Ski Goggles

Ski Goggles and Snowboard Goggle Shopping Tips

Shopping ski goggles and snowboard goggles can be a trying process with so many different features, brands, styles and fits. Here at Skis.com, we know because we stock more goggles than you can try on in a day. But don’t worry; shopping for goggles online doesn’t have to be a hassle. Here we will briefly cover the refinements that we use to sort our goggles, which make it easy for you to sort through the best 2018 ski goggles.

Shopping Goggles by Brand, Gender and Price

The easiest to use refinements for goggles are the most important. On the left side of the goggles page you will see refinements; refinements for brand, gender and price are the first three listed downwards.

Brand- Shopping by brand is very beneficial when looking for a pair of goggles. Certain skiers and snowboarders are very brand loyal; sometimes it’s the fit and sometimes it’s just the brands logo, image or background. No matter the reason you can easily shop ski goggles and snowboard goggles by selecting one brand or more in the brand refinement on the left-hand side of the page. To shop one brand simply select that brand, “Oakley” and the page will refresh with only Oakley ski goggles, to select another just add that brand, “Smith” and the page will refresh with both Oakley and Smith goggles.

Gender- Yes, there is a difference between men’s and women’s ski and snowboard goggles. The shape, styling and fit are all specially designed for either a male or female face shape. In the gender refinement, you can select either adult (men’s), women’s, kid’s (boy’s) or girl’s and be shown only goggles for that specified choice. This helps dramatically cut your search to only show goggles that will fit for your choice.

Price- Maybe one of the easiest to use and most effective refinements is for price. Here you can easily narrow your selection of the goggles you will be shown to just those that fit into your budget. Under this refinement you can select one or more price ranges and only be shown ski goggles and snowboard goggles that fit within these price requirements.

Shopping Goggles by Frame Color and Frame Size

Frame Color- With such a large selection of goggles we end up with an array of colors so being able to shop by frame color is a big bonus. In the “Frame Color” refinement you can select any one of the colors in the palette and be shown only goggles that are predominately that color.

Frame Size- Not everyone has the same size or shape of face which makes shopping goggles by frame size and shape great. Here you can select refinements such as large, medium or small and only be shown ski goggles within that frame size.

Shop Goggles by Lens Type and Lens Shape

There are different options to accommodate the light conditions you plan on skiing in as well as the lenses that best suits how you want to see the mountain:

Polarized Lenses- These lenses reduce the amount a glare from the sun and snow. The less glare that you have, the less your eyes will fatigue. Polarized Lenses do not sacrifice visibility in low light conditions.

Photocromatic Lenses- If versatility is what you’re looking for, photochromatic lenses are what you want. They can automatically lighten or darken depending on the light conditions. Photocromatic lenses offer you great visibility in all light conditions because they adjust with the exposure of UV radiation coming from the sun. The greater the sunlight, the darker the lens becomes; the less sunlight, the lighter the lens becomes.

Mirrored Lenses- Mirrored lenses, or chrome lenses, are slightly or fully reflective on the outside, and the mirrored coating blocks additional sunlight in bright or very light conditions. It can also help reduce glare by reflecting more light as well as allow less light through the lens. Since they allow less light through you will have less visibility on overcast days.

Non-Mirrored Lenses- Non-mirrored lenses do not have reflective properties so they will allow light to filter through the lens. These are recommended for overcast days or night time. On sunny days, they will allow sunlight through causing glare.

Spherical Lens- These goggles have a lens shape that matches the curvature of your eyes to give you a less distorted field of vision, more peripheral vision and a clearer sharper view. Spherical lenses are more expensive but give you the best optics.

Flat Lens- Many goggles have flat lenses, also known as cylindrical lenses. They have a limited field of vision and your peripheral view may have minimal distortion. They are subject to more glare.

Shopping Goggles by Additional Features

Below all the main refinements we went over above are many more in depth refinements below. Here you can narrow down your selection even further by selecting things like ventilation, how easy it is to change lenses, model year and more. With so many refinements and ability to search you will be able to get exactly the goggles you are looking for. Get a complete education on goggles by reading our Ski Goggle Buying Guide in our Ski-O-Pedia.

Need help picking the right size for you? Read our Ski Goggle Sizing Guide to find your perfect fit.