Nothing can ruin a great day out on the slopes faster than a bad or poor fitting pair of snowboard goggles. Picking snow goggles that fit well and are suitable for the type of snowboarding you’ll be doing can make all the difference when out on the slopes.
I’ve been snowboarding for most of my life, and I’ve used many different pairs of goggles over the years. I’m also a certified snowboarding instructor and always ask my students what they think about the goggles they are wearing.
The Anon Women’s WM3 is my choice for the best women’s snowboard goggles. These are solid all-around and will give you a good fit, excellent visibility, and consistent comfort.
There are many goggle options out there, and it can be challenging to make an informed choice. I’ll list a few of my favorite women’s goggles here to help you out in this post.
Let’s get going.
Contents
Quick Summary
- Best Overall: Anon Women’s WM3
- Best for the Money: Smith Virtue
- Best Field of View: Spy Legacy
- Best for Low Light: Oakley Fall Line XM
- Best for All-Conditions: Giro Facet
- Best Low Profile: Roxy Day Dream
Why Should Get This
Every snowboarder needs a pair of good goggles. Without goggles, you will struggle to see on the mountain and won’t be able to adapt to changing lighting and terrain conditions. Goggles are much more effective than sunglasses in the snow.
Unless you are a complete beginner who plans to go to an indoor ski resort or are very sure the ski resort you are going to is sunny with no wind, you should always get a pair of snowboarding goggles.
The main reason is quite simple – we all want “as perfect as possible” vision while navigating the mountain.
Unlike sunglasses, snowboarding goggles provide a seal covering your face, keeping your face warm by trapping the heat. It also protects your eyes from wind, snow, and ice crystals.
In case of an accident or wipeout, snowboarding goggles give you better protection. They also stay firmly attached to your head or helmet and won’t go flying away if you end up taking a big spill.
Best Women’s Snowboard Goggles: Top Picks
Here are my top picks for the best women’s snowboard goggles currently available.
1. Best Overall: Anon Women’s WM3
- Best for: Overall
- Key features: Lightweight frame, high-contrast lens, ICT anti-fog treatment, Magna-tech quick lens change tech
- Frame size: Medium
- Lens: Interchangeable
- Cost: $$$
The Anon Women’s WM3 is the best women’s specific goggle on the market. This is a solid option for any female rider and will give you excellent vision, a wide field of view, and high performance all around.
The goggles have a medium frame size made from TPU, which keeps them very light and comfortable. It’s also a flexible and durable material to give you a good fit when the weather gets cold.
The WM3 comes with high-contrast lenses that give you good visibility in a range of light conditions. They also have a coating that helps reduce smudge and scratching for durability you can depend on.
An ICT anti-fog treatment limits moisture from building up when your body heat or the outside temperature rises. Full perimeter channel venting works with the anti-fog coating to cut down on moisture as well.
The Magna-traction quick change lens system is easy to operate and works quickly on the fly.
The only real downside to these goggles is that you will have a subtle reduction in your peripheral vision because of their design.
==> You can also get it on Burton or Evo or Backcountry.
2. Best for the Money: Smith Virtue
- Best for: For the Money
- Key features: Affordable, good field of vision, fog-x anti-fog inner lens, tapered lens tech, ultra-wide strap
- Frame size: Medium
- Lens: Spherical carbonic
- Cost: $
For an affordable women’s snowboard goggle, the Smith Virtue is hard to beat. These are a simply designed but very effective model that provides everything you need on the mountain.
The spherical carbonic-X lenses are built to enhance visibility and are durable and scratch-resistant. Combined with tapered lens technology, you won’t experience much distortion with these on your head.
A fog-X anti-fog inner lens works to cut down on any fogging. This happens by absorbing moisture and letting it dissipate over the entire surface area of the lens. The coating is durable and long-lasting.
The Virtue is also very comfortable, thanks to an ultra-wide silicone strap for precise adjustments and a 3-layer DriWix face foam for a secure and soft fit over your eyes.
You will sacrifice a bit of durability for a more affordable price.
==> You can also get it on DICK’S.
3. Best Field of View: Spy Legacy
- Best for: Field of View
- Key features: Excellent optics, helmet friendly, color and contrast enhancing lens, quick-change lens system
- Frame size: Large
- Lens: Interchangeable
- Cost: $$$
If you want an excellent field of view, the Spy Legacy goggles will have you covered. These are a larger framed model that will still work for female snowboarders while providing you with crystal clear vision along the way.
Spy has designed the wide Happy Lenses to enhance colors and contrast on the mountain. It’s a practical design that works to make everything appear more crisp when you are riding.
A quick-change lens system will let you quickly put in a new color or tint to adjust to variable conditions. It’s easy to use and is designed to limit the handling of the lens.
Increased visibility comes with a larger frame size, which might be too much for some riders.
==> You can also get it on A Sight For Sport Eyes or Evo.
4. Best for Low Light: Oakley Fall Line XM
- Best for: Low Light
- Key features: HDO lens tech, dual vents, triple-layer polar fleece foam, rigid exoskeleton
- Frame size: Medium
- Lens: Interchangeable
- Cost: $$$
When lighting gets low, and you want goggles that will still give you the contrast and clarity you need to keep riding, the Oakley Fall Line XM will deliver.
HDO lens technology helps to maximize clarity and increase your viewing angles. These goggles also sit close to your face for increased side-to-side viewing. An interchangeable lens system allows you to adapt to low lighting very quickly.
Dual vented lens and an F3 anti-fog coating help to effectively limit fog from building up and reduce moisture when conditions are snowy.
Triple-layer polar fleece foam also provides a moisture-wicking capability and adds a lot of comfort around your face. Combined with the silicone strap, you can get a customized fit.
The Fall Line XM is relatively expensive, and the tight hugging design takes some getting used to.
==> You can also get it on Oakley or Mountain Warehouse or Golf Direct Now.
5. Best for All-Conditions: Giro Facet
- Best for: All-Conditions
- Key features: Vivid lens tech, EXV women’s specific frame, good field of view, helmet-compatible, affordable
- Frame size: Medium
- Lens: Toric Vivid by Zeiss
- Cost: $$
The Giro Facet is a women’s goggle that can do it all. These work well in a variety of lighting conditions, and they have the versatility you can rely on.
The Vivid lens technology is key to this all-condition performance. Injection-molded lenses help mimic the shape of the human eye for enhanced optics. They are made by Zeiss which is a company that has been making lenses for over 100 years.
An EXV frame is built specifically for women and gives an outstanding fit over the face. They sit properly over the nose bridge and come in a medium size that works for most riders.
The goggles also feature seamless helmet compatibility with Giro helmets, so you’ll be rewarded with ease of use if you have that brand loyalty.
The lenses aren’t interchangeable, and these can fit a little tight if you don’t have the strap adjusted properly.
==> You can get it on or Evo or Walmart or Sun & Ski Sports.
6. Best Low Profile: Roxy Day Dream
- Best for: Low Profile
- Key features: Anti-fog coating, simple design, affordable
- Frame size: small
- Lens: Anti-fog
- Cost: $
The Roxy Day Dream is an easy option to pick if you want a simple and affordable low profile goggle.
These aren’t fancy but will provide you with everything you need to ride all day long and see everything that comes your way.
The low-profile frame is perfect for riders who don’t like bulky goggles, and this makes them very lightweight as well.
An anti-fog coating on the lenses is effective and durable. They also have side vents to help with airflow and reduce moisture from building up.
The Day Dream doesn’t come with too many high-end features, so it isn’t built for really terrible weather conditions. But they are very comfortable, and the price is right.
How to Choose Women’s Snowboard Goggles
When looking for a pair of women’s snowboard goggles, keep the following factors in mind.
Fit
You should always pick goggles that fit your face so there will be no gap between your nose and the foam seal. A gap will let in cold air, ice, snow, and moisture. Any of this will quickly ruin your ride.
Women’s goggles should have a snug fit that isn’t too tight but won’t come loose when you are riding hard or going fast.
Size
Pick a pair of snowboarding goggles with a frame size that correlates to the size of your head. A small head (helmet size: small) often pair up with a small frame size, while a large head (helmet size: large) pairs up with a medium or large frame size.
For female snowboarders, a medium frame is usually the way to go. Most of the options here come with a medium frame size. But if you know you have a very small or large head, you might want to get the size to match that.
Lenses
Many sub-factors are worth considering when it comes to lenses, such as lens shape, color, tech, and ventilation. These apply to all types of lenses for both women and men.
- Lens shape — snowboarding goggles with spherical lenses (a bubble lens that curves horizontally and vertically) often offer more advantages than cylindrical lenses (or flat lenses). They can provide more vision, decrease blind spots, produce less distortion, and reduce the chance of fogging.
- Lens color — you need at least two different lenses, one with a darker color, the other with a lighter color. Here we come to Visible Light Transmission (VLT) – the percentage of light allowed through the lens (0% – 100%). It’s better to have one lens with low VLT (black, grey, and gold, for sunny condition and good visibility) and one lens with high VLT (blue, rose, and yellow for darker conditions or low visibility condition, e.g., foggy or heavy snowfall). You may also want to purchase a pair of snowboarding goggles that come with a clear lens if you plan to do quite a bit of night riding.
- Lens Tech — this is the easy part: more function, more advantages! Anti-fogging, UV protection, polarized lens, double lens, mirrored lens, photochromic lenses, Prizm lenses, etc.
- Ventilation — you should always pick snow goggles with better ventilation than others since they will be less likely to fog up.
Helmet Compatibility
Always check to make sure the snowboarding goggles you choose fit with your helmet. Check the straps and the buckle. Your goggles should fit perfectly on your face with the strap around your helmet, not too tight, not too loose, with no gap between them.
Also, check the buckle position and make sure it can fit into the goggle holders on your helmet.
Additional Tips and Resources
Here are a few extra tips for you to think about once you’ve picked the best set of goggles that work for you.
- Keep using them every winter season, so the foam of your goggles remains soft and elastic.
- Loosen them from your helmet after a snowboarding day.
- Make sure your goggles are dry before putting them into storage.
- Do not use any cleaning solution to wash them.
Oakley has an excellent article about goggles care. You may also want to view this awesome video, “Goggle Care 101,” made by Witt.
My Verdict
My pick for the best women’s snowboard goggles is the Anon Women’s WM3. These will work for just about any female snowboarder and provide them with quality performance and comfort for season after season.
All of the goggles listed here come highly recommended and are the best for female snowboarders. Every rider needs a good set of goggles, and this list will give you a good starting point to finding the right pair for you.
About Lorraine