Tips for Wearing Glasses
While Skiing or Snowboarding
If you’re reading this article, you may already know that engaging in winter sports while wearing glasses is uniquely challenging. Whether the aim is to avoid foggy lenses, keep loose glasses from falling off or avoid the pain of specs pinching your face under goggles, bespectacled riders need special knowledge and equipment to be comfortable on the slopes.
Additionally, without a proper prescription, you risk getting injured going downhill. An incorrect prescription can cause you to mistime a jump or fail a turn. Similarly, sun glare is particularly potent on the apex of hill—and UV exposure can permanently damage your eyes. Avoid common mistakes while snowboarding or skiing with glasses by reading this guide and proactively preparing before heading to the slopes.
Can You Wear Glasses Under Ski Goggles?
People who try wearing glasses under ski goggles might conclude that this just isn’t a workable solution. Why? Because most people who wear glasses can’t just put on any old pair of ski goggles and ski or snowboard comfortably.
However, wearing glasses under ski goggles is most certainly doable! All that is required is preparation and a bit of creativity.
Why Wearing Glasses Under Ski Goggles Is Difficult
People have difficulty snowboarding and skiing while wearing glasses because their goggles don’t form a proper seal. Without a good seal, warm breath rises in cool air and is trapped inside the goggles—causing glasses to fog up.
The two main areas that prevent a full seal are the foam in the front connected to the goggle lenses and the side area where helmet, goggles and glasses meet.
Generally, there isn’t enough foam padding to protect and stabilize glasses, causing them to slip. Alternatively, the opposite could be true, where there is too much padding (or goggles are too tight)—so glasses ride up the bridge of the nose, causing discomfort due to pinching.
Prescription glasses should be functional first and foremost. The stronger the prescription, usually the thicker the lenses. Therefore, frames need to be thicker to support those lenses. Thick frames can cause goggles to become misshapen or bent. When this happens, the seal is disrupted, causing your glasses to fog up.
Why You Should Wear Glasses During Winter Sports
There are three main reasons to wear glasses while skiing or snowboarding:
- You need to see well to ski/snowboard safely.
- You need to see well to ski/snowboard well.
- Glasses help prevent dry eyes—and in some cases can replace goggles.
Putting the matter of goggles aside for a moment, racing down the mountain is hazardous without being able to see well. Be smart, save yourself from accidents and injury—and wear either standard glasses, prescription glasses, or contact lenses, depending on your needs and your doctor's recommendation.
Importantly, the more precise your vision is, the easier—and more amazing—maneuvering the mountain can be. Not only can you carve your way down the slopes more accurately, but the sights you get to see while atop the mountain are majestic and you don’t want to miss out on them.
Finally, there is a wide range of opinions on whether it’s best to wear googles or not. Some argue goggles are essential, even non-negotiable, thanks to their more comprehensive protection. Others have skipped goggles in favor of glasses for years. In the interest of protecting yourself—and your glasses—from branches, ice, snow, or anything else flying at your face, we recommend OTG goggles for those wearing glasses. The bottom line: wear what you need to safely enjoy your time on the mountain. If you choose to wear goggles over glasses—as many do—read on.
Over the Glasses (OTG) Ski & Snowboard Goggles
A shortcut to finding goggles online to wear with glasses while skiing/snowboarding is to look for OTG in the name.
OTG stands for “Over the Glasses”, meaning the goggles are specially designed to be worn by people with glasses. OTG goggles are standard wear for amateurs and pros alike who prefer to snowboard and/or ski with glasses.
Here's a great selection of OTG snow goggles from Dragon.
Why You Should Wear OTG Goggles with Glasses
OTG Goggles have three main features that differentiate them from standard ski goggles:
- Thicker and greater amounts of foam
- Larger interior
- Better ventilation
Because of how OTG goggles are designed, these features enable you to wear glasses comfortably without affecting the fit of your ski helmet.
Foam Padding
OTG goggles are made to be worn with glasses: they form an adequate—but not too tight—seal because there is more foam. Their thicker foam padding strengthens the seal around your face and keeps glasses in place.
Additionally, foam padding inside OTG goggles lets you adjust your glasses without much effort and doesn’t push into your face and glasses.
Interior Space
You may think the only reason the interior is larger in OTG goggles is because of the extra foam padding, but that isn’t the case.
With more interior space, your glasses have more room to naturally sit on your face without bumping into the goggles. It also becomes easier to adjust your glasses because there’s more room—and a wider seal to allow more movement.
Ventilation
OTG goggles improve ventilation in one of two ways: they either have ventilation holes or an electric-powered fan.
The most common ventilation is accomplished with an increased number of ventilation holes. Additional vents are located on the goggles' outer end, allowing you to breathe freely without trapping air.
OTG goggles with a built-in fan are more expensive and less common than those with more ventilation holes—but are highly praised by glasses-wearing skiers and snowboarders. The fan cools your face, reducing perspiration and trapped fog. Just remember to charge your goggles!
Ultimately, the ventilation method is up to you. Goggles with fans may be more effective, but they also weigh more. Ventilation holes are standard in OTG goggles and are considered a solid option.
11 Ways to Keep Glasses from Fogging Up
The easiest way to keep your glasses and goggles from fogging up while skiing and snowboarding is by purchasing OTG goggles. However, if your OTG or non-OTG goggles keep fogging up, try these tips:
- Wear the right glasses for skiing: Find glasses you find comfortable—and if possible, purchase prescription sunglasses to cut UV exposure, cut glare and add clarity with polarization.
- Don’t push up on your goggles: Every time you move your goggles, you risk breaking their seal—which lets in moisture that can cause fog to develop.
- Manage your body heat: To do this, adjust your clothing. Unzip your outer jacket a bit so heat isn’t trapped around your neck.
- Resist the temptation to remove goggles outdoors: It may look cool to put your goggles on the top of your head but resist the urge in favor of being able to see when you put them back on.
- Use an anti-fog wipe or solution on glasses: Purchase (or make your own) anti-fog solution, so you can wipe your glasses while indoors.
- Don’t wipe the inner surface of your goggles: Even if you are indoors, wiping your goggles' inner lens surface can leave moisture, which turns to fog as you warm up.
- Ensure your helmet doesn’t block ventilation holes: If your helmet is resting atop your ventilation holes, it’s trapping moisture and causing you to overheat.
- Get a helmet with better ventilation: Most ski helmets have ventilation holes, but if yours doesn’t or has too few, it’ll cause your face to sweat.
- Move around: Moving around helps you control your temperature. Avoid long trips on the ski lift if possible.
- Wipe snow away from your goggles: Snow can block your ventilation holes and melt past the goggle seal onto your face, causing fog.
- Wear a mask or balaclava: A mask or balaclava covers your breath—and reroutes the warm air away from your goggles and glasses.
Key Ski Goggles Features to Consider
People have a range of preferences when it comes to ski goggles. Although they are fashionable, don’t forget functionality! Consider these features when choosing your next pair of ski goggles:
Spherical Shape
People generally prefer spherical versus cylindrical goggles because spherical goggles produce better optics with less glare and less distortion in your peripheral vision. That said, they are more expensive than cylindrical lenses. If you are going to spend lots of time on the slopes, you may want to dig into this somewhat technical topic by researching online before purchasing new goggles.
UV Protection
First and foremost, UV protection is crucial in ski goggles. Regular glasses only provide UV protection if they have light-reactive lenses (e.g., Visionworks’ SunSync® lenses). Unless you wear prescription sunglasses or light-reactive lenses, your eyes are at risk from the sun—especially on mountains! UV rays are more potent because of the high altitude and the fact that air moves more slowly than at sea level. UV rays also reflect off the snow, adding more risk to your eyes.
All commercially sold goggles have UV protection but do your research before purchasing a pair—just in case. While it might seem that goggles with dark shading would have adequate UV protection, it’s worth verifying.
Fit
If your goggles don’t fit your face correctly, they’re unlikely to be comfortable while skiing/snowboarding. Given the main reason for lens fog is the fit of your goggles, it only makes sense to be choosy about fit while searching for a pair.
Try on the goggles before you buy them, or if possible, borrow some from a friend or a ski rental shop. While trying your goggles on—aside from seeing how they fit with your glasses—evaluate the frame size, lens design, shape and tint.
Find Glasses, Sunglasses or Contacts to Wear Skiing or Snowboarding
If you’re looking for eyewear to fit under your OTG ski goggles, the best place to shop is Visionworks. As a leading purveyor of affordable, functional and stylish eyewear, we pride ourselves in helping you find the ideal pair for your unique needs.
Glasses can be an expensive purchase, so sign up below to get emails with exclusive offers and promotions. We also offer a 100-day guarantee for all glasses: if you’re not pleased with your glasses for any reason—including how they fit inside your goggles—we’ll exchange them.
Schedule an appointment at a Visionworks location near you to find the best glasses for skiing or snowboarding!
Information received through Visionworks® content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, medical recommendations, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your eye doctor, physician, or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
Claims regarding blue light efficiency are supported by manufacturer-provided test results.
