Review: 100% Racecraft Goggles
May 31st, 2013
By Factory Jackson in Reviews
It has to be said that there is something pretty special about that complex mix of brightly coloured plastic, clear lexan, sweat absorbing foam and silicone that makes goggles one of the only items most of us have multiples of. We don’t need a drawer full, but yet we do and like a kid in a candy store, the allure of some shiny new optics for getting muddy in is never far away…
Words: Olly Forster | Photos: Thomas Gaffney & Olly Forster
Having tested both the entry level Straight away, the Racecraft’s look and feel every bit the premium product they are billed to be, but at £50 with the clear lens (£70 for the mirrored) they are also extremely well priced amongst the competition. Separating themselves from the other goggles in the range, which coincidentally all share the same lens pattern, the Racecrafts boast a few upgrades including most notably, strap outriggers and a removable nose-guard, but in all honesty, the real pull for mountain bikers will be the awesome colours and designs! The nose guard – pretty much a moto thing and designed to help reduce the chance of roost from the bike in front, hitting you in the gap between the chin piece on your helmet and the bottom of your goggles. For MTB, it’s another barrier that will help keep mud out of your face and down your mouth… The great thing about 100%’s nose guard design, is that taking it on and off is a piece of cake. To aid airflow, the Racecraft’s feature small vents at the bottom of the frame to help channel air in, helping to reduce the moisture build up that occurs and can lead to misting. The supplied lexan lens does have an anti-fog coating, which after a few careful washes is still doing its job and in all honesty, I’ve been pretty damn impressed with the anti-fogging abilities of 100%’s goggles from day one. Manufacturing quality and the attention to detail is everywhere on the Racecraft and its no surprise that they have quickly become the goggle to have right now. Onto performance qualities, you are looking at a triple layer of foam to help keep things nice and as dry as possible although I have found that the foam is quite coarse on all 100% goggles, but soon passes after a few minutes… We used the Racecraft’s with a TLD D3, the Bell Full-9 (pictured below) and the Fox Rampage Pro Carbon and all without issue. The outrigger’s present on either side of the Racecraft’s frame are designed to reduce pressure at the edges of the goggle where they sit against the face. They do this by transferring the pressure from the point where the strap would normally be located and move it to the sides of the helmet where the silicone strips on the inside of the 45mm embroidered strap, take care of any slippage and positioning issues. Conclusion All in all, at £15 more than the mid level Accuri, the Racecraft’s do offer a bit more punch, but the question is: “do they benefit mountain bikers?”. While the major upgrades present are aimed at the moto rider, their advantages are not lost on us altogether – it’s just that we might not notice them as much. The nose guard I feel will be taken off and not used again, but the outrigger strap design does do its job and does so rather well. Would I recommend the Racecraft’s? Definitely! They are a very neat set of well designed and delivered optics and the colours and designs available put much of the competition to shame and surely a massive reason for the accelerated success of this brand. Aesthetics aside, the Racecrafts do what they were designed to do and do it well. Looking rad is merely a bonus! 100% is exclusively distributed in the UK by Decade Europe and for more info on the range, hit the logo below. Happy trails, Olly. 
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