Question about ski goggle categories for beginner DS(13)

[Anno1980]

Hi,

DS is going on a school ski trip this Easter. He doesn’t need to bring skis, boots or helmet as they are rented, but he does need his own goggles.

I’ve read online that there are different types of goggles for different weather conditions: S1 for bad weather days, S3 for sunny days and S2 for mixed days. I’ve also heard that it’s better to get goggles that let you switch the lens depending on the weather. I'm reluctant to buy these because DS won't do that. He will either leave the extra lens in the hotel or not bother to change it on the slopes. According to a colleague that goes skiing every year, wearing S3 goggles when it's rather dark will cause accidents because he'll barely see anything and wearing S1 goggles when it's very sunny will cause snow blindness. Is this actually true or an exaggeration?

So I thought I’d get him a pair of goggles with an S2 lens, which is supposed to work for mixed weather. But they are hard to find in stores. Most of them are either S1 or S3. Now I’m wondering if S2 lenses are actually good for nothing, instead of good for everything.

Does anyone have experience with S2 ski goggles in various weather conditions?

What? I've been skiing for more than 30 years and I've managed the entire time with a single pair of plain old goggles. Just get a cheap generic pair from Decathlon, you don't even know if he'll like skiing. He can wear regular sunglasses on sunny days.

Thanks for your answer. Did you use the S1 (bad weather) goggles? School says they're not allowed to wear regular sun glasses during lessons because they had an accident once where a student fell and his sun glasses broke and caused an injury (or something like that, they're not very clear in there communication).

Agree, lenses don't really need to vary unless you have sight issues. Tinted lenses from likes of decathlon or sports direct are fine.

Unlikely to be "bad weather" at Easter, that is for whiteouts and heavy snow.

Decathlon has everything you need

Ignore the S1.2.3 nonsense just buy basic ski goggles from decathlon

I've had my goggles since before S-lenses were even a thing.

Just get the cheapest pair of generic all-weather goggles the shop has. Hearty eye roll at teenagers not being able to be trusted with sunglasses, but whatever. And as PP says, Easter unlikely to have whiteout conditions. Lack of snow more likely.

My kids are keen skiers, agree with everyone else, just buy a normal pair of goggles. Mine have had ones from Aldi to Oakley and they all do a perfectly good job in all conditions.

Standard goggles will be fine. Outdoor master from Amazon are good (or decathlon). You only really need cloudy weather goggles up in the alpine/above the trees. Depends where he’s going but I’d imagine it’s less likely for a beginner.

Thank you all! Seems everyone is unanimous that I'm worrying over nothing, I tend to do that 🙂. His other ski gear is all from Decathlon, so we'll get the goggles from there as well. He's going to Kronplatz in Italy. He's very excited about the trip, but I'm anxious about everything that could go wrong.

When I bought goggles for the kids this year I ummed and ahhed about which ones to get, how much to spend to get decent quality, different lenses etc. In the end I just though fuck it and bought the very cheapest ones from decathlon and you know what, they were absolutely fine.

https://www.decathlon.co.uk/p/kids'-and-adults'-skiing-and-snowboarding-goggles-g-100-s3-black/_/R-p-341201?mc=8757850&c=black

As others have said, just get some own-brand goggles from Decathlon (other shops are available) - a beginner doesn't need a pair of £150 S1/2/3 goggles, particularly not in April.

He does need sunglasses too, for when he's sitting outside having lunch in the sun and when walking around the village to and from lessons, and for the journey if he's sitting on the sunny side of the coach. On a hot sunny day on the slopes, sunglasses are far more comfortable than goggles.

The school's stance on sunglasses for skiing is bollox. Sunglasses are required to be CE certified for safety. Far more instances of eye injuries and sight damage are caused by people not wearing the correct eyewear (including sunglasses designed for skiing and other sports like cycling), or any eyewear at all, than are ever going to be caused by someone having an accident while wearing sunglasses.

He also needs proper ski gloves - Decathlon are fine for these too. Skis have sharp edges - the last school group I worked with had 7 or 8 kids (and one adult - me 🙄) with cut fingers, many already from the first day when they collected their skis, so he should always wear gloves when picking up or carrying his skis.

[P.S - Kronplatz is great for beginners 😎]

My son (13) really struggled this year. The first day it was foggy and we could hardly see anything, and most of the rest of the week was very sunny and his eyes got bloodshot and sore. I ended up having to buy him some new goggles for sunny conditions. It might be worth getting two pairs, one for sunny and one for cloudy conditions. They are relatively cheap on Amazon, or Wipe Out store do some with two different types of lenses.

That said, I've been using the same pair of goggles for about 15 years in all conditions and never had any problems!

Generic mid lenses will be fine. Especially if he's a beginner. We have mid ones plus yellow/orange ones for low light. We did need the low light ones in December as the sun tends to go low a little earlier but he'll be ok at Easter.

Iridium all round lenses are our usual ones.

I have goggles where I can change the lenses but i never bother. Just get him basic ones as others have said.