When it comes to the world of gravity mountain biking, goggles are one of those accessories you’d prefer to just put on and not notice them at all once you’re riding. One would think that’s a task accomplished with relative ease, but that isn’t necessarily the case. With all different types of helmets, skulls, and riding conditions – goggle designers have their work cut out for them.
We recently got a chance to test the Ride 100% Racecraft as our first time donning a product from the San Diego based eyewear company. With guys on their roster such as Sam Hill, Mick Hannah, Loic Bruni and Andrew Neethling, we’re confident that they’ve been getting some good feedback. Let’s see how the goggles treated us normal humans.
With a noseguard, anti-fog mirror lens(installed), an extra clear lens with stack of tear-off’s, plus a nice silk bag at only $75.00 they definitely offer a lot of bang for the buck. They’re available for just $65.00 with a clear lens only. Either way, it’s pretty easy to spend more than that on most offerings and then get dinged by another $20-$40 if you want to buy a tear off pack and an extra lens. Pretty damn good, all inclusive value for their flagship goggle. Now that we’ve covered that, from here it all just really comes down to fit and performance.
Fit
It isn’t always easy for most riders to find goggles that work with their head, nose, forehead, helmet etc. Generally when riders find said goggle, they stick with it and perhaps keep a tinted pair a clear pair and maybe a spare if they’re ballin’… While we can’t speak for every rider out there, the Racecraft ticked all the boxes and fit really really nicely in our Troy Lee Designs D3. We opted to take the nose guard off. While it is nice to have and looks rad, it’s aimed more at motocross riders who don’t want to get pelted in the nose with roost. That said, the nose guard did NOT interfere with our helmets, and we can’t possibly see how it could with any other gravity lids out there either – we just preferred it out of there.
The straps had silicon grip inside of them to keep the Racecraft secure and prevent them from slipping on the helmet. This did a great job in wet conditions, dry conditions and everything in between. Soft and absorbent triple layer foam ensured that the goggles kept dry but also fit the contour of our face nicely. While only one tester used them, we have a feeling that the varying densities in the foam will have it fitting most facial profiles nicely. After quite a bit of use, the foam didn’t show any signs of weakness or premature wear. We had plenty of extended use on long days in the park or knocking out shuttles and the foam didn’t pack out, yet continued to wick sweat nicely and feel as comfy as day one. So – bottom line, these fit great and the features on them indicate that they’ll fit most people and most helmets – for example, the wide mounted straps should fit even the widest lids on the market…For fit, all of the boxes are checked, let’s talk about if they were up to the task at hand…
Performance
A good goggle should ventilate well and not fog up. The lenses should be high quality enough that they don’t distort. Consumers generally are looking for tinted lenses that cut highlights in harsh light, yet help out in the woods by not making things too dark. When it comes to clear lenses they just need to be durable really. Speaking of lens durability, they shouldn’t scratch up too easily after being cleaned, and a mirror finish that’s actually somewhat tough is ideal. It can also look rad in photos at times 🙂
While optics are super important, it’s also worth discussing field of view, something that’s critical for both performance and safety. While we’ve ridden goggles with ever an so slightly larger field of view, those seemed to interfered with our helmet, so we couldn’t advocate them.
We hate to sound reductionist, but a goggle review should be pretty simple. Either they work and they rule or they sort of suck, bum you out and make you wonder what the hell their designer was thinking. That’s how we’ve felt about most goggles anyways…These proved to be top notch. The Racecraft stayed dry and didn’t fog up in cold and humid conditions when we were super sweaty.
Last but certainly not least, we really liked these aesthetically. Clean lines and bold, but not overdone graphics. Tons of great colorways and lens options are available to suit any kit/lid/etc…
Ultimately, we really loved these goggles. Over the years, we’ve tried a ton of goggles from : Spy, Scott, Oakley and Smith and probably more we’ve forgotten about. While we feel that other some companies do manufacture premium goggles that almost equal as these in quality, they come in at twice the price. These are far and away the best goggles for the money. Especially when you stop and consider that they arrive with EVERYTHING you will ever need. Coming full circle, the best part about the Racecraft is that you just don’t even notice them while you’re riding. Even in the gnarliest of conditions. These rank at the top of our list for sure.
