No matter how advanced you are at skiing, everyone needs to wear the proper attire and equipment for a safe experience.
This includes protecting and covering your eyes. There are so many different designs, shapes and features to eyewear that your search can become daunting. However, in this article, we’re covering everything you need to know to buy the best ski goggles. Keep reading for some of our favourite recommendations too.
A Bit About the Best Ski Goggles for the Slopes
Of course to go skiing, you know you need a great pair of skis. But maybe you aren't sure why you need all of the other essential gear such as the best ski goggles. We've broken down everything you need to know below.
Why Do You Need Ski Googles?
Snowboarding and skiing are highly dangerous sports, and there are many hazards and potentials for injuries during these activities. However, wearing the best ski goggles helps to protect your eyes from any flying dangers. Also, wearing goggles by a professional brand means they’ll likely be polarized to prevent any sun glares. Also, they help to reduce the amount of glare so you don’t need to squint. As skiers travel in a white environment, it’s essential that they can see colour contrasts to differentiate between numerous objects. The best ski goggles enable you to see a variety of colours and shades in all types of weather.
When you’re skiing, you travel at high speeds. Therefore, you need a pair of ski goggles which won’t fall off as you travel downhill. Specially designed with soft and sturdy frames, they’ll stay in place – no matter your speed. By contouring your face, they’re also comfortable to wear for long periods of time. As you’re concentrating on skiing, you can’t always control what’s right in front of you. However, sometimes there are sharp particles, stones and materials which could potentially damage your eyes, if not blind you. Therefore, the best ski goggles seal the eyes and create a barrier to prevent any harmful objects hitting your eyes. They also help to see in all conditions – even during night or sudden darkness/brightness. They always protect your eyes during any harsh winds. Not wearing ski goggles during the sport will only put yourself at huge risk.
Factors to Consider When Buying Ski Goggles
Before you purchase ski goggles, there are some things to consider before you choose the right pair for your lifestyle, face shape and preferences. Firstly, consider the lens tint. You can make sure you get the right tint by considering where and when you choose to ski. If it’s in the morning, it’ll likely be sunnier than during the afternoon. Therefore, you should research the best ski goggles for when the sun’s out. Alternatively, it’s important that you consider the conditions you usually ski in. Are the trails smooth? Or is the environment often filled with trees and in dangerous, terrain conditions?
Regardless of your skiing conditions, we recommend purchasing ski goggles with an ultraviolet light protection. This is because they reduce the amount of harmful sun rays which enter your eye area. As a result, you won’t experience any sunburn around your eye area, or sudden sun glares which can impede your vision. Even when it’s not extremely sunny, the sun’s rays can bounce off the snow and other objects which can then go into your eyes. Rather than taking the risk, always ensure you’ll well prepared and protected for such situations. Lastly, although it might be obvious, always try your goggles on before skiing. They should stay in place whilst you move, but not be so restrictive that they limit your movements or leave marks on your face. Your comfort is also as important as safety. The best ski goggles have foam inserts, so they’re comfortable to wear.
The Best Ski Googles for a Variety of Styles
Before we present the best ski goggles to you, we want you to choose the right pair for you. Never judge them solely on appearance, as their safety features are the most important aspect of them. Firstly, you should understand the different lens categories. For low-light conditions, category one or two will suffice, as they won’t become too dark at any point. However, if you’ll be skiing in extremely sunny conditions, opt for category three or four. These feature the best technology to keep the most sun out of your eyes.
Once you’ve found the best ski goggles for you, maintaining them is important too. Only clean them with the bag they are sold with. If you use a sleeve or tissue, you can easily scratch the lens. Also, you should only clean the lenses when they’re dry. If they’re filled with snow, gently shake off. Furthermore, consider where you store your ski goggles whilst they’re not in use. Facing them down by their lenses will make them more likely to get scratched. With that being said, here are some of the best ski goggles to spend your money on.
1. Oakley Flight Deck XM Asian Fit Snow Goggles
If you’re looking for the best ski goggles, then these are a great choice for beginner-advanced skiers. Presenting themselves in a variety of colours, there’s a design and style for every skier. Also, you can choose a shade which best suits your fashion style and ski clothing. Featuring a revolutionary lens technology, these ski goggles are ready for many outdoor sports, aside from skiing. They’re also well-suited to numerous environments, as they protect the delicate eye area as you travel at fast speeds.
The lenses present themselves with an anti-fog design, which is a safe feature if you ski on high mountains. This is particular important for these environments as you can’t always predict when fog will appear. Therefore, we want you to be prepared for the worst at all times. With a lock system, you can quickly and easily appear them to the eye area and enable they’re safe and secure for long periods of time. This means you can get on with skiing without worrying that they’ll fall off of your face. Don’t worry if you wear prescription eyewear, as this brand of ski goggles which gladly accommodate different eye visions. Furthermore, you can change the lenses as and when required, so that as your eyes change, you don’t need to constantly update your glasses.
2. Dye Snow D2S Snow Goggles
These ski goggles are slightly larger than the previous product. However, this ensures that more of your face is protected, and gives you excellent peace of mind over your safety in extreme conditions. They also provide 100 percent UVA, UVC and UVB protection against harmful sunrays. Often, the best ski goggles only block out UV rays, but protecting yourself from all sunrays keeps you safer. All of these lenses are produced with optical clarity so that you can feel comfortable and safe knowing that your eyes aren’t at risk.
Also, the best ski goggles will last you for many years. This particular pair come with anti-fog and anti-scratch coatings to ensure they never let you down. Whilst some of the best ski goggles can protect your eyes, they aren’t always designed to handle unexpected damage whilst you’re skiing. If you’re in mid-action, what are you supposed to do if you can’t see and have no way of quickly getting to safety? Obviously, that is not a situation you want to find yourself in.
Finally, these wide frames are designed for a medium fit and come in a much larger frame than competitor brands. This is also due to the added bonus of protecting your eyes from 66 percent of light which transmits through the glasses. However, you won’t need to worry about sun glares any more.
3. Electric Visual EGB2 Volcom Co-Lab/Bronze Blue Chrome Ski Goggles
These are the best ski goggles for style and fashion, as the striking blue makes them extremely likeable amongst a variety of skiers. Not only does this blue look fashionable, but it’s designed for extremely bright conditions. Many people associate skiing with snow and cold weather, but don’t consider that the sky can reflect off of the snow and be blinding. Similar to the pair above, these ski goggles also come in a wide-fit to protect as much of the face as possible, without impeding vision or comfort.
Although these ski goggles might look bulky, they’re extremely lightweight and ideal to wear when travelling at fast speeds. Generally, these are better suited for more experienced skiers as they’re great for steep slopes. However, if you intend to ski on less-steep heights, then you won’t experience the benefit of these oversized goggles. Presenting themselves in a cylindrical design, these lenses are bent on the vertical axis, but on the horizontal axis, are flat. As a result, they’re mainly suited for straight skiing sessions, as they don’t offer much vision for peripheral view. However, that’s perfectly okay as not as skiers need this feature. It also means they're slighter cheaper to buy than other styles.
4. Smith Optics Ski Goggles
If you’re searching for the best ski goggles, but don’t want to spend a lot of money if you don’t use them often enough, then these are an ideal option for you. The main feature of these ski goggles is that they provide scratch and impact resistance. Therefore, you can enjoy this sport outdoors without worrying about scrapes and scratches ruining their appearance. Also, they’ve been thoroughly treated with an anti-fog feature to provide the clearest vision possible. Highly suitable for medium heads, these ski goggles are best-suited for adults, although you can easily adjust them to fit your head.
Comfort is another important component of the best ski goggles. This is why these ski goggles offer a three-layer face foam so they don’t irritate or damage the delicate eye area. Also, the silicone backed strap ensures that they won’t fall off of your face, or dig into the side of your head. The last thing you want is for your ski goggles to impede your fun because you’re constantly worrying about them falling off. Furthermore, these ski goggles are designed for skiers traveling in extreme environments and need their goggles to protect them. This is why these spherical lenses offer incredible views from all angles with no materials blocking out what you can see.
5. Uvex Sports Big 40 VFM Winter Snow/Ski Goggles
These are another of the best ski goggles no matter your skiing experience. Firstly, this particular company prides itself on providing an array of clothing and equipment to keep you safe and protected from head to toe. Offering a rubber strap with silicone inserts, these ski googles are quick and easy to put over your head, and just as easy to get off too. With a double foam and velour materials on the side, you don’t need to worry that these ski goggles will dig into your head whilst wearing them for hours at a time. Also, even some of the best ski goggles don’t offer goggle pads to adapt to the shape and size of your face. However, these Uvex sports goggles do.
Furthermore, you can securely attach these goggles to your helmet, and even wear them underneath your helmet. We love this design as it ensures that you keep your head protected and not just your eye area. With the added bonus of a ventilation system installed into these ski goggles, this means they won’t become unclear or misty in foggy conditions. As a result, they’re a great way to keep your goggles fog free in all weather conditions.
6. Revo Onix Goggles with Polarized Photochromi
If you’re a high-performance skier, you’ll require one of the best ski goggles to keep up with your speed. These Revo Onix goggles are everything an advanced skier needs to protect themselves in dangerous conditions. With high-quality lenses, these are a great choice to protect your delicate eye area from stones, debris and sunlight. As a result, you can have fun skiing without the weather and environmental conditions impacting your performance. Suitable for men and women, these are the best ski goggles to accommodate all fashion tastes. Carefully designed to stay on your face for an extended time, you don’t need to constantly adjust them to keep them in place.
These goggles provide a comfortable fit and the triple-layer face foam adds to the flexibility. As temperatures drop and increase, our skin can become tighter/looser. Therefore, you need the best ski goggles to keep up with these ever-changing temperatures. In total, they block out 100 percent of UVA, UVB and UVC rays to ensure that you have the best vision possible. For your goggles to protect you the best they can, you must ensure that they fit your face properly. If you intend to wear your goggles with a helmet, there shouldn’t be any space between these two items. If you do have gaps, you can experience sunburn or frost bites. However, these ski goggles are suitable to wear with a helmet.
7. Julbo Titan Multilayer Fire Snow Tiger Lens Ski Goggles
These are the best ski goggles if you have a small head. Alternatively, these are also suitable for children or youths. It can be difficult to find the right size if you’re an adult with a small face. However, if there are any obvious gaps between your skin and the goggles, they you can experience serious health conditions, or they may easily slip off. We also love that these ski goggles provide comfort for all day. With comfort and safety in mind, these goggles also absorb any shocks that you might experience all of a sudden. To ensure that you have the clearest vision at all times, these goggles feature an air flow to eliminate fog from steaming up your goggles.
Available in a variety of colours and styles, these ski goggles are suitable for many skiers – of all sex, fashion styles and goals. With soft padding throughout these goggles, they contour the shape of your face for a soft feel for hours. Also, designed with layers, these prevent any fogging or sweating which can impede your vision. Finally, the elastic strap on both sides is easily adjustable, so if you need to make these goggles bigger, you can easily do it as and when you need to.
8. Electric Bronze/Silver Chrome Ski Goggles
You can only purchase the best ski goggles if they’re made from high-quality materials and components. Therefore, we’d like to share these goggles with you – even if you’ve never skied before. Constructed with excellent techniques, these are designed to last and keep you safe whilst you’re in the snow. Ensuring that these goggles have a strong and supportive frame is that main factor why these are one of the best ski goggles you can purchase right now. When these arrive, ensure you wear them for at least 20 minutes before taking them off. This is a great way to test if they are comfortable on your pressure points.
With anti-glare features, these ski goggles are ideal for environments where there are sudden beams of light. The curves eliminate glare, whilst ensuring that you can see all around you without having to move your head too much. With limited blind spots, you’ll be aware of any potential hazard and be able to focus on what’s ahead of you. By offering a large frame and curve at the top, these goggles are compatible with many helmets without exposing any of your skin. Therefore, we recommend these ski goggles for a variety of outdoor environments.
9. Oakley Unisex-Adult Elevate Snow Goggle
These unisex ski goggles are stunning to look at, and feature one of the thickest frames compared to the other options above. As a result, we recommend them for a variety of winter sports, not just skiing. Designed for small faces, these goggles feature excellent attention to detail to eliminate any pressure at the side of your face and nose area. Therefore, you can breathe easily without having to adjust or move the goggles when you’re on the snow. If you notice any excess snow on your goggles, gently shake them off, rather than wiping, as you can damage the delicate lenses.
Another factor we love about these ski goggles is that they’re compatible with people who were spectacles. Sometimes, wearing glasses can put people off skiing because they believe you can’t wear both. However, you can. It just requires finding the right goggles for you.
10. Bolle Nova II Googles
These ski goggles have a genuine uniqueness to them which makes them stand out against some of the best ski goggles on the market right now. By utilizing advanced research, these are suitable to wear with helmets to ensure you’re the safest you can possibly be on the snow. Just by holding these goggles, you can appreciate the amount of time and care which has gone into them. When wearing ski goggles, you shouldn’t have to work hard to see what’s in front of you. Therefore, these goggles make skiing fun and as safe as possible.
Bolle Nova designed these ski goggles with comfort and safety in mind. Therefore, it’s no surprise that they feature an anti-fog layer so that any water molecules move across the lenses so that you can always experience a clear view ahead. Also, they feature a polarized film to keep out any bright lights. Therefore, you’ll notice that your skiing performance will improve because you can get an accurate vision of your environment.
Do You Have Any Recommendations for the Best Ski Goggles?
The fit is the most important factor of ski goggles. It doesn’t matter if they’re designed with multiple layers to keep UV rays out, if they fall off every few seconds. Therefore, always try on your goggles before heading to the snow. You shouldn’t feel any tension when wearing them. But if you do, try a wider pair to reduce any discomfort.
Do you have any recommendations for the best ski goggles? Or, perhaps you have some advice for finding the right pair for your face shape. If so, share your thoughts in the comments to inspire others.
Related Article: The Best Skis You Need Right Now for Comfortable Winter Sports Throughout the Year