Sweet Protection Clockwork Lenses
26510A
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What is the best goggle lens color? It is mostly personal preference, but here are a few attributes to certain lens tints that can help you make the best choice for your eyes and skiing conditions.
General Lens Color Guide
*Blue light limits the eye's ability to focus and creates blurriness, especially in snowy environments. Many lenses are designed to reduce the amount of blue light that reaches the eye.
| Lens Color | Benefits |
|---|---|
| Yellow/Orange | Provides greater clarity in fog and low-light, high contrast and depth perception by blocking blue light. |
| Pink/Red | Improves depth perception, provides the best contrast, reduces eye strain (alters perceived color). |
| Blue/Purple | Reduces glare, helps define contours and color perception. |
| Green | Good all purpose tint, even color perception, dims glare while brightening shadows, improves contrast in low-light. |
| Brown/Amber/Bronze | Ideal in variable conditions, enhances contrast and depth perception, cuts the haze for crisp vision. |
| Gray/Black | Reduces eye fatigue, provides true color perception while minimizing glare in bright-light conditions, block the brightest rays. |
| Mirror Coatings | Greatly reduce glare - the base tint lends the greatest visual benefits to the lens while the mirror tint is for glare protection. Blue mirror specifically reflects away blue light, increasing visual acuity while minimizing glare. |
Lens Categories
| Category | VLT Range | Tint | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 80-100% | None or Very Light Tint | Very low light or night skiing |
| 1 | 46-79% | Light Tint | Low light or overcast days |
| 2 | 18-45% | Medium Tint | Effective in average sunlight conditions |
| 3 | 8-17% | Dark Tint | Perfect for most skiing conditions and provide excellent protection from the sun |
| 4 | 3-8% | Very Dark Tint | Only necessary in extremely bright conditions, like hiking glaciers or high altitudes |
VLT - Visible Light Transmission
VLT is a measurement that specifies the percentage of light coming through the lens and reaching your eyes. A totally clear lens for dark conditions typically have around 90% VLT and a very dark colored lens with mirror for sunny conditions may have down to 10% VLT. Most all round lenses will be found between 30 to 60%.
Sweet Protection Clockwork goggle lenses provide options for everything from night racing and very low light to bright, sunny conditions. Choosing the right lens depends primarily on Visible Light Transmission (VLT), lens category, and expected light conditions. Sweet Protection's RIG® lenses also enhance contrast while maintaining natural color perception and reducing eye fatigue.
This guide compares the four Sweet Protection Clockwork lenses available from Race Place: Clear, RIG® Light Amethyst, RIG® Sapphire, and RIG® Aquamarine. It also explains RIG® Lens Technology, VLT, the Clockwork's toric lens shape, and the construction technologies shared across the Clockwork lens system.
Sweet Protection RIG® Lens Technology
RIG® (Retina Illumination Grading) is Sweet Protection's proprietary lens technology developed to increase contrast while minimizing color distortion and reducing eye fatigue. By enhancing useful visual information without dramatically changing natural color perception, RIG® lenses help skiers identify snow texture, terrain features, shadows, and changes in the skiing surface.
For ski racing, enhanced contrast can make course and snow conditions easier to read at speed. The RIG® Light Amethyst, RIG® Sapphire, and RIG® Aquamarine lenses use this technology, with different VLT levels optimized for different light conditions. The Clear lens prioritizes maximum light transmission for night and very low-light skiing rather than RIG® contrast enhancement.
Sweet Protection Clockwork Lens Options
| Lens | Technology | Category | VLT | Best Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clear | Clear | CAT 0 | 90% | Night racing, artificial light and very low light |
| RIG® Light Amethyst | RIG® | S2 | 35% | Cloudy, overcast and flat-light conditions |
| RIG® Sapphire | RIG® | S3 | 12% | Sunny and bright conditions |
| RIG® Aquamarine | RIG® | S3 | 12% | Sunny and bright conditions |
Understanding VLT
Visible Light Transmission (VLT) is the percentage of visible light that passes through a goggle lens. Higher VLT lenses allow more light to reach your eyes and are better suited to darker conditions. Lower VLT lenses reduce incoming light and are better suited to brighter conditions.
- 90% VLT – Clear: Maximum light transmission for night skiing, artificial lighting, and very low-light conditions.
- 35% VLT – RIG® Light Amethyst: Allows substantially more light through for cloudy, overcast, and flat-light conditions.
- 12% VLT – RIG® Sapphire & Aquamarine: Reduces incoming light for sunny and bright conditions while RIG® technology enhances contrast.
Lens category provides another indication of light transmission. The Clear lens is intended for very low-light use, while the S2 Light Amethyst lens covers darker daytime conditions and the S3 Sapphire and Aquamarine lenses are designed for brighter light.
Sweet Protection Clockwork Lens Shape
All four Clockwork lens options use Sweet Protection's premium 2.8 mm toric sculpted lens construction. Unlike a cylindrical lens that curves primarily from side to side, a toric lens curves both horizontally and vertically to more closely follow the natural curvature of the eye.
2.8 mm Toric Sculpted Lens
Sweet Protection sculpts the Clockwork lens into a rigid 2.8 mm toric shape designed to provide clear optics, a wide field of view, and high impact resistance. The curvature closely follows the shape of the eye to help minimize optical distortion while maintaining peripheral visibility for racing and high-speed skiing.
Sweet Protection Clockwork Lens Construction
Clockwork lenses combine a rigid toric outer lens with double-lens construction and technologies designed to maintain clear vision through changing weather, elevation, and activity levels. The Clear and RIG® Clockwork lenses share the same core construction, while the RIG® options add Sweet Protection's contrast-enhancing lens technology.
Double-Lens Construction
The Clockwork uses a double-lens system that separates the outer and inner lens. This construction helps manage the temperature difference between cold outside air and the warmer environment inside the goggle, supporting clear vision and anti-fog performance.
GORE® Protective Vents
GORE® Protective Vents equalize pressure between the outer and inner lenses as altitude and atmospheric pressure change. This helps prevent deformation of the inner lens that could affect optical performance, maintaining the intended lens shape with minimal distortion.
Clear AF Inner Lens Technology
Sweet Protection's Clear AF technology is used on the inner lens to help prevent fogging in challenging conditions. Sweet Protection rates Clear AF at three times the anti-fog effectiveness of a standard inner lens, helping maintain visibility through changing temperatures and high-output skiing.
Super Oleophobic & Hydrophobic Coating
A protective oleophobic and hydrophobic coating helps prevent water, dirt, and grime from adhering to the lens surface. The treatment makes the lens easier to keep clean and helps maintain clear vision through snow, precipitation, and repeated race-day use.
Impact-Resistant Toric Construction
The Clockwork's rigid 2.8 mm toric sculpted outer lens is engineered for high impact resistance as well as optical clarity. Its curved construction supports a wide field of view while providing substantial protection for the eyes and face.
100% UV Protection
Sweet Protection Clockwork lenses provide 100% UV protection, shielding the eyes from ultraviolet radiation during extended time on snow and at higher elevations.
Choosing a Clockwork Lens
- Night or artificial light: Choose Clear with 90% VLT for maximum light transmission.
- Cloudy or flat light: Choose RIG® Light Amethyst with 35% VLT for increased light transmission combined with RIG® contrast enhancement.
- Sunny conditions: Choose RIG® Sapphire or RIG® Aquamarine with 12% VLT to reduce incoming light while enhancing contrast.
- Changing race conditions: Carry a second Clockwork lens so you can adapt your goggles as weather and course lighting change.
