you do want to see in your environment. And that is how you are able to pick up more definition in the snow.

What is the benefit of having the Prizm lens in combination with the React capabilities? It’s an added benefit to the goggle! You have the ability to customize how you see the snowy environment that surrounds you. Take the goggle out on a snowy day, make it dark; if everything gets cloudy, push it twice and make it light again in four seconds! And with a battery life of one month and three different lenses in one goggle, you can’t beat the $299 price point.

Who was asking for the technology? Everyone! They were asking for a goggle that looks normal–without all the external pieces—but has all the technology at a good price point. I think we really hit that this year. And we are all really excited about the Prizm React.

What’s on the horizon in technology for Oakley? Our R&D guys are looking at where we can implement Prizm technology into other areas of our line.

Where do the Oakley designers call home? Right here in the U.S. There is a real initiative at Oakley to manufacture and assemble here in the states. Today about 80 to 90 percent of our product is made in California. And we are moving towards stamping products with the “Made In The USA” label. We are excited to be 100 percent U.S.-made in the near future.

Photos courtesy Oakley