Equipment: Bauer vs Oakley vs Tron Visors — Best For Clarity/Vision?

[nutlog13]

I've gone almost 20 years with no facial protection, but a recent broken nose has me changing my tune a bit. So I'm looking for what I'd call the "least noticeable" visor I can get. Not least noticeable in appearance, per se, but least noticeable/obtrusive TO ME, personally, to wear. I don't want one of those super-low profile ones that barely covers my nose, but really just a standard size "pro" style one. Aviator/wave/curved is fine, if that helps decrease fogging from my giant shnoz; otherwise the standard straight cut is perfectly acceptable. I just don't want one that feels too large for my face.

Anyway, my biggest concern is visibility — the least amount of "warping" around any edges, and the least fogging. I was originally just comparing the Bauers and Oakleys, but I recently came across some praise for the cheap Trons. So if these were my choices, is there any BIG difference between them? Any have particularly clearer or less warped view, fog any better or worse? Any way bigger/taller than the others (hard to find some size specs) or are they all pretty similar in size? i.e. the Oakley Aviators appear taller and come down the face further, so I'm not as interested in those.

http://www.hockeytron.com/tron-hock...ratch-Anti-Fog-Hockey-Helmet-Visor-Clear.html

http://www.hockeytron.com/tron-hock...-S50-Dominator-Hockey-Helmet-Visor-Clear.html

http://www.inlinewarehouse.com/Bauer_HDO_Pro_Straight_Shield_Clear_/descpage-BHPST.html

http://www.inlinewarehouse.com/Oakley_VR903_Pro_Straight_Hockey_Helmet_Visors/descpage-VR903.html

Thanks!

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[Nibbler]

I prefer straight cut visors. I, like you?, have a fairly large shnoz and I typically don't have problems with my visor fogging up.

I used an Oakley straight cut visor for a few years. Vision and fog were never a problem, but eventually this coating started to crack and wear off, making it pretty tough to see out of. I'm not sure if this is a common problem with Oakleys, I never looked into it. I didn't take the greatest care of it though, I would just wipe the sweat off instead of wash it, maybe that was the problem.

I've never used Bauer or Tron, so I don't have an opinion on those. I am also in the market for a new visor though, and I'm looking at Bauers, so I'll keep an eye on this thread too

 

[Terry Yake]

for vision and clarity, oakley is the best

if you're looking for a smaller visor, go for the oakley VR 904

 

[not a troll]

The Trons are just as good as the Oakleys. I've used both.

 

[r3cc0s]

The Trons are just as good as the Oakleys. I've used both.

they are not...

but they're good enough

the material is of significantly less quality, yet the clarity and size is quite good.
its the same copied design of bauer or oakley, has very good optics, but not nearly as thick.

I use one on my HT2, and have an oakley on my V08 and have no issues with either...

one thing it does well, is cope with scratches... very easy to buff out vs Oakley I find, just because the material is softer.

 

[sanityplease]

Started using Bauer HDO pro-clip (straight cut), after playing for 17 years with nothing (since junior), I've never noticed that I was wearing anything at all once the game started. Pay full price for the first one, but the replacement lenses are cheap. Couldn't be happier.

Here are the replacement lenses, $35 each.
http://www.hockeymonkey.com/bauer-hockey-faceshield-hdo-pro-clip-straight-replacement-lens-2pk.html

 

[nutlog13]

Yeah, I figured it was a safe bet the Trons were not quite as high physical quality. Short of them being so crappy that a puck to the visor sends splintered shards of plastic into my corneas, I'm okay with them being thinner, lower quality material.

The main thing for me is optics; lack of distortion, anti-fogging, or losing the puck with a blurry line or awkward transition along the bottom of the visor.

 

[nutlog13]

From the specs I've found it does look like the Trons match up item-for-item with an Oakley counterpart. They definitely seem to mimic the Oakleys more so than the Bauers, style and size-wise.

Tron S50 = Oakley VR900 Aviator
Tron S40 = Oakley VR904 Slim
Tron S30 = Oakley VR903 Straight

Bauer's Wave has very similar size (3.5" @ cheeks, 3" @ middle) to the Oakley VR901 Modified Pro Aviator. And Bauer's pro straight is 3" in the middle... making it just a tiny bit bigger than the S40/VR904 slims, and a good half inch smaller than the S30/VR903 straight. I've read some reviews of people saying the Bauers have a bit of a blurred line along the bottom of the visor... making it a bit awkward to lose the puck in your feet.

The crazy part is I can buy FOUR Tron S30's ($19.99) for the price of an Oakley VR903, which is the exact same size and very similar appearance. So as long as the S30 is pretty damn close to the Oakley in terms of visibility, that may be it just for the price alone. Doesn't sound like the Oakleys are 4x better in visibility/distortion...

 

[not a troll]

they are not...

but they're good enough

the material is of significantly less quality, yet the clarity and size is quite good.
its the same copied design of bauer or oakley, has very good optics, but not nearly as thick.

I use one on my HT2, and have an oakley on my V08 and have no issues with either...

one thing it does well, is cope with scratches... very easy to buff out vs Oakley I find, just because the material is softer.

Both Oakley and HT use window grade Lexan brand polycarbonate for their visors. As far as I know (and I have an industrial engineering background and actually just checked with my plastics supplier), all window grade Lexan PC is the same.

The material thickness might be different, and I'll bring home my caliper later today to check, but the material quality is the same.

 

[Terry Yake]

i used a tron visor for a few years and never had any problems with it, it would fog up sometimes but i have definitely used worse visors over the years

compared to the oakley visor though, i would take the oakley any day. it never fogs up and the clarity is crystal clear

 

[Rookie109]

I can't say much about the Tron visors since I've never seen one. The price is great at least

I can say the Bauer visors are great but way over priced for what you get. I had issues with the amber tinted wave HDO Pro Clip visor; the tint simply wore off after a few times using anti-fog spray. I than switched to the same exact visor but in regular clear tint, I got tired of it though when I realized I spent nearly $121 and switched to a cheaper alternative.

I switched to Avision Ahead Pro X straight cut visor (@ 30% off) and have not looked back since. Avision Ahead is the only company to use anti-fog and anti-scratch on both sides of the lens; the pricing is a little more than the Tron visor but way less than Oakley or Bauer. 10/10 so far

http://www.hockeyfaceshields.com/Home_Page.html

 

[Jisatsu]

I've used a bunch of visors since the 90's, mostly itech, so I don't have much to say about Bauer or Oakley. Currently for league games I use a tron visor. It lasted a whole season with no scratches and excellent clarity. It's their standard straight visor.

My last visor was an Oakley visor, and that thing spiderwebbed up the first time I went to clean it with a microfiber cloth. Used it for a year like that, poor visibility and all. It protected my face well but fogged up badly if I didn't use the Oakley defogger spray, and it scratched badly if you even thought about taking a stick to the face. Was a big let down compared to the two itech visors I had before it.

I'd personally just buy two $20 tron visors and a couple bottles of anti fog spray to get you through a season or two of men's league instead of an over priced Oakley visor. The clarity is miles better than the old itech cheap-o visors we'd get back in the 90's and they feel way more protective too.

 

[roffleburger]

I've used the Bauers (ITECH), Oakleys, and Tron visors (currently using an S50). The different in optics to me isn't noticeable between the Oakleys and the Trons, and for $30 you can't go wrong.

 

[IDuck]

have had the HT one for about 3 years now. still just as good as the day i bought it. it does fog up a little but a good anti fog (or soap/pledge/shave cream/etc.) does the trick. im thinking of buying another one just in case i need it some day