Snow Goggles | Outdoor Master

A pair of ski goggles is the best way to protect your eyes and ensure you can see well on the mountain. They have many advantages over sunglasses, including optical performance, comfort, safety, and the all-around experience.

With this in mind, you need to buy the right pair of ski goggles for you. The perfect ski goggles will ensure your vision is fog-free and allow you to see in all light conditions. They also need to look good, as fashion is important!

In this article, we'll go through everything you need to know about ski goggles.

Ski Goggles Lens Shape

There are three main lens shapes used in ski goggles, offering different characteristics.

Cylindrical

Cylindrical lenses curve horizontally across your face and eyes but are flat in the vertical plane. This shape works fine; you'll find it on lower-end goggles, which often makes them a cheaper option.

The downside of a cylindrical lens is that the flatness can cause glare and limit your peripheral vision.

Spherical

Spherical ski goggle lenses curve horizontally, but they also curve vertically, following the shape of your eyes. This reduces distortion and glare while giving you greater peripheral vision.

Toric

Toric lenses curve horizontally but to a lesser extent than cylindrical lenses, but they curve vertically similarly to spherical lenses. This gives you better optics, a broad field of view, and low distortion.

How Ski Goggles Prevent Fogging

The problem with skiing is that you tend to do it in cold weather. When the warmth of your body meets the cold air, your ski goggles can be affected by condensation. This fogs your lens, so you can't see as you ski.

However, ski goggle manufacturers use a few methods to prevent your lens from fogging.

Multiple-layered Lenses

Most modern ski goggles have double lenses that act like double-glazed windows. The gap between the lenses creates a thermal barrier preventing the inside surface from fogging.

Anti-fog Coatings

Ski goggle manufacturers often treat goggles with anti-fog coatings. These treatments reduce the likelihood of moisture landing on the lens surface. You can buy aftermarket anti-fog treatments, but make sure the lens is suitable to avoid damage.

Ventilation

All ski goggles are ventilated with holes around the edge of the lens or frame. These holes let cool air in and warm air out before moisture has time to condense onto your lens.

Learn All About Lens Tints And VLT

Your lens color determines how well you can see in different light conditions. This is because the color filters and enhances colors entering your eyes.

How much light the lens lets depends on its visible light transmission (VLT).

Lighter Lenses

Light lenses have high VLT ratings as more light can pass through. These lenses are usually rose, gold, green, or amber and are best worn on cloudy days.

Darker Lenses

Dark ski goggle lenses have low VLT ratings as less light can pass through. These are usually gray, brown, or copper-colored and work best on sunny days.

Clear Lenses

Clear lenses have no color or tint. Therefore, they are best used for night skiing.

Lens Technology You Should Look For

Ski goggle manufacturers use many technologies to enhance your vision while on the mountain. Here are the ones you should look out for:

100% UV protection

Most ski goggles have 100% UV protection. This means they block UVA, UVB, and UVC rays. This is super important, as you're exposed to these harmful rays even on cloudy days.

Polarized

Polarized lenses reduce glare from sunlight bouncing off snow and water. But they can stop you from seeing icy patches, which could cause a prob

Photochromic

Photochromic lenses constantly and automatically change their tint to suit light conditions. They become lighter When you ski into the shade and become darker in the sun.

Interchangeable Lenses

When you can change your lens, you can pull one out of your backpack to suit the light conditions. Buying a different lens is much cheaper and more convenient than having two pairs of goggles.

Some ski goggles require you to bend the frame to remove the lens. But you can buy ones with interchangeable magnetic lenses, making the process much quicker and easier. 

Ski Goggles Fit

It is essential to ensure your ski goggles fit you properly. They should feel snug and comfortable but not too tight. You can buy ones in different sizes to suit those with small and larger faces.

But here are a few other things you need to consider to ensure you get the best fitting ski goggles.

Helmet Compatibility

It's best to check if the ski goggles you're planning on buying are compatible with your helmet. Most ski goggles and helmets are compatible, but you need to be sure.

Foam Padding

The foam fixed to the frame of your ski goggles does two jobs. It makes the goggles comfortable and creates a seal to prevent water from getting in, which would fog your lens. 

OTG (Over the Glasses)

Wearing glasses under ski goggles can be uncomfortable and cause them to fog due to a poor seal around your face. Therefore, if you wear glasses, you should opt for OTG ski goggles.

OTG ski goggles have more room inside to accommodate your glasses. The foam is also extra thick to ensure a good seal around the arms of your glasses and your nose.

Outdoor Master Ski Goggles Overview

The Outdoor Master range of snow goggles provides everything we've mentioned above and more. Here's an overview of what you can expect from Outdoor Master ski goggles:

A Wide Range Of Lenses

All Outdoor Master lenses are spherical, cylindrical, or toric, providing an excellent field of view and low distortion. A great example is the Vision Toric ski goggles, which have incredible clarity and low distortion.

Each model has a range of colored lenses that you can select to suit the lighting conditions. Much of the range features interchangeable magnetic lenses, so you can change your lens in an instant.

There's even a photochromatic option, so you don't have to change your lens at all.

You can expect some high-tech features throughout the range, too. The lenses on offer include polarized ones to reduce glare. You can choose color-optimized and Super HD lenses for ultimate clarity, enhanced contrast and boosted natural color.

High-End Anti-Fogging

All Outdoor Master lenses have two layers and an anti-fog coating to keep your vision clear. But some options, like the Ultra, have 3X anti-fog coating and ventilation. This provides fog-free skiing, even on the wettest days.

A Fit For Everyone

Outdoor Master ski goggles are compatible with nearly every ski and snowboard helmet you can buy. They are also all OTG goggles, so glasses wearers can take full advantage of the incredible range of ski goggles.

FAQs

What color lens is best for flat light?

When the light is flat, you need to choose a lens with a high VLT. A good choice would be rose, gold, green, amber, or yellow, as their VLT ratings are between 35 and 60%. These colors let in more light, which is best when the sun isn't shining.

Are polarized lenses suitable for skiing?

Polarized lenses significantly reduce glare from sunlight bouncing off the snow and objects. However, they can prevent you from seeing icy patches that you may want to avoid. Polarized lenses are fine if you can cope with unexpected changes in snow conditions.

Are regular sunglasses OK for skiing?

Sunglasses are fine for skiing until you start to ski faster or the weather is bad. The lack of coverage you get from sunglasses will cause your eyes to water. They are also more fragile, so you may break them in a fall.