I’ve been using the Outdoor Master Ultra Ski Goggles since their introduction last season and they’re my go to goggles now. I’ve used them in all sorts of conditions, from horrible fog and rain at Whitefish to bluebird sunny days in Utah and they’ve never let me down. Outdoor Master ski goggles Ultra available for under $100 making them an incredible value. Here’s my full review of the goggles, including how they compare to similar models on the market.

What makes the Outdoor Master Ultra goggles special? They have taken the best features of all the top ski goggles out there and put them into one very affordable package. They give up nothing to the best from Oakley, Smith, and Anon for less than half the price.

Outdoor Master did an excellent job of benchmarking the top ski goggles when designing the Ultra’s. They combined the best elements such as the lens swapping system from Anon, lens clarity from Oakley, color optimization from Smith Chromapop, and the frame and face foam from Smith.

Let’s get into the details. The Ultra is the flagship model from Outdoor Master. They have several improvements over their very popular Outdoor Master Pro model while keeping everything we liked about it. It is a large fit goggle. It has a larger frame than the Pro model which is a medium fit goggle. The Ultra has toric shaped lens while the Pro has spherical shaped lens. Lens clarity, ventilation and anti-fog performance have also been improved.

Cost

Outdoor Master Ultra retail for $105-$95. For around $100, you get 2 high clarity lens, a hard goggle case, and 2 microfiber lens/cleaning bags which is a great value.

Lens

First, let’s start with the lens. The Ultra goggle uses a toric shape for the lens. It has a different radius in vertical and horizontal directions. Think of a lens cut from a donut shaped object. This gives less distortion and a better field of view than a spherical or cylindrical lens.

It also has a more lean look to it than spherical lens which can look like a bulge sticking out from your face. The lens are made from a durable polycarbonate material and are treated with an advanced anti-fog coating. They also have 100% UV protection, so you don’t have to worry about harmful sun rays damaging your eyes while you’re out on the slopes.

They are available in a variety of colors and VLTs. The available VLT range runs from 10% Grey silver lens to a 90% clear lens. There are 4 VLT 10-19% mirror or Revo finish lens that are good for bright sunny days.

They have 4 color optimized lens that are labeled as “Optimize Orange” with VLT’s from 22-29%. These are some of the best flat light lens available. They are good for flat light, cloudy, overcast, snowy, foggy, or rainy days.

The Ultra goggles come packaged with 2 lens. They come with a primary lens that is from the 4 bright light lens or the 4 color optimized lens. The second lens is always a 90% clear or 85% blue lens that is good for night skiing or low light conditions.

There is no Ultra option that includes a 10-19% bright lens and a 22-29% color optimized flat light lens. Smith I/O and Squad goggles come with a lens combination similar to this. You can buy a set of Ultra’s and buy an extra lens and you’ll still spend $100 less than a set of Smith I/O Mags and you’ll have 3 lens instead of 2.

I recommend buying an extra lens with the Ultra goggle so that you have 1 bright lens VLT 10-19% and 1 color optimized VLT 22-29% lens. That gives you a full range of lens good for Bright days, and flat days, along with low light and night skiing.

I personally use the following lens set that covers me for almost any ski day. I use the color optimized lens more than anything else here where it’s not sunny for most of winter.

• VLT 13% Grey Lens with Full REVO Sapphire Blue – Sunny days or a few clouds

• VLT 26% Optimize Orange Lens with Full REVO Blue – Partly cloudy, cloudy, overcast, snowy, foggy, and rainy days

• VLT 90% Clear Lens – Evening and night skiing.

Frame

The frame of the goggles is made from a flexible TPU material that conforms to your face for a comfortable fit. The face foam is also extremely soft and comfortable, even when wearing them for long periods of time.

If you compare the Ultra goggles face foam and nose molding you can see it’s very similar to the Smith I/O Mag design. It’s a very smooth and comfortable feeling goggle design.

The nose foam has a cinch to it so it doesn’t feel like it’s pinching your nose. I find them really comfortable to wear without any pressure points or pinches anywhere on my face. The foam also does a great job of wicking sweat and moisture away.

There is no “Low Nose Bridge” or “Asian Fit” version of the Ultra. If you have a flat nose shape, the Outdoor Master Vision goggles have a different frame and face foam that works better for flat nose shapes.

The Vision goggles are also great goggles that are large fit with toric lens. For people that want a medium fit goggle, the Outdoor Master Pro Plus (Outdoor Master Zealot on Amazon) have similar Ultra lens in a smaller size goggle.

Lens swap system

↑Outdoor Master vs. Anon vs. Oakley vs. Smith lens swap system comparison

The Ultra uses a magnetic lens swap system. To change lens, just flex the frame or pull up on one corner of the lens and it will pop off. Line up the new lens and let it snap into place.

The magnets are strong enough to pull the lens into place from several inches away. I have never had any issues with the lens coming off while skiing. We have compared the Ultra to the Anon M4 magnetic lens goggle. The Ultra uses magnets that are just as strong and hold the lens in place just as well.

Anti-fog performance

One key element to ski goggle performance is how well do they resist fogging. I will rate the Ultra goggles as good as any goggle out there for fog resistance. They have excellent ventilation and a really good anti fog coating.

According to Outdoor Master the Ultra perform 3 times better than the EN-174 standard for snow goggle anti-fog performance. Most goggle manufacturers design just to meet the standard.

I used my Ultra for 4 days at Whitefish Montana. Whitefish Montana is one of the foggiest places in North America if not the world. We had 4 days of heavy fog and rain.

We could barely see 1 tower ahead riding the chairs. The Ultra performed great and never fogged up during this trip. I had to occasionally windshield wipe the front of the goggles off to get the rain and sludge snow buildup off. I never had fog form on the inside of the goggles.

Flat light performance

I have used the Ultra on some pretty tough foggy, dull, flat conditions. The optimize orange lens work as well as Smith ChromaPop on low light flat days. I spent years skiing with Smith I/O goggles before switching to the Ultra last winter and don’t feel like I gave up anything at all. See our guide to the best ski goggles to learn more about other options.

OTG compatible

The Outdoor Master Ultra goggles are OTG compatible. They work very well over glasses. The large frame makes them easily fit over most goggle frames.

How do the Ultra stack up to Smith, Oakley and Anon

How does the Ultra stack up to the most popular high performance goggles out there? Let’s take a look. The current most popular top performers in the ski goggle world are the Smith I/O Mag, Oakley Flight Deck, and Anon M4. We have skied with all of them.

Smith I/O Mag

The Smith I/O Mag has excellent lens. They are toric shaped similar to the Ultra. All Smith ChromaPop lens are color optimized so you will always see a yellowish/orange tint when looking through them. It improves vision in flat light conditions. Some people don’t like the yellowish tint in bright conditions which is the downside. The Ultra lets you have bright lens without yellow tint.

The Ultra and I/O Mag have very similar frame construction and face foam. They are both very comfortable to wear.

The I/O Mag has a lens change system that uses latches in the frame and magnets. The latches can’t be unhooked with the goggles on your head. They are under the strap when you’re wearing it. This is a huge miss for the I/O Mag. The whole point to using magnetic lens attachments is easy swapping. You can’t easily swap the I/O Mag lens.

I/O Mag comes with 2 lens like the Ultra. The primary lens is always a bright condition lens. The second lens is always a mid VLT flat light lens that compliments the main lens very well. They include a microfiber bag with 2 pockets for storing the goggles and extra lens. It works but it is a pain to get the goggles and extra lens into the bag. You can get a cylindrical lens version of the I/O Mag called the Squad Mag for those who like the cylindrical lens look better.

Oakley Flight Deck

Oakley is known for having really excellent lens and good style in their goggles. The Flight Deck is a spherical lens frameless design. It uses Oakley Prizm lens which have really good clarity. They do not have an orange or yellow undertone to them. Their mid VLT lens use the same color inside and out. You can’t have a colorful (on the outside) flat light lens.

The Flight Deck goggles use Oakley’s Ridgelock system. The Ridgelock system requires you to take the goggles off and pull the frame off the lens. You have to align a ridge to the lens and snap it all back into place. It takes a couple of minutes. You can’t do it while wearing the goggles.

Oakley uses generic face foam on their goggles. Their comfortable but not as comfortable as Smith or the Ultra.

Flight Deck goggles do not come with an extra lens. The extra lens cost as much as a set of OM Goggles by themselves. Flight Deck goggles come with a microfiber bag for storing the goggles.

Oakley sells a similar cylindrical lens goggle called the Oakley Fall Line.

Anon M4

Anon created the magnetic goggle lens swap system with their M2 goggles. The M4 is their latest model. It is available with either toric or cylindrical lens. They have designed it so 1 frame works with either lens so you can have both shapes.

The Anon M4 have a magnetic face mask that attaches to the goggles. They sell a whole system of face masks that work with the goggles. They are easy to flip up and down over your mouth.

The downside of the Anon M4 is its lens. They do not have a bright mirror appearance to them in person. Their Perceive lens don’t really have any other special tech going on. Their clarity and flat light performance are average. Anon paid attention to every detail of their goggles except for making lens that really match the price of these goggles. They were using Zeiss lens produced by Giro before they created the Perceive labeled lens.

The M4’s come with a second lens and a face mask. They also include a microfiber bag for storing the goggles and a hard case for the extra lens. The extra lens is a mid VLT lens that is suitable for flat light and low light conditions.

Ultra Goggles Pros and Cons

PROS

• Under $100 including second lens and hard case

• Available color optimized lens for great flat light performance

• Advanced toric lens shape for low distortion and big field of view

• Very good clarity lens

• They resist fog as good as any goggle out there from anyone

• Very comfortable to wear with soft face foam

• OTG compatible and comfortable to wear with glasses

• Many color and VLT lens options are available

CONS

• No cylindrical lens option available or cylindrical lens version of the Ultra goggles

• There is no Low Bridge Fit/Asian Fit version of the Ultra

The Verdict

If you’re in the market for a new pair of ski goggles, I would highly recommend checking out the Outdoor Master Ultra. They are one of the best values out there in ski equipment. They offer great clarity and visibility in all conditions, have a comfortable fit, and come with a hard lens case for storage and protection.

At under $100 they’re priced less than half what Oakley and Smith charge for similar performance goggles. If you’re looking for a great pair of ski goggles that won’t break the bank, be sure to give the Outdoor Master Ultra a try.