Scott Off-Grid Goggle and Lens Guide

Tint Options

Red Chrome – 41% VLT

Scott Off-Grid Goggle Red Chrome, Blister Gear Review
Scott Off-Grid Goggle – Red Chrome

The Red Chrome lens has a red/orange/yellow mirror, with a greenish blue base tint, and was probably the most heavily mirrored lens that I tested. I personally really like lens that have a blue base tint, as I feel they make low-light and flat-light conditions feel more crisp and natural, as opposed to lenses that add yellow for additional contrast.

But the Red Chrome lens adds a little too much green for my taste, which slightly muddies the crispness in true flat-light conditions. However, this lens is quite versatile, and I would be more than happy to ski in them in all conditions.

I think this lens would serve someone very well who likes a neutral tint, skis a wide variety of light conditions, and does not have a huge need for minimal light transmission.

Illuminator – 40% VLT

Scott Off-Grid Goggle Illuminator, Blister Gear Review
Scott Off-Grid Goggle – Illuminator

The Illuminator lens has a rather mild mirror that is a purplish, greenish blue, and adds an orange/persimmon/yellow tint.

Similar to the Red Chrome above, I found the combo orange/yellow tint slightly muddy. I think this just speaks to a personal preference in having a single color base tint as opposed to a multi-hue shade. The tint, in my opinion, does not have quite enough yellow dominance to add high contrast in flat-light scenarios, but in more direct light, there’s a little too much yellow mixed in with the persimmon to be that strong in more direct sunlight. I did find the tint to work really nicely in north-facing trees and indirect sunlight, however.

I can see someone who wants only a hint of high contrast in flat-light scenarios and versatility in denser woods liking these, assuming they will rotate the lens out on sunny days.

Teal Chrome – 25% VLT

Scott Off-Grid Goggle Teal Chrome, Blister Gear Review
Scott Off-Grid Goggle – Teal Chrome

The Teal Chrome lens has a purple/green/blue mirror with a fairly deep orange/persimmon base tint and was the second most mirrored lens that I tested.

While this tint does not transmit all that much light, the rich persimmon tint was happily surprising in how versatile this lens is in storm riding and flat light. Due to their crisp tint, I thought this lens did a nice job adding contrast in flat light, and was still excellent in direct bluebird sunlight. Really the only weakness that I can mention is that the VLT was a touch dark for pow-dumping storm riding, but other than this I found this tint to crossover to just about any light condition really nicely.

In my opinion, if Scott made this tint and mirror on a 35-40% VLT, it would be my dream setup. But keep in mind my predilection for lenses with fairly high VLTs, even in direct sunlight.

NL-20 Gold – 20% VLT

Scott Off-Grid Goggle NL-20 Gold, Blister Gear Review
Scott Off-Grid Goggle – NL-20 Gold

The NL-20 Gold lens has a brownish golden tint, with a yellowish gold mirror.

Given that this lens is preferentially reflecting yellow sunlight, with a nice deep brownish tint, and it has the lowest VLT in the test, its intention as a true bright light / bluebird speciality lens is evident. This lens is very strong as a specialist, certainly the best lens in the bunch for direct sunlight, but was also quite versatile on sunny days in north facing and wooded runs where you are not getting direct rays.

If you are looking for a “quiver” lens for bright and sunny days, then this is a no-brainer.

Grey – 35% VLT

Scott Off-Grid Goggle Grey, Blister Gear Review
Scott Off-Grid Goggle – Grey

The Grey lens has a straight grey base tint and a very light silver mirror, meaning the lens does not preferentially add or subtract any particular wavelengths of light. This is a neutral lens that functions very well as an all-rounder.

If you are a skier who is looking for a neutral lens that is crisp, clear, and is straightforward in its function, then this is the lens. Because the grey lens does not add any contrast, its only weakness is truly flat light conditions. If you want a lens to “do something for you,” meaning add a heavy mirror and a wild tint, then the grey is not for you.

Bottom Line

While going through this review process, I did learn a good bit about my own preferences. The big point I take away from all of this is that I prefer goggles that have a base tint that is not too complex—crisp single colors as opposed to combination tints. The more shades and colors that are introduced into a base-tint, the less crisp the world appears to me. I cannot claim that is how everyone sees it, so it’s important for the reader to understand my bias.

I found the Off-Grid to offer very solid optics, an excellent field of vision, and the various available tints all worked well for their given intentions, and generally were versatile in a broader sense.

Really, my only other suggestion to the person picking these up is to be sure to keep them in the bag when not in use, or just generally be a little more careful than normal.

My only suggestion for Scott would be considering a urethane coating on the inside the strap to prevent it from sliding around.

Oh, and Scott: if you ever make the Teal Chrome lens in a 40% VLT, please let me know!

 

4 comments on “Scott Off-Grid Goggle and Lens Guide”

  1. I consider my face to be on a wider side, 6″ temple to temple.

    For buying goggles, does the size mentioned above makes my face “ready” for medium, medium-large, large, large-xlarge?

    Can the author of the review mention his temple to temple dimension as a dimensional reference when he discusses the size of his face vs. any goggle size? That would be super helpful.

    Thanks,
    Mark

  2. I just picked up a pair of these goggles from sport check and am having a hard time finding new lenses for them, I have found some however. Instructional videos on how to change the lenses are proving incredibly difficult to find. It may be because they are relatively old , considering this post is from 2013. If I get a reply I will be shocked. If anyone is still out there I’m trying to figure out how to put a new lens in. If anyone can help that would be amazing

    -Jack

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