Should you wear ski goggles or sunglasses?
That ski trip is finally approaching and you’re wondering what is the best way to protect your precious eyes from snow, sun and wind? Depending on the winter sports you practise and your current gear, here’s our advice for choosing the right equipment.
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Similar sun protection against UV rays
Whether skiing, snowboarding or snowshoeing, the top priority on high mountain slopes is to protect your eyes against light and UV rays. In fact, the higher the altitude, the more intense the rays. They can cause sunburn of varying severity on the skin and are extremely dangerous for the eyes. To benefit from optimal protection, it is important to choose quality lenses. For this, manufacturers offer ski goggles and ski sunglasses combining protection and specific filters against glare.
In fact, whether you prefer sunglasses or goggles, the protection will be equivalent for the same category. The category represents the level of protection of tinted lenses, which protect the eyes by filtering out the sun's harmful rays. Depending on the degree of tint, a CE marking or standard must appear on your lenses, indicating their level of protection. In all cases, be sure to choose lenses suited to the weather conditions you will be facing.
Good to know
There are 5 protection categories, ranked from 0 (the weakest in terms of percentage of protection) to 4 (the strongest). In the high mountains, of course, opt for lenses with a high category (3 to 4).
Partial or complete eye protection
If the lens category does not give the advantage to sunglasses or ski goggles, the difference can lie in how much coverage your protection offers. Indeed, if the sun's rays pass between the lenses and the face, they are not filtered effectively and are therefore a threat to the eyes.
As such, thanks to their panoramic shape, ski goggles perform much better because they completely hug the upper half of the face. They are also all the more useful against the cold, in bad weather (snowfall, rain, draughts…) or when falling in powder, keeping your eyes safe and dry. The foam surround of the goggles is generally sealed enough to prevent any infiltration under the lens, ensuring maximum protection for the wearer.
If you'd rather go with mountain sunglasses, which have the advantage of being less bulky to carry, be sure to choose a pair that covers your eyes as much as possible. However, in practice, very few sunglasses can cover the face as much as goggles.
Check the compatibility with your helmet
More and more common on the slopes, helmets offer skiers and snowboarders a significant guarantee of safety, protecting the head in the event of a fall or collision. Easy to wear with a helmet, sunglasses have a moderate width that allows them to adapt easily to the contour of the helmet without bothering the wearer.
With ski goggles, it can be more complex due to their larger size, making them less easy to fit with a helmet. However, today's ski goggles are often designed to work as one with the helmet, allowing good ventilation from the front to the back of the head. In addition, this goggle-helmet synergy forms a real barrier against the cold across the whole top of the face by covering the space above the eyes.
Leisure sport or extreme sport?
To make the right choice, it is above all your winter sports practice that should guide you. If you are a speed enthusiast who likes to race down the slopes, or even an extreme sports lover, then it's a good idea to opt for ski goggles. They will guarantee a higher level of comfort thanks to their seal against cold, wind and snow.
On the other hand, if you ski or snowboard less often and prefer a more moderate pace (cross-country skiing or snowshoeing, for example), then sunglasses will be your ideal ally for enjoying the alpine scenery. They will also be much more practical for enjoying a drink in the sun at the mountain restaurant!