Review: Snow Goggles

Bombing down double-black diamonds is scary enough when you can see. Doing it blind is just insane. Don a good set of goggles. The best ones protect your eyes, maintain your peripheral vision, and vent moisture to stay fog-free.

1. Oakley Elevate Snow

These fit so snugly we often forgot they were on. And that's fine by us, since the Plutonite (Oakley-speak for UV-squashing) lens yielded some of the most natural colors of any goggles tested. Peripheral performance is outstanding, too; we enjoyed almost 180 degrees of vision. But fog can be an issue—the Elevate retained moisture like a cactus.

2. Bollé Quasar

We haven't seen a French import this attractive since Audrey Tautou. Not only do these beauties annihilate glare, they also minimize fog-ups, thanks to a series of large vents around the lens. Securing them over your head can be problematic, though, especially if you're wearing a helmet. The inexplicably chintzy strap is hard to manipulate and makes on-slope adjustment a finger-mangling affair. Très gauche!

3. Smith I/O Interchangeable

For sheer customization, the I/O earned the top marks in our test. The lens can be swapped with the flick of two latches, a maneuver so effortless we could perform it through bulky gloves. The strap is also a snap, with a rear latch that easily unhooks for on-the-fly tweaks. Watch out for condensation, though; the I/O's narrow vents struggle to wick moisture.

WIRED Swapping lenses is SR-71 fast. Thin frames deliver extraordinarily wide field of vision. Cut glare without hindering depth perception.

TIRED Quick-release strap could pop off during a wipeout. Beware the green monster: The bright lime lens left our vision Hulk-hued.

$165, smithoptics.com

Rating: 7 out of 10____4. Scott Fix

Like a blind date, the Fix is well intentioned but at times weird and confusing. The lens skewed our depth perception, making objects look a little closer than they were (that tree is how far away?), and fog build-up was a problem. The goggles did a good job with glare but left colors gray and flat. The lens is delicate, too—we dropped it once onto a hardwood floor and it looked like the loser in a cat fight. We can't imagine what a face-plant would do.

WIRED Plush foam feels more spa facial than snow goggle. Rugged strap is simple to adjust.

TIRED Easy-scratch lens. Altered depth perception makes tight spaces extra-sketchy. Worst of the bunch at handling moisture.

$100, scott-sports.com

Rating: 6 out of 10