Spy Targa II Snowboard Goggles

Spy 2012/2013 Goggle Sneak Peak

21.05.12

Spy Optics Brand Manager Brent Sandor on the 2012/2013 goggle line.

What are the three biggest trends you see shaping the market and what are you doing to meet them?

We marched to our own drum this season pretty-much, but there are some influences we see in the market today that definitely inspired us.

First, design and technology combinations have to have real utility—if you do something to a goggle, it should do something really important, really useful, or leave it out. For example, we deepened our offering on our patent-pending Flight strap, which is perfect for people like Louie Vito who wear their goggles under their helmets or for those who just want something different that won’t loosen during the day.

Next, oversized goggles and increased field are still going strong, but there is a point where too big is too big.

Finally, in terms of aesthetics, graphics that echo someone’s personal style or tell a cool story are what we picked-up on. We spent all season sneaking around and analyzing people’s styles on the hill—some on point, some completely “out there”—and have done our best to meet their needs with all new colorways that include our team and artists collaborations, as well as a new color story influenced by a return to basics and outdoor culture street wear. In terms of the whole products-that-tell-a-story trend, we really like the idea of giving back. For example, we worked with team rider Sarka Pancochova to create a partnership with the Keep A Breast foundation and designed a goggle that will help fund their initiatives promoting breast cancer awareness and detection. The Keep A Breast crew is amazing to work with and we are stoked to be a small part of what they do. Social responsibility is a trend that we will keep rolling with even if it isn’t trending. It’s part of SPY’s DNA, what our riders are about and why we do what we do.

Source: Transworld Business