Ski Goggle Lens Guide
The ski goggle lens you use depends on the light you actually ski in. This guide sorts Corlin's nineteen magnetic lenses by the weather they are built for, and says plainly where the difference is a look rather than a performance gain.
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Which ski goggle lens should I use today?
Match the lens to the light. Category 3 is the band for bright sun and it is what comes fitted in the box. Category 2 suits a day that keeps changing. Category 1, orange or pink, is the one for overcast skies and snowfall, because it lets more light through and lifts contrast. A clear lens is what you want for night skiing, because it takes nothing away from what the floodlights give you. Every Corlin lens carries UV400 whatever its tint. Which lens for which light
Which ski goggle lens for which light
Match the lens to the light, not to the goggle. Category is the number that says how much visible light a lens lets through, and it decides far more than which tint you like the look of.
Where the categories come from
The bands are set in EN ISO 12312-1 and describe light transmission only. UV400 is a separate specification, and every Corlin lens carries it whatever its tint. Which lenses physically fit which frame is a different question: how the magnetic lens system works.
Do mirrored ski goggle lenses work better?
Not better, different. A mirror sits on the outer face of the lens and reflects part of the light before it ever reaches the tint underneath, which is the part that handles glare off snow on a bright day. What it does not do is change the band: the tint under the mirror is still what sets the category.
Mirrored lenses
All 19 ski lenses
What a warm tint does on snow
Tint color and lens category are two separate things. A brown lens can be Category 3 and an orange one Category 1, and it is the number that tells you how much light gets through. The color changes contrast instead.
Warm tints such as brown and copper push the contrast between snow and shadow, which is what makes a surface readable. Neutral tints such as black and silver leave colors closer to how they look without a lens. Orange and pink take the same idea further and are the reason a Category 1 lens is the usual second lens: on a grey day the problem is not brightness, it is that the snow goes featureless.
Warm and contrast tints
All 19 ski lenses
How many ski goggle lenses do you need?
One, if the light where you ski is reliably bright. The Category 3 lens fitted in the box is built for sun on snow, and plenty of people never take it off.
Two covers a season: the Category 3 that came with the goggle, plus a Category 1 orange or pink for overcast days and snowfall. That pair handles almost everything a European winter puts in front of you, and it is the point at which a magnetic system starts paying for itself.
Three only makes sense if you ski after dark, because the third lens is the clear one and it has no use in daylight. If you ski one bright week a year, a second lens will sit in the case unused, and we would rather say so than sell you one.
If the answer is two
Buying the frame and the spare lens separately is not the cheapest route. A ski bundle comes with the extra magnetic lens and an interchangeable strap already in the price. Compare the bundles
Questions about ski goggle lenses
What do ski goggle lens categories mean?
Lens category is a number that describes how much visible light a lens lets through. Corlin sells Category 1, Category 2 and Category 3, plus a clear lens with no tint at all. Category 3 is the darkest of the three and lets through 8% to 18% of visible light.
The bands are set in EN ISO 12312-1 and describe light transmission only. They say nothing about UV, which is a separate specification: every Corlin lens carries UV400 whatever its tint.
Why do orange and pink ski goggle lenses help when it is snowing?
Because they let more light through and lift contrast. In snowfall and flat light the problem is not brightness, it is that the surface goes featureless and the bumps stop showing up.
A Category 1 orange or pink tint raises the contrast between snow and shadow, so the terrain reads again. That is why it is the most common second lens: it covers the days a Category 3 lens cannot.
Does the color of a ski goggle lens change how dark it is?
No. Tint color and lens category are separate. A brown lens can be Category 3 and an orange one Category 1, and it is the category that tells you how much light gets through.
What color changes is contrast. Warm tints such as brown and copper push contrast on snow, while neutral tints such as black and silver keep colors closer to how they look with nothing in front of your eyes.
Are mirrored ski goggle lenses better?
Not better, different. The mirror sits on the outer face and reflects part of the light before it reaches the tint underneath, which is what handles glare on a bright day. The tint still sets the category.
The mirrored lenses are Reuben Lens Silver, Reuben Lens Revo Orange, Reuben Lens Light Blue and Claude Lens Silver.
Can one ski goggle lens cover the whole season?
Yes, if the light where you ski is reliably bright. The Category 3 lens fitted in the box is built for sun on snow, and on many resorts that is most of the days you will ski.
If you also ski overcast days, snowfall or fog, one lens will not cover it. That is the case for a second lens rather than a second pair of goggles.
Do I need a clear ski goggle lens for night skiing?
Yes. Night skiing is the one case where a clear lens is the right lens: it has no tint at all, so it takes nothing away from the light the floodlights give you. In daylight it is close to useless.
It still carries UV400, which people often assume a clear lens does not.
Can I wear a Category 3 lens on a cloudy day?
You can, and it will be darker than the day needs. A Category 3 lens is built to cut bright sun, so on an overcast day it takes light away from a scene that already has little contrast, and the surface gets harder to read.
Nothing breaks and you will still see where you are going. It is a comfort and confidence question rather than a safety one.
Where to go next
Lens categories refer to the classification in EN ISO 12312-1:2022. For specifications and current availability, see the individual product page.