Winter eye protection, whether in the form of goggles or sunglasses, can be just as important as wearing a helmet when hitting the slopes. Not only will sunglasses and goggles protect your eyes from the glare of the sun, but both forms of eye protection will also help to protect your eyes from the elements, such as wind and wiping snow.
The choice is really up to your own preference, as both sunglasses and goggles have their fair share of benefits, however they also have their own disadvantages as well. The remainder of this article will discuss both the benefits and disadvantages of each option, beginning first with sunglasses.
Sunglasses
Sunglasses are not only lighter than ski goggles but they can also be more comfortable as well. Furthermore, sunglasses are more diverse than goggles, because on a nice sunny day while you are enjoying your après ski outdoors, a trusty pair if sunglasses will come in handy. Whereas if you opted to wear goggles you would either have to lug around a pair of sunglasses with you, hoping that you don't fall and break them, or be 'that guy' wearing his goggles while sitting on the patio. And nobody wants to be 'that guy'.
Besides being diverse, portable and comfortable, another huge benefit of sunglasses is their ability to easily, and inexpensively, be made with prescription lenses. Although goggles and other sports wear protective glasses can be made with prescription lenses, they are usually much more expensive. Additionally, prescription winter goggles are only good for one season, winter, while sunglasses made with prescription lenses are good all year long.
Now sunglasses are not the end-all, be-all of winter eye protection, as they do have a few disadvantages when it comes to skiing and snowboarding. For instance, sunglasses do not sit as securely against your face, so they have the potential of being dropped. If you have ever dropped something in deep powder, then you know how hard it can be to retrieve it. Furthermore, because they do not sit as tight against your face as goggles do, your eyes can be more exposed to the elements, such as wind, snow and ice.
Ski Goggles
The biggest benefit of goggles over sunglasses is the amount of area they cover on the wearers face. Goggles will not only help to protect your eyes from the glare of the sun, and environmental hazards such as wind, snow, ice and the occasional tree branch, but they will also help to keep the majority of your face warmer than if you opted for a pair of sunglasses. What's more, is that because of their larger coverage area, goggles will also provide a greater field of vision, making traversing across the slopes much safer.
Ironically, the thing that gives goggles their biggest advantage over sunglasses, namely their size, is also the feature that creates its disadvantages. Since goggles are larger than sunglasses they can be uncomfortable to wear for some people. Not only that, but their size may make them incompatible with some protective headgear. Goggles can also be cumbersome to carry around, as they may not fit easily into many jacket pockets.
As a final word, whichever option you decide on, sunglasses or goggles, when shopping for protective winter eyewear, whatever the choice, at the very least make sure that the lenses are rated for 100 percent UV protection.
Author Resource:-
Corey Rozon is a freelance writer from Ottawa, Canada. The information on the debate between which is better - sunglasses or goggles - was provided in part by Wholesale Discount Sunglasses.com, a great place to find not only sunglasses, but wholesale ski goggles and wholesale goggles for snowboarding and other outdoor sports as well.
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