How Long Do Ski Goggles Last? Signs It's Time to Replace Them

A good pair of ski goggles can last you many seasons, but not every part lasts the same amount of time. The frame is usually the toughest part and can go for years. The lens, face foam and strap are the parts that wear out first, and how fast depends on how many days you ride, how you clean them and how you store them in summer. If your goggles are scratched, hazy, fogging more than they used to or sliding down your face, you often don't need a whole new goggle. You need a new lens or a new strap.

Here's what to look for, what makes goggles die early and how to get the most seasons out of yours.

How long do ski goggles last?

How long yours lasts depends on how you ride, because a goggle is a few parts working together. Someone who skis ten days a year and stores their goggles in a soft bag will get a lot more seasons than someone who rides five days a week and tosses their goggles in the bottom of a pack.

A rough way to think about it:

• Frame: the longest lasting part. A frame that's looked after can outlive several lenses and straps.
• Lens: the part that takes the most abuse. Scratches, wiping the inside and crashes are what usually end a lens, not age.
• Face foam: breaks down from sweat, moisture and heat. Wet storage is the big one.
• Strap: the elastic slowly loses its stretch, faster if it lives in a hot car.

Our goggles usually last 5+ years. The lens is usually the first thing to scratch. If you ride 50+ days a year, the face foam usually packs out before the lens scratches.

If you ride bikes too, we wrote the same breakdown for summer in how long MTB goggles last.

Signs it's time to replace your ski goggles (or just one part)

The one that sneaks up on people is the lens. Fine scratches and a light haze happen slowly, so you don't notice until a flat light day when the snow looks like a blank sheet and you can't pick out the bumps. If your lens looks fine indoors but you're struggling on grey days, check it against a bright window. If it's hazy, it's time.

Fogging more than it used to is another clue. The anti-fog on our lenses is a coating on the inside, and once it's been rubbed off by gloves and sleeves, the lens fogs a lot faster.

What kills ski goggles early?

• Wiping the inside of the lens. This is the big one. Rubbing the inside with a glove, a sleeve or a paper towel wears off the anti-fog coating. Shake the snow out and let it air dry instead.
• Tossing them in a bag with no case. Keys, buckles, zippers and ski edges all scratch lenses. Keep them in a soft bag or case.
• Putting them away wet. Moisture trapped in the foam breaks down the foam and the glue holding it on. Let them dry fully at room temperature after every day.
• Drying them on a heater or dash. Direct heat is hard on foam, straps and coatings. Room temperature is fine.
• Wearing them on top of your head or helmet in the lift line. Easy to knock, easy to scratch, and they fog from the heat coming off your head.
• Letting ice build up and scraping it off. If they freeze, here's why ski goggles freeze up and how to thaw them without wrecking the lens.

We go into more detail in how to prevent scratched goggle lenses, and you can read what our lenses are actually made of in our lens quality breakdown.

How to make your ski goggles last longer

1. Clean the outside of the lens only, with a soft microfibre cloth once it's dry. Leave the inside alone unless you really have to, and then just dab it.
2. Dry them fully after every ski day, lens and foam, at room temperature.
3. Always store them in a soft bag or case, lens protected.
4. Set the strap so the goggle is snug enough not to slip, without causing pressure points. A strap cranked tight all season stretches out faster, and a loose one lets the goggle bounce around and get knocked.
5. Rotate lenses. If you swap between a darker lens for sun and a lighter one for cloud and snow, each one takes half the wear. Our ski goggle VLT chart shows which lens fits which day.
6. At the end of the season, clean them, dry them and put them somewhere with a steady temperature, not the garage. More on that in how to store your ski gear at the end of the season.

Do photochromic lenses wear out?

A photochromic lens changes tint with the light, and like any lens it can get scratched or worn. How long the colour change itself keeps working is its own question, and we answered it in how long photochromic lenses last.

Replace the lens or buy new goggles?

Most of the time, if the frame is fine, you just need a new lens. That's one of the reasons we made our goggles modular: you keep the frame and swap the part that wore out. Lenses only fit their own frame, so make sure you're buying the right one:

• Valorie Snow lenses fit the Valorie Snow, our smallest frame.
• Emily Snow lenses fit the Emily, our largest frame.
• Esme Snow lenses fit the Esme, the goggle with our widest view.

Straps are even easier. If yours is stretched out or you just want a new look, grab a new goggle strap.

It's worth buying a whole new goggle when the frame is cracked, when it never fit your face or helmet well in the first place, or when you need something different, like going from a small frame to a bigger one. If you wear glasses, our prescription goggle insert fits all of our goggles, so your new goggle can work with your prescription too. You can see every frame in our goggles collection.

What our guarantee covers

Every pair of our goggles comes with our Lifetime Good Day Guarantee, and it covers all damage: scratches, crashes, breaks, even loss. So if your lens gets scratched in a tree well or your goggle flies off on the chair, you're covered. You can start a claim here. Having photos and your order number ready helps a lot.

A lot of "lifetime warranties" in this industry only cover manufacturing defects, which isn't what wears goggles out. We wrote about that in lifetime warranty goggles: what brands don't tell you.

How I make my goggles last at Sunshine Village and Lake Louise Ski Resort

Most of my days are at Sunshine Village and Lake Louise Ski Resort. I still have my original prototype, but I'm usually testing new goggles every season. What makes them last is not leaving them on your helmet when you throw it in the car, putting them away with care, and letting them air dry instead of using heat or storing them wet.

FAQ

How often should you replace ski goggles?

Replace parts when they wear out, not on a schedule. Swap the lens when it's scratched or hazy, the strap when it won't hold, and the whole goggle when the frame breaks or it doesn't fit you anymore.

Do ski goggles expire?

No, they don't have an expiry date. They wear out from use, scratches, moisture and heat. A well cared for frame can last a long time with new lenses and straps along the way.

Can you replace just the lens on ski goggles?

On ours, yes. Each lens fits only its own frame, so buy the lens made for your goggle model.

Why are my old goggles fogging more?

Usually the anti-fog coating on the inside has been worn down by wiping, or the foam is soaked or breaking down. A new lens and drying them fully after every day usually fixes it. If the foam has packed out, that's covered by our Good Day Guarantee.

Does the Good Day guarantee cover scratches?

Yes. Our Lifetime Good Day Guarantee covers all damage, including scratches, crashes, breaks and loss.

Until next time, have a Good Day!