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I’ve got several pairs of Goggles to post reviews on, but decided to start with the Oakley A frames, as people tend to flock towards Oakley goggles.  Oakley is well known, and incredibly established in the optics arena.  They make high quality optics, and do so very well.   

How do the A frames stack up?  Let’s start with fit.  The A frames are a rounded goggle, with adequate strap length.  When worn without a helmet, they work quit well with some pretty big noggins, including my own.   When strapping these puppies on with a helmet, you really need to make sure and fit your helmet to your goggles, or vice versa.  If your helmet is a large helmet, you may find the A frames will tend to pull tight on your face, and/or slide up on your face, making them a bit uncomfortable at times.  I found with my Giro XL helmet they fit well, no gaper gap, and no pulling, but on my R.E.D. Hi-Fi helmet, which is a bigger helmet, they tend to pull in the most uncomfortable manner.  The issue isn’t necessarily the goggles, but more so the design and shape of the R.E.D. Hi-Fi helmet, which I’ll discuss in another review.  

The optics on the A Frames are second to none, and are some of the best lenses I’ve had a chance to ride with.  In particular the higher end Iridium coated lenses make adjusting to various light conditions easy, and comfortable.  I recently used the High Intensity Yellow lens from Oakley, and found it to be quite nice for low light conditions.  The one caveat to the lens, at least with the A Frames, the lenses can and do scratch quite easily.   Unlike some other Oakley Goggles, the A Frame lenses are not scratch resistant, and Oakley lets you know this repeatedly within documentation.  Hence be careful when dealing with the lenses, and especially when cleaning the goggles.   The lenses are coated with Oakley’s mystical voodoo anti-fogging coating, and generally it works quite well.  However, you may find if you breathe through your mouth, your goggles may fog up on you at times.  I’ve only had them fog up once, and it was just slightly.   If they fog up, simply pulling them off your face for a second tends to correct the issue.   Overall, I’d say Oakley is pretty slick with the anti-fogging coating and it works pretty damn well. 

Let’s break into the Shaun White Signature Series.  What’s the difference?   Generally speaking not much.  You’re getting an A Frame goggle, but with custom graphics, and color choices, such as matte black/white, and generally speaking Fire Iridium lenses, or other Iridium Lens designations.  The pair I snapped below actually have a replacement lens for conditions, and I believe that lens is a persimmons lens. 

aframesI will admit the Shaun White sig series do look pretty damn hot.  Especially in Black with the offwhite stripes rocking across the goggles, with the Fire Iridium lens.  No doubt about the style points there.   The price difference isn’t huge between a nice set of A Frames and the Mr White Sig Series, it’s a matter or personal taste and/or choice.   Both Goggles fit identically the same, there is however one noticeable difference in the strap.  Both straps have rubber coating strips to hold the strap in place on helmets and such, the big difference on the Shaun White model is the appearance of three horizontal strips, instead of one single strip on the standard A Frame design.  The picture above shows this small detail when you click through for the larger version.    Overall, the fit of the goggles is good on a large face, but in some cases may be uncomfortable for some people with wider faces/heads.  You may find your peripheral vision is limited on a wider face/head, than with other goggles.   Be sure to take your helmet (if applicable) with you when you’re picking out goggles to ensure they fit appropriately around your helmet.  If you are really set on the A Frames, but have a bigger helmet, you can always put on a longer strap to correct any sizing issues you may encounter.  

Final thoughts:

  • Very solid goggles, my favorite pair so far 
  • The Shaun White sig series gets major style points
  • Haven’t found a helmet these guys give me Gaper Gaps with 
  • Price Point is higher than some others $100-$150 depending on specs, check eBay for some great deals though!
  • Lenses are great, just scratch very very easy

I absolutely love these goggles, and recommend you check them out.  Don’t be afraid if you’re noggin is  big like mine to go out and see if you enjoy these.