The innovators at Oakley just made things easier on motocross riders with the introduction of the Front Line MX goggles. Equipped with Prizm lens technology, the goggles are designed to protect the rider in every way possible as they are faced with a constantly changing track environment.
“As track conditions change, you’re going to need to react to those different environments or obstacles at a split second with every single lap,” Oakley Goggle/Shield Program Manager Kurt Sabin explained. “So you’re going to want something that’s going to give you that to stand out, notice it and react to it.”
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Originally launched for the snow environment, the Prizm lens might be the most important part of the Front Line MX goggle. Simply put, Prizm allows you to see colors more clearly. It filters light in a way that lowers transmission and leverages color so as to offer the rider greater depth perception.
Oakley Vision Performance Lab Manager Wayne Chumbley elaborated, “In a case like motocross or off-trail riding, you have a surface that can go from hard path, to mud, to sand. What the Prizm does is really hone in on those colors and build depth to separate them. If you can identify them earlier, the faster you will be to react.”
A major goal in the design process was to make sure that Prizm fit with the Front Line frame perfectly in order to produce a rimless look. At the same time, riders don’t want any debris entering the goggles so designers introduced a new ridgelock technology.
“What this does is it gives us a completely rimless look, but also a completely sealed goggle where you have no environmental ingress, no debris, no moisture or anything that is able to enter the goggles,” Sabin explained.
Regardless of the seal, riders can still expect to deal with buildup on the front of the goggles in muddy conditions. To combat this, Oakley included an industry-leading 50mm roll-off system. “The roll-off will actually pull film across the lens to give you a strip of viewing area,” Chumbley said.
While the Prizm lens is a big part of the new Front Line goggles, it’s far from the only beneficial feature. Oakley’s design process is very similar to an automotive process. This attention to detail lends itself to greater fit and comfort for the athlete and superior control over any terrain.