Intended Purpose: Designed for smaller faces, the Smith I/OS is based off of the popular I/O model and features an easy interchangeable design so you can switch out lenses easily.
Location: I’ve been riding these goggles most of the season here at Keystone Resort in Colorado.
Conditions: The goggles have been ridden during the day and night at Keystone in a variety of conditions. Some powder days with cold snow weather and warmer days with bluebird skies. Since I have two lenses (red sensor and green sol-x mirror), I can switch out lenses quickly depending on the weather conditions. Red sensor for cloudy/overcast/snowy and sol x mirror for bluebird.
Color: I received the I/OS in the white strobe colorway which is really bright, fun and outgoing. It works with both lenses I received and is just a fun bright goggle to rock on the mountain.
Lens: The I/OS came with two lenses to help with interchangeability on the mountain. I have the red sensor and green sol-x mirror lenses. The green sol-x mirror is a favorite, blocks out the light with a mirrored lens and is totally badass in changing color/visibility. The red sensor does better for all around conditions and generally is the lens for any snowy/cloudy days. The green sol-x mirror is worn on bluebird days.
Fit: I can always count on the I/OS for a solid fit to my face which is why I ride them year after year. The smaller frame does a good job fitting around the face with comfortable padding. I have a minor gap between the foam and my nose (very common with my nose). But it still does a good job of not fogging and not letting too much air in while riding.
Helmet Compatibility: I pretty much rock these goggles with my Bern Muse helmet. It’s snug and comfortable on the fit. I wear a beanie below the helmet and wear the goggles under the helmet. I have worn the goggles in the past over the helmet and like having the comfortableness of the beanie with my goggles now.
Visibility: Pretty good on the I/OS. Definitely not as good as the I/OX model but still does good with the smaller fitting frame. It has good range for the category of women’s goggle. Since there’s no frame, you have much more vision without blockage.
Features: The Smith I/OS goggles feature a small/medium fit with a quick release lens system. The I/OS are interchangeable optics, you flip the top switches, pop out the lens and replace it with the new one. It comes with a goggle case which I used this winter to hold the lens while I was replacing them. The I/OS are a spherical, carbonic X-lens with TLT Optics for optimum scratch and impact resistance, increased visual acuity and enhanced contrast sensitivity. 5X anti-fog inner lens to help with fogging. The patented vaporator lens technology with the porex filter helps decrease lens fogging on the mountain. The strap is ultra wide, silicone backed with a quickfit strap adjustment system with clip buckle. The foam around the face is a three layer, driwix face foam. It’s helmet compatible. It also comes with two performance mirror lenses. I really like the interchangeability and multiple lenses you can choose from.
Durability: I’ve been spending a good amount of days with these goggles and no issues with scratching so far. The goggles have been on hikes and haven’t fogged, scratched in packs and so far no complaints.
Thoughts: These are a favorite goggle because of the fit, vision and interchangeability. They are easy to use and the two lenses really work for most conditions. I can pretty much ride in both of them on any given day but I really like the look of the green sol-x mirror lens overall.
Because I don’t have much of a bridge to my nose, finding a goggle that really fits is harder to get but the I/OS fits smaller faces and is the best fit I’ve found for me. Overall I’ve been very much impressed with them over the years, last year I spent 100 days on my I/OS goggles and this year I got a new frame with new lenses to last through the season and so far, they’ve been great.
Review Disclosure: I received these goggles from Smith Optics to test and review.
Michelle
May 12, 2014 at 2:50 amhi shay, the goggles look amazing! I was wondering if they would work as over glasses because unfortunately i am vision impaired 🙁
i have been considering buying some as i will be soon shredding down some mountains in new zealand and was wondering about your opinion.
my face is small and i too don’t have much of a bridge (sucks when you have glasses…) and the goggles im looking at are either the ios or io or iox( though i think iox will be too large)
thanks for your help, and good post!