How to choose the right Ski or Snowboard goggle lens
When choosing a goggle or a lens for a ski / snowboard goggle the best place to start is with how much light you want it to let through. For very sunny days in the mountains, the snow reflects a lot of light back at you, so as well as direct sunlight you also need to combat the sunlight reflected off the snow (indirect sunlight).
The amount of light that is allowed to pass through the lens is called the Visible Light Transmission or VLT and is measured in Percent. A lens with a VLT of 100% would be a clear lens and a lens that lets hardly any light through would have a low VLT of maybe 10-20%.
This table can be used as a guide to help you choose
VLT % | Lens Tint | Suitable for... |
80 - 100% | None or Very Light Tint | Clear lens, not recommended for ski goggles. |
40 - 80% | Light Tint | Used on bad light days when the cloud won’t shift |
20 - 40% | Medium Tint | Versatile lenses for a variety of conditions and average levels of sunlight. Not too dark and not too light. |
5 - 20% | Dark / Very Tint | Your go to lens for sunny days. Cuts glare and a lot of that bright sunlight |
So as you can see from the table there probably isn’t a one size fits all lens. Throughout a weeks skiing you are probably going to encounter a range of light conditions which means you would need more than one choice of lens.
 | CHROMAPOP™ EVERYDAY GREEN MIRROR VLT = 23% Suited for a range of conditions, enhances every undulation of snow so you get more out of every moment. |
 | CHROMAPOP™ EVERYDAY RED MIRROR VLT = 25% Featuring a rose base tint, perfect for a range of conditions from cloudy to bluebird. |
 | CHROMAPOP™ EVERYDAY ROSE GOLD MIRROR VLT = 22% Featuring a rose base tint, perfect for a range of conditions from cloudy to bluebird. |
 | CHROMAPOP™ EVERYDAY VIOLET MIRROR VLT = 23% Featuring a brown base tint, a versatile lens sit designed to be used all season long throughout a wide range of medium to bright conditions. |
 | CHROMAPOP™ PHOTOCHROMIC RED MIRROR VLT = 20-40% Featuring a grey base while combining a rose flash outer lens with a light-activated photochromic inner lens, which adjusts to light throughout the day, makes this the highest end lens in the line. |
 | CHROMAPOP™ PHOTOCHROMIC ROSE FLASH VLT = 30-50% Combining a Rose Flash outer lens with a light activated photochromic inner lens that adjusts to light throughout the day makes this the highest end lens in the line. |
 | CHROMAPOP™ STORM ROSE FLASH MIRROR VLT = 50% Tuned to bring the most out of an environment when the storm moves in and the lights go out. Optimize your contrast even on the worst days, so you can stay out longer. |
 | CHROMAPOP™ STORM YELLOW FLASH MIRROR VLT = 65% For the darker days when the clouds won’t go away, this yellow base lens tint is ideal to make your vision clearer even on the darkest days. |
 | CHROMAPOP™ SUN BLACK VLT = 12% The perfect match for one-of-a-kind pure blue bird days, the gray base lens tint reduces glare and sun rays for optimal vision and performance |
 | CHROMAPOP™ SUN GREEN MIRROR VLT = 9% Featuring a grey base tint boosted with ChromaPop™ color enhancement technology to maximize clarity and help you effortlessly see more detail. Finished with a polished deep Platinum Mirror shine for a touch of style and performance. |
 | CHROMAPOP™ SUN PLATINUM MIRROR VLT = 13% Created for the flawless sunshine days, a grey base lens tint increases depth perception and allows you to see vividly by reducing glare. |
 | CHROMAPOP™ SUN RED MIRROR VLT = 16% Perfect for cloudless, blazing light conditions, the layered red mirror over a gray base eases the harsh glare of high elevation sun while helping your eyes see more information in terrain ahead of you. |
So what are your options?
Replacement lenses are available for all ski goggles from major brands, such as Smith Optics. More expensive goggles will come bundled with more than one lens when you buy them. So buying an additional lens to compliment the one that came in your goggles is the first option.
You could also buy goggles with Photochromatic lenses, i.e. lenses that get darker when the sunlight increases. Photochromatic lenses are available from Smith Optics which can adjust from 20-40% VLT and also 30-50% VLT. This covers most of the mid range and would be a good all-round option if you don’t want to be changing lenses when the conditions change.
Is it easy to change a ski goggle lens?
Changing a lens is reasonably straight forwards. Some goggle come with quick release systems making it very simple to change a lens, as simple as lifting a lever to release the lens, pop the one in and do the lever up again. On cheaper more basic goggles the lens is removed by pulling apart the nose section and the top of the goggle, the bit in the middle of your forehead. This frees the lens and it can be removed from the frame. You will see that around the edge of the lens are a series of little indentations where the frame clips in.
When you put the new lens in, you will have to push the frame in to each of these indentations to hold the lens in place
So what are Chromapop™ lenses?
Chromapop™ lenses amplify detail and enhance. Through Smiths proprietary ChromaPop™ lens technology, the lenses help you see detail and color beyond normal capabilities. ChromaPop™ filters two specific wavelengths of light that cause color confusion.
By doing this the lens delivers greater definition, more natural color, and unmatched clarity to allow you to see more detail.
| NORMALLY | WITH CHROMAPOP™ |
 |  |
| The eye's retina has trouble perceiving the difference between blue and green, and red and green light. | ChromaPop™ filters these specific crossovers, allowing greater definition, natural color, and clarity. |