There are plenty of ways to protect our young ones on the slopes. Quality gear (good skis, reliable bindings), safe helmets and protective clothing are all important items needed for a day of safety on the slopes. However, so many times I have experienced parents sending their kids out with all the above but minus sensible eye protection. No kid will go out on the snow with me without either a good pair of sunglasses on a nice day, or a pair of goggles for the cold snowy days (or any day). If they come without eye protection, we’ll always try to find a spare pair for them to use. I always have a talk with the parents after the lesson to explain the dangers of the high altitude UV radiation. You don’t need a sunny day to burn your eyes! In fact, foggy conditions can even be worse since you don’t tend to squint as much as you might on a clear, sunny day.

I have learned that kids often don’t like to wear goggles because they either feel restricted, the goggles fog up, or they just don’t fit. Fit is one of the most important things! Since kids are supposed to wear helmets, the goggles not only need to be the right size to fit the face, they must also fit the size of the helmet’s face opening. If the goggles are bigger than the face-opening, they will never feel comfortable, will never sit right on the face, and are highly likely to fog up big time.

So again, make sure the goggles fit the face and the helmet’s face opening. Make sure that they are of high quality (you won’t go wrong with any of the goggles listed here) and have the adequate lenses attached to them.

Lenses. There are a number of different lenses, to accommodate different weather conditions. It is helpful to be able to choose between lenses for foggy conditions, sunny skis, or night-skiing, so some goggle (and sunglass models) come with exchangeable lenses. A note of caution: I have seen quite a few goggles, especially sale items, with only one set of lenses, usually the fog lenses (typically an orange tint). Those will help see in murky conditions, but won’t shield the eyes adequately on a bright, sunny day. So be sure to purchase the appropriate lens. For kids especially, I tend to favor darker lenses to protect their sensitive eyes.

Here are the models that I believe deserve to be rated Best of the Best.