TRIED & TESTED – SMITH 4D MAG GOGGLES
You know that goggle blind spot between your nose and your pack strap? The one that makes doing up jacket zips or refining any part of your layering system a total nightmare? It’s over folks. Exhale….
Smith’s brand spankingly new 4D Mag goggles with Chromapop interchangeable lens technology come with BirdsEye vision which not only sounds cool as all hell, it actually works! This snazzy sounding tech basically amounts to a new lens shape that curves all the way below the regular line of sight, creating a whopping and supremely welcome increase in overall field of vision.
Smith claim it expands the overall field of view by up to 25% over their I/O Mag goggles, and whilst we can’t verify those figures exactly, we can confirm you definitely get a bigger and better picture of what’s going on out on the hill. For some this will translate to better landing sighting when hucking cliffs whilst for others it will enable slightly more low key but equally as important routines such as faff-free hood cinching, ruffled neck gaiter sorting and rapid cleaning of goulash dollops that have unwittingly deposited themselves on your jacket over lunch.
I tested the 4D Mag goggles at the Ski Test and found they fitted my small-to-medium sized face perfectly. I really like Smith goggles because of the rear strap clip which makes them really easy to put on and remove no matter whether you’re wearing a helmet or a beanie. Basic but really helps if you want to avoid frustrating bobble hat over eyes incidents!
The two lenses that came with my test goggles – ChromaPop Everyday Violet Mirror and ChromaPop Storm Rose Flash – covered the full spectrum of conditions in excellent clarity with zero fogging.
At £250, the 4D Mags will never be described as a bargain but remember they do come with two interchangeable ChromaPop lenses that are simple to switch out thanks to the magnetic lens-swap system.
It’s really easy to operate, even with goggles on your face, so will definitely appeal to folks who like to wear their goggles under their helmets.