First Look: Vallon Crossroads Goggle

From the Interwebs, we find that Vallon, a high-end eyewear company, is based in the Netherlands, has its “spiritual” home in Verbier, Switzerland, and was founded by two Swedish brothers. While we’ve been eyeing Vallon for a bit, we had an internal request for some new goggles to review, so we waited until we found something that piqued our interest. 

A few weeks ago, Vallon introduced their Crossroads goggles. While we often wait for the dust to settle on gear, the Crossroads seemed like a good fit for a THR review. As any goggle aficionado can tell you, goggles, their lenses, and field of vision have expanded over the last decade or so. And it is so with the Crossroads: they offer big-bold lenses, a face-wrapping full-field-of-vision curvature (man, that reads like ad-copy), a wide and stable strap, interchangeable lenses (more on that), and a Zeiss affiliation to boot: the lenses are manufactured by Zeiss, a name associated with the highest quality lenses (think cameras and optical instruments). 

Where goggles are concerned, it’s all about the lenses. So let’s dig in a bit. The lenses are “dual-layered.” The outer lens is Zeiss and is advertised as a 1.6mm shatterproof polycarbonate. The inner lens is the “anti-fog” lens, and it comes to Vallon from Mazuchelli, an Italian frame and lens crafter.

Like many goggles, the Crossroads allows for interchangeable lenses. Vallon calls its part-latch, part-magnetic system PolarLock. While removing the lens is pretty easy, take some time to familiarize yourself with the feel of popping a lens out, as nobody wants to snap a lens. Popping a lens back in feels pretty effortless once the main guidance tab—used to position the lens—is aligned. See the video below for details. 

The Crossroads is available to order with several lens options. We opted for the White/Silver, which allows 15% visible light transmission (VLT) and is Cat 3: best for partly cloudy/bright conditions. No matter which lens you choose, the Crossroad comes with a second violet lens with 31% VLT and a Cat 2 rating, best for variable light conditions. 

The second lens comes in a sleek protective case, making it ideal to stash in your pack on days when you might need to swap lenses. 

These goggles are on their way to the Tetons. If you see Adam Fabrikant charging around those hills with some sweet-looking white Vallon goggles, give him a howdy. Fabs, while known for his down-to-earth fashion sensibilities, will be stepping up his fashion game with the Crossroads.