Tinted Visors - Competitive edge or Complete Douchebaggery?

[GoHabsGo24 1]

I have done some searching on visors in this forum, and most of us are in agreement that they do look cool. But is there anything else to it?

I spoke to a teammate who wears a yellow tinted one, and he claimed he can see the game better. I was thinking about red like in my ski goggles, i feel that you can see better, but no one offers red...

I have never used anything but clear, but could see the yellow helping a little. The blue, mirrored and tinted ones however i don't see an advantage unless you are playing under extremely bright lights...

Someone (with personal experience) please enlighten me. Is there a competitive edge that can be gained from wearing a tinted visor, or is it all for the "i look cool and like OV" factor?

[roscoe6 1]

I can understand the yellow tint. I believe Nike makes a yellow tinted contact for sports.

http://www.nike.com/nikevision/main.html#section=technology

I wore a tinted Oakley half-shield for a little while last season and really liked it. I dont know the science or reasoning behind it but the puck seemed to 'pop' a little on the ice.

A little function, a little 'look at me!' factor.

[fatwabbit 93]

Yellow is supposed to improve your depth perception, which is why a lot of shooters actually wear yellow tinted glasses (not only for safety sake).

There are some companies out there with pretty good lenses, some could be just part of the marketing effort, but I believe there should be some truth behind it. I know Bolle sunglasses have specific lenses for golf and tennis.

Why dont you just try it? just borrow the helmet for a couple of minutes or so and see how it goes. If it helps, great... if it doesnt, at least you didnt have to spend some money to try out something. In any case, doesnt really matter what other people think...

There's a guy here that I play drop in hockey with. He came by with all really high end stuff, so I assumed he was a good player. Actually, he was just starting out. He's actually someone who is real high up the corporate ladder, and the only reason he bought the high end stuff was not to show off, but it offered the most protection. I'd get the same if I were his age.

[cougarscaptain87 12]

ive used a tinted visor, and when i bought it i got the tint just because i thought it was cool, its kind of a double edge sword tho, if the rink is bright it is nice becasue is cuts out glare, if its a dark rink you might as well take the visor off. i have heard the blue seems to make everything brighter but have never used one, and the mirrored should never be purchased unless you can back it up like ovechkin.

[willy0314 0]

and the mirrored should never be purchased unless you can back it up like ovechkin.

I knew there was a reason why I couldn't bring myself to buying one

[RadioGaGa 162]

ive used a tinted visor, and when i bought it i got the tint just because i thought it was cool, its kind of a double edge sword tho, if the rink is bright it is nice becasue is cuts out glare, if its a dark rink you might as well take the visor off. i have heard the blue seems to make everything brighter but have never used one, and the mirrored should never be purchased unless you can back it up like ovechkin.

Can you get tinted visors for the Itech DX100? That would be a good option to try it. The visors replacements are only 20 or 30 bucks...compared to 80-90 to replace the visor...you could have a yellow and a clear, and change it based on the rink conditions.

[Havok19 0]

I play with a blue straight cut half visor from oakley and yes i see thing clearer and when i play deck hockey in the summer outside i dont get any trouble with the sun and the same can be said when i play inside with bad lightning.

And yes the cool factor is there and sometime i get the attention for the wrong reason.

But guess what I pay for my time and my stuff so who care what ppl say or do.You want one get one!

[B-Nads 0]

The tinted visors do are geared towards doing different things. The plain grey one is supposed to supress the birlliance of the white ice and boards. The blue is supposed to cuts down on the reflection of the light off the ice. The yellow brightens outlines and increases depth perception. All of them are prolly more sales gimmick than anything else, but after a season of my yellow Oakley aviator I wouldn't switch - when I take my helmet off it's like somone turned out the lights.

[Andoy 5]

ive used a tinted visor, and when i bought it i got the tint just because i thought it was cool, its kind of a double edge sword tho, if the rink is bright it is nice becasue is cuts out glare, if its a dark rink you might as well take the visor off. i have heard the blue seems to make everything brighter but have never used one, and the mirrored should never be purchased unless you can back it up like ovechkin.

Can you get tinted visors for the Itech DX100? That would be a good option to try it. The visors replacements are only 20 or 30 bucks...compared to 80-90 to replace the visor...you could have a yellow and a clear, and change it based on the rink conditions.

No you can't because it's tinted visors aren't approved.

[GoHabsGo24 1]

Thanks for the info guys... Im gonna try out my team mates and see how it is...

those nike contacts are crazy!

[lube 0]

one other point with the mirrored and darker tints is that it makes it much harder for a defenseman to see the forward's eyes, which is pretty useful when trying to work out what he's going to do next. i would have thought this was a huge advantage especially for the likes of ovechkin etc.

coaches will say you should be looking at the chest for the hit, but i find you can also gain a lot from glancing at the eyes if you want to win the puck, especially in non-checking hockey!

i also tried the oakley aviator mirrored, and found it really hard to follow the puck in my dark rink so went back to clear.

[hyprlte 0]

one other point with the mirrored and darker tints is that it makes it much harder for a defenseman to see the forward's eyes, which is pretty useful when trying to work out what he's going to do next. i would have thought this was a huge advantage especially for the likes of ovechkin etc.

coaches will say you should be looking at the chest for the hit, but i find you can also gain a lot from glancing at the eyes if you want to win the puck, especially in non-checking hockey!

i also tried the oakley aviator mirrored, and found it really hard to follow the puck in my dark rink so went back to clear.

correct me if im wrong but i dont think oakley makes an aviator mirrored visor, do they?

[lube 0]

you're right i bought the grey tint not the mirror. i only had it for about a week which is why i can't remember!

[chippa13 1844]

one other point with the mirrored and darker tints is that it makes it much harder for a defenseman to see the forward's eyes, which is pretty useful when trying to work out what he's going to do next. i would have thought this was a huge advantage especially for the likes of ovechkin etc.

coaches will say you should be looking at the chest for the hit, but i find you can also gain a lot from glancing at the eyes if you want to win the puck, especially in non-checking hockey!

i also tried the oakley aviator mirrored, and found it really hard to follow the puck in my dark rink so went back to clear.

If a defenseman is looking at a players eyes then he has bigger problems than whether or not the guy has a tinted shield.

[GoHabsGo24 1]

If a defenseman is looking at a players eyes then he has bigger problems than whether or not the guy has a tinted shield.

No kidding. If anyone, the goalie is the only one who should look at a players eyes. As well all know from Marty Brodeur's little oustburst...

[mickz 107]

A bit off topic here but do tinted visors fog up as much as the clear ones?

[lube 0]

i disagree, especially when playing non-checking hockey.

the eyes often give an indication of where the pass/move is going, and i find help a lot in winning the puck. even if the puck handler does not look at the time of the pass he has to look at some point in order to see the pass in the first place.

obviously the same would be true when the player is coming in on goal.

btw gohabsgo which team do you play with in london UK?

[PH_Hockey2 4]

I used to wear the blue Oakely visor and I thought it made everything more defined. I really liked it and I think I might buy one again.

[MLSman 22]

I have the Oakley VR903 in Blue and Yellow, as well as the HS22 mirrored. Here are my impressions:

Blue - vastly superior. I thought this one was a gimick at first, but after using it I felt a lot less strain on my eyes in the rinks in my area that are very bright. It significantly decreases the glare from the white light reflections around the rink. Suprisingly, the blue tint does not take long at all to adjust to. Things don't appear blue...it just makes white look dull.

Yellow - hard to get used to. Everything is a shade of yellow. I can't say that it increased depth perception for me. In my opinion it made everything brighter, which defeats the purpose of why I use a tinted visor: to assist with my sensitivity to bright light (white most noticeably). After trying it twice I can no longer wear it...gave me headaches, as do clear visors.

Mirrored - dark...very very dark. Darker than regular tinted. I found it hard to get used to, but once you do, I noticed that the inability to see your eyes does provide a minor advantage...especially if you are a defenseman. Most people follow the direction of my head, and I have been able to turn my head in one direction and look the opposite way...vastly expanding my vision for some slick breakout passes. I see less of an advantage on offense, because smart players are impeding your ability to get to the net...not watching your head or eyes.

[oliverloran 0]

I Don't know how it is in North America, but here in Europe ( as much as i know ) it's only allowed to have clear visors, no coloured ones and not talking about mirrored ones at all. ( IIHF rule num 224, sections 1-4 http://www.iihf.com/hockey/rules/rules_part_one.pdf ) So what is the rule there?

[GoHabsGo24 1]

btw gohabsgo which team do you play with in london UK?

I am moving there in a couple weeks and need to find a team...

I dont know what it is, but i've never been bothered by lights in any rink i've played in...

Are there many of you that have this issue?

[usahockey22 0]

My aviator sunglasses have a tint called "driver's gradient", which really makes everything appear more clearly while driving...lenses that are polarized would probably help too, as the surface of an ice rink typically reflects a lot of the ambient light. I could definitely see an advantage in using those, hence why it seems they aren't allowed in many places.

[mack 44]

That works for me; I'd put aviators in the same group as tinted visors in the list of things that bother me.

[BK 0]

That works for me; I'd put aviators in the same group as tinted visors in the list of things that bother me.

Same thing.

Having a tinted visor or aviator is a very bad first impression for me. If you have game to back it up (which I have yet to see) it redeems you. Until then you might as well enjoy the nice target that piece of plastic puts on you for looking like a douchebag.

[Next Sakic 0]

i have an oakley pro straight grey tint, and i find it takes off alot of the glare. its not overly dark and i had no problem getting use to it. i am thinking about going blue, i was because of my teams new colours, but after hearing how well it is, its very tempting.