Way, Way Too Much Technology in a Ski Goggle

By Rocky Thompson on December 4th, 2009

A Canadian company is developing a ski goggle with such a robust heads up display on the inside of the lens that it’s unlikely you’ll be able to see the slope. But that’s okay because with GPS technology, you’ll be able to look at where you are on the hillside on the resort’s trail map, and you’ll be able to see all your friends on the map. Other needlessly complex information includes hangtime, speed, vertical, temperature (how else will you know what to wear?), and altitude. The Recon Instrument Goggle will be out next year and sell for about $400. Put these things on, then pull on your helmet with built-in headphones, and you’re pretty much just playing video games. At some point we’ll be able to eliminate the need for a mountain and snow.

via Gear Junkie

This entry was posted on Friday, December 4th, 2009 at 10:37 am and is filed under Skiing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

9 Responses to “Way, Way Too Much Technology in a Ski Goggle”

1. flatlandcheese December 4th, 2009 at 11:22 am

   how about a HUD that will help you find a buried partner?

2. Super_duper December 4th, 2009 at 11:54 am

   That is a really good point. With a little combined tech it would be fairly easy to put a pip on the screen that would be your buddies beacon.

3. tyrone.sweetlick December 4th, 2009 at 12:14 pm

   That’s cool as long as it doesn’t interrupt my Lady Gaga video playback . . .

4. Utahrd December 4th, 2009 at 1:57 pm

   Well played tyrone.sweetlick, well played.

5. rudy December 4th, 2009 at 5:49 pm

   They certainly have an uphill fight: power density problems, water resistance, screen brightness, user interface design, signal problems, shock and vibe, FCC approvals, CE emissions approvals, mechanical design, weight, and on and on. I wish them the best of luck, but I expect this to come out on the 5th of never.

6. jack December 4th, 2009 at 7:55 pm

   They are after the wrong market. Put this kind of thing in a swim goggle and the triathletes would go crazy over it.

7. tommyboy December 5th, 2009 at 12:56 pm

   How about including a force of impact scale so you can see how hard your noggin hits the tree you didn’t see because of all the distracting crap on your lens, and automatic paging to the on-call neurosurgeon?

8. billygoat December 7th, 2009 at 11:09 am

   for every goggle out there this could apply - skiing, motocross, Mountain biking, and other types of extreme sports. you ever tried to read a GPS mounted on a handle bar going 50 mph through whoops? it sounds like a great idea to me, not necessarily cause we need it, but because we want it.

9. Forrest December 17th, 2009 at 10:10 am

   I like having a speedometer, but those goggles are over the top. Really, it’d be easier to just clip a GPS to your belt, and look at all the pretty charts when you get back to your room.

   The reason I go hiking / cycling / kayaking / etc is to get away from computers, not to strap them to my eyes…