Smith Phenom Ski Goggles
The Phenom was a well-judged mid-size goggle from a company that has kept making good ones, and the reasons this review liked it are still the reasons to buy any goggle: optics that hold up in flat light, and a fit that seals without pinching.
The model is long gone. Smith's current range replaced it several times over, and the useful part of this post is what it was praising rather than the name.
What to carry forward:
- Spherical or toric lens geometry reduces distortion at the edges of your vision, which is where you notice it when the light is poor.
- A mid-size frame fits more faces than either the tiny or the enormous ones and is easier to pair with a helmet.
- Two lenses, one low-light and one bright, which every serious goggle now ships with.
What is genuinely better now than on the Phenom: lens changing. Smith's MAG system and its equivalents from Anon, Giro and Oakley use magnets and a catch, so swapping takes seconds with gloves on instead of the careful frame-flexing this generation needed. If you have not bought goggles since this review, that is the upgrade you will actually feel.
The one piece of care advice that has not changed: never wipe the inside of the lens. The anti-fog layer lives there and it does not survive being cleaned.
Part of the guide to ski and snowboard.