They say seeing is believing, but we think ‘seeing’ should swap to skiing. After all, if you can’t see, you can’t ski. So, what do you do if you need glasses to hit the slopes? Read on and find out everything to know about skiing with glasses.
If you wear glasses, you know how important it is to see clearly – especially on the mountain. We all want to maximize our ability to see what’s ahead of us on the slopes. Luckily, technology and gear have made gigantic leaps in this department, meaning you can ride with your prescription — and confidence.
So, what are your options? Let’s dig into our top tips. And while you’re checking out these recs, don’t forget to dive into our newest selection of base layers and ski gloves.
How to ski with perfect vision
Get prescription ski goggles or inserts
Wear contacts
Choose the correct glasses
Select the right goggles
Prescription ski goggles are the first and top option, as they avoid the risk of unnecessary fogging, discomfort, or injury. All cards on the table: getting prescription ski goggles isn’t easy. Don’t fear, though – it’s super easy to get inserts instead.
Prescription goggle inserts are specifically designed to fit snuggly into little plastic frames inside your goggles. They’re made from shatterproof material for extra safety, fix to the bridge piece, won’t move around, and sit between your eyes and goggle lens. With inserts, you’ll have perfect vision while you ride.
Another simple solution is to wear contact lenses under your ski goggles. If you’re used to contacts, this is probably the top choice, as you can just wear regular goggles.
Having contacts in also avoids any risk of injury. However, we don’t recommend using contacts if you’re not used to them or suffer from dry eyes. If that’s the case, let’s jump into the next option.
If your glasses are small with thin frames, you can typically wear them under most ski goggles. However, if your glasses are large or feature heavy, uniquely shaped, or oversized frames, they likely won’t fit.
Instead, it’s best to use smaller framed glasses for skiing. And, if possible, ones that use safety material (usually specific for sports). Safety material is shatter-resistant to minimize glasses breaking during a fall.
But which goggles should you get? Many ‘large’ framed goggles will list them as ‘OTG’ compatible, which stands for ‘over the glasses’. This means you just slot these goggles right over your regular specs.
However, some specific goggles will be marketed as ‘OTG’ and either be oversized in width or have notches cut out of the frame padding to fit your glasses better. Whatever you do, just make sure not to cheap out on goggles as they’re a good investment, like your glasses. Even if they aren’t ‘prescription’, better quality goggles will vastly enhance your vision on the mountain.
We know it’s not rocket science, but hopefully, you’ve now got a better idea of how to ride with your glasses – or at least with 20/20 vision!
Think we missed something obvious, or want more advice on riding with specs? Reach out to the team at crew@montecwear.com. We’re always on deck to help make your next ski trip the best one ever.
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