Fox Vue Goggle Review

Fox has been building and selling goggles for over ten years, but nothing they have brought to production has been this advanced until now. The Vue goggle is the latest model in Fox’s goggle program and is available now. It’s the product of an extensive R&D collaboration with Fox’s Moto-X Lab athlete Ken Roczen and takes over as Fox’s new top-of-the-line goggle. The Vue’s design focuses primarily on maximizing the rider’s field of vision, but it has two other interesting and practical design elements – the dual-material frame construction and a strap-outrigger system that doubles as a locking mechanism for lens removal/replacement. Genius! Fox offers three different colorways of the Vue goggle, the white and black colorway retails for $119.95 and the red for $129.95 (with spark lens). I am huge fan of the Oakley Airbrake goggle and its wide peripheral and easy to change lens system, so when Fox introduced the Vue, I was excited to see how it worked on my face while at the track. 

The dual-density frame construction (with an ABS/nylon outer frame and softer TPU faceplate) allows the goggle to seal to your face shape really well. They do feel rigid when holding them in your hand, but are flexible enough to give the rider comfort and refrains from letting dirt inside the goggle. The triple-layer face foam is soft and wicks away sweat effectively on hotter days, even my heavy sweater tester commented that the Vue’s foam was more effective than his 100% goggles he currently has. No Maxi Pads needed people! The Peripheral Vision is on par with the Oakley Aribrake and Scott Prospect as the Fox Vue’s field of vision is excellent. The Vue goggle fits inside a wide variety of helmets like the Bell Moto 9, Shoei VFX-EVO, 6D ATR-2, Arai VX-Pro4 and of course Fox’s own V-3. The pre-curved injection-molded polycarbonate lens (which is similar to what appears on the Oakley Air Brake goggle) offers two huge benefits: optical clarity and much better protection against roost than conventional Lexan lenses. I have had more than a few Lexan lenses pop out on me when a sizable rock has hit my goggles (while racing in the past).

 With the polycarbonate lens I have had several roost/rock moments and the lens has stayed in tact. The combination of 360-degree ventilation foam and the lens’ anti-fog treatment means the Vue goggle resists fogging much better than most other goggles I have tried with a single-layer lens. As much as I love the Oakley Airbrake goggle they do have a problem with fogging on colder days. I have tested the Vue goggle in lower 30 degree Fahrenheit temps and the lens will not fog. Boom! I have heard that Fox will be coming out with a dual-layer lens soon for you die hard, east coast, cold weather riders. Changing out the lens is easy to do by popping the outriggers off of the frame then popping the lens off its four posts. However, if I am nitpicking, which is what I do best, I would say that the Oakley Airbrake is easier to change lenses out by a hair. The Vue lenses, to me, are easier to change out than the Prospect by the same margin. Another benefit of a pre-curved polycarbonate lens is when you stack a pack of seven tear offs on the Vue goggle, the clarity stays in tact once installed. The Vue goggle clear replacement lenses are slightly less expensive than the Oakley Aribrake at $19.99 and are the same price as a Prospect replacement lens. 

If you're looking for a great wide peripheral goggle, I think the Fox Vue is a great goggle at getting comfort, vision, clarity and sweat absorption. You can check the goggle out over at foxracing.com and purchase a set over at rockymountianatvmc.com. 

Now, I already know what you guys are about to email me! “Kris, what if I wear Fly or Thor gear? Can I wear these goggles with other branded gear companies”? Ehhhhh boy…I created a monster! Yes, go ahead and wear the Fox Vue goggle with your Fly gear! The Vue goggle is good enough to mix and match, but just make sure your pant, jersey and gloves match though ok? -KK

Blur Optics B-50 Goggle Product Review

I’m always excited to try new products when it comes to testing, especially when it’s a product that some people laugh at or may write off before even trying it. When I first heard I’d be testing a goggle that had a magnetic lens I too had some questions, but after several rides I have the answers to your questions that you may be asking to yourself. The B-50 is Blur’s highest price point goggle with an MSRP of $89.99, which admittedly seems like a lot since Blur has been more known for selling a lower price point, budget goggle. However, don’t judge a book by its cover; the B-50 has become my go to goggle in my assortment of goggle choices. 

Tiny yet powerful magnets hold the lens in place. Yes, it's strong. 

Starting with the frame, the B-50 gives you a fairly large field of vision since it doesn’t need to have a tall frame for the lens to sit in. The vents on the top and bottom of the goggle breathe very well, and even though I had some no fog cloth on hand, it never caused any fogging issues, even on colder days, doing longer moto’s or trail rides. The foam fit my normal sized nose nicely, sealed to my face well, and fit great inside of 6-D helmet that I wear most of the time. We did also fit the goggle inside of a Shoei VFX-EVO, Arai VX-Pro4, Fox V4, Bell Moto 9 and Suomy with no fitment issues. Admittedly I’m a bit of a sweater and when the goggles were new the foam didn’t absorb my heavy sweating very well. I had a few drips fall into my eyes at the beginning of the test, but for reasons unknown to me the more I rode with the goggles, the better the foam seemed to break in and soaked up my perspiration adequately. One of the many upsides of the B-50 is since the lens pulls right off, I was able to wash my goggles with the rest of my gear, and re-use the same lens after washing without much fuss. The adjustable strap is nothing fancy, but does the job well and always stays in place with the silicone grippers. 

Let’s get to the part that everyone wants to know, does the lens fall out easily? No, I never had a lens come off unintentionally. I’ve had some small crashes (not head bangers), been roosted by Keefer lap after lap (when he’s lapping me), and taken many bushes to the goggles and have yet to have any issues. As far as I’m concerned, if you have a lens pop off, you have other issues……like how you’re getting back to the truck or how much your hospital bill is going to be. Not your goggle lens. Does it seal to the frame? Yes, the magnets are very strong, and the lip of the frame has not let anymore dust into the goggle than any other goggle on the market that I have tested. Does the lens rip off when you pull a tear-off? No, I’ve gone through traditional tear-offs as well as the laminated packs, and the lens never budged. Since the lens is so large, they all come with a mud flap at the top (that is out of the viewing area), to put the tear offs under so nothing gets between your tear-offs and lens. One downside is Blur does not offer a roll-off style system yet, so all you east coast mud-boggers may want to take that into consideration before making the purchase. 

Not shocking, the lenses are hands down easier to change than any other goggle on the market, it really is that simple, just pull on the tab, and they come off from the bottom right corner. Being that they are so easy to change the B-50 makes the need to have 3 sets of goggles (one with each style lens) null and void. For example, you're going on a long trail ride and start the day off with a smoke or tinted lens and then the sun start dipping behind the mountains. Most of us off-road guys have been there right? Instead of having to take your goggles off (in order to see) to get back to the truck simply take an extra clear lens with you (in your fanny pack) and pop it in! Boom! Clear vision and goggles on all the way back to the pits! Lenses are obviously more expensive than standard lenses at $29.99 each, but unlike other high end goggle manufacturers, whose lens prices vary from $25.00 for clear, to $95.00 for special lenses, the B-50 lenses are all the same price. So if you have to be the “cool” guy and have the name brand popular goggles that’s fine. However if you’re open minded and want to try a really cool, innovative product, I highly recommend you give the Blur B-50 goggles a try. From easy lens changes to an easily washable frame, Blur seems to be trying to add more of a high end google to their line up and to me it’s not only a great idea, but a great goggle to wear as well. You can go to bluroptics.com to check out the complete line up that they have to offer. -Michael Allen  

If you have any questions about this test please feel free to email me at michael@keeferinctesting.com