By Ted Bendixson

I've seen powder. I've seen rain. I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end. It's an all too common fact about skiing and snowboarding. Throughout the course of any given day on the mountain, the conditions are likely to change from sunny to cloudy, and then back to sunny again. If you're into hitting jumps or halfpipe, you'll want to see clearly through all of those different lighting conditions. Unfortunately, there is no single goggle lens to cover the entire range of conditions. What you really need is a quick way to switch from one lens to the next.

Enter the Oakley Airbrake Goggle. It's their newest goggle that allows you to switch out your lens in under ten seconds. Did you hear me right? Less than ten seconds. That means you can switch out the lens while you're waiting in line or sitting on the chairlift. The entire process is a lot less technical, so it can be done almost anywhere.

When you look at the Oakley Airbrake, you'll notice one key design difference. The lens actually sits on top of the frame. It's not connected to the frame at the nose piece, as in the typical industry standard. The only places where the lens connects to the frame are on the right and left sides of the goggle. You would think this might create an unwanted airflow, but not so. The Switchlock technology seals the lens and the frame completely shut.

When you don't have to play around with the nose piece anymore, it's really easy to switch out the lens. You just open up the latch on the right side, unhinge your lens from underneath, pop it out, and put another lens in its place.

Here's the amazing thing about these goggles. Oakley has made lens switching so easy that you can actually do it while wearing gloves. I've switched out my lens with pipe gloves, big heavy mitts, and everything in between. It's so simple that you don't need a lot of hand coordination. Now that I think about it, I'd recommend always wearing gloves when you switch out your lenses. It's the best way to avoid getting your dirty fingerprints all over them.

If you spend a lot of time in the backcountry, you're going to love this goggle. I've been through some pretty rough storms out there, and the last thing on my mind is changing out my lens so I can see better. Now that I can change my lenses with my gloves on, I think I'll bring a few extra ones with me on that next trip. You never know when you're going to have an epic pow crash. Not having to sit there with your gloves off, attempting to change out a lens in the middle of a blizzard is a pretty sweet thing.

Aside from the Switchlock feature, the Oakley Airbrake is a very comfortable goggle. The first thing you'll notice is how easy it is to breathe with this goggle over your face. The Airbrake has a semi-circular curved cutout where your nose goes. This is a radical departure from standard goggle designs where the frame touches the sides of your nose, often making you feel as though your breathing is somewhat restricted. With the unique Airbrake design, there is no pressure on your nose at all. You barely feel like you're wearing goggles.

Oakley also leads on the optics front. They have for years and years. The lens on the Airbrake goggle gives you perfect peripheral vision and excellent clarity. There are times when I forget that I'm looking through my goggles. I just see what I see, and I don't need to think twice about it. That's really what goggles need to be. The only time you should notice them is when your friends are telling you how sick they look and how jealous they are that you somehow managed to get a pair.

At $260, the Oakley Shaun White Airbrake Goggle is at the high end of the goggle market. Is it worth the extra cash? I think so, especially if you're a serious shredder who rides the terrain park and the backcountry. Light can change all the time in the park, and having the right lens can help you see definition where you might not have previously. On powder days, you're gonna love having the ability to quickly change out your lens when you crash trying something gnarly.

For years we said there has got to be a better way to change out the lens. Oakley has answered with the Airbrake, and it's a fantastic product like nothing else on the market today.

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