Monkey Forest Ski Goggles – Test and Review

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Updated April 9th, 2024

I was approached by the people at Monkey Forest to see if I wanted to try out their new ski goggles. Not one to ever turn down the chance to try out new gear I said yes. Monkey Forest ski goggles are available on Amazon and a few other places. Their price ranges from $22 to $38 making them the cheapest ski goggles I have ever tried. How good can a set of goggles with magnetic swapping lenses and a lot of other features be for $25? To my surprise, the answer is they are pretty good especially for the price. Keep reading to get the full story on the Monkey Forest Ski Goggles.

Monkey Forest Snow Goggle Review and Test

I am reviewing the Monkey Forest goggles with cylindrical shape lenses and magnetic lens swap system. There are 2 other Monkey Forest goggles. The NRG which has a spherical lens with magnets and latches. The 3rd design has fixed spherical lenses.

I picked out 2 sets of goggles to test. A small size Vlt 8.7% Black Frame Mirrored Sliver Lens and a large size Vlt 16.5% Blue Frame Mirrored Blue Lens. I also got a large size Vlt 30.1% Orange Lens spare lens to use for flat light conditions.

When you are shopping on Amazon there are 2 sizes of these goggles. The lenses between these 2 are not compatible. If you order an extra lens, be aware of whether you are ordering the large or small size. These goggles are available in a large range of bright color options. Not all colors and patterns are available in both sizes. There are a few spare lens options available right now but not many. No polarized lenses or photochromic lenses are available.

The opinions in this review are my own and not influenced by the manufacturer at all. If I got a bad product that I couldn’t on good conscious recommend to my skier friends I would decline to publish the review. You are reading this so that didn’t happen.

Sizes

These goggles come in 2 sizes. Small and large. There isn’t a lot of difference between the 2 sizes. The lens dimensions on the large are 98mm x 217mm. The dimensions of the small lens are 95mm x 217mm. The interior dimenions of the frames are 65 mm x 138 mm for the large and 65 mm x 138 mm for the small. If you set the 2 lenses on top of each other the large lens is about 5mm taller than the small lens.

The magnets are not aligned between the 2 frames. The small has 7 magnet sets. The large has 8 magnet sets on it.

Price

The price range for these goggles runs between $22 and $38 on Amazon. The price is slightly different for each color combination. The cheapest combination I saw was for a large frame version. These goggles do not come with a spare lens. In my opinion, any ski goggles that have a really slick and easy to use magnetic lens swapping system should include a second lens so you can use it. For the price, you get the goggles and a colorful orange microfiber storage bag that you can also clean the lens with.

Spare lenses run from $17 to $19. The spare lens includes another orange microfiber bag for storage.

Lens

These goggles have an extra large cylindrical lens. They all offer 100% UV protection to keep your eyes safe. The blue and silver lens both have a very nice mirrored appearance to them. They look very colorful even in dull light.

The blue lens has a bit of blue filtering going on in it. When I look through the lens everything has a slight orange tint to it. It reminds me a bit of looking through a Smith I/O Chromapop lens that always looks slightly orange. This was a bit of a surprise. For the price, I just expected to see the same color tint on the inside as the outside of the lens. The silver lens has the same effect but is a bit darker VLT.

From a clarity point of view, they are pretty good. They aren’t Oakely Prizm sharp. They are at least average with most other mainstream goggles I’ve tried. I didn’t notice any excessive lens flare or reflections while skiing with them. Overall the lens quality was my biggest surprise with these goggles.

Frames and strap

The frames are soft TPU construction with 3 layer foam around the face opening. The frame structure has a bit more thickness and size to it than the Glade Optics MagFlight goggles I recently tested. The frame rim width is about 5mm more all the way around the goggle. There are cutouts in the outside edges for clearing prescription glasses frames. The goggle strap has anti slip silicone beads in it to prevent it from sliding around on your helmet. The straps have some cute fun graphics and patterns on them. Everything about the frame looks fairly standard. No obvious places that look like they will break or fall apart.

Field of view

The peripheral view is good. It is a bit less than the Glade Optics MagFlights but still offers a good wide view in all directions. The large size Monkey Forest lens is slightly larger than a MagFlight lens. The frame is larger pushing the lens farther away from your face. This reduces your field of view a bit which explains the difference in vision.

Anti-fog performance

These goggles have all the normal anti-fog features. Anti fog coating, dual pane lenses, ventilation, and triple face foam. The vent sizing looks similar to other cylindrical lens goggles I have tried. It should be enough provide a smooth air flow system through the goggle to get the moisture out. I haven’t had any fogging issues so far while skiing with them. I was using Anon Echo MIPS and OutdoorMaster Diamond MIPS helmets while testing these goggles. Both have goggle defogging vents which always helps.

Flat light performance

The standard blue lens has enough blue color filtering in it to work okay in flat light conditions. The 30% yellow VLT lens works a bit better. They are average to better than average among the other under $50 ski goggles I have tried out and skied with. They will work fine for most ski days in most terrain.

Bright light performance

The VLT 8.7% silver lens on my size small goggle is dark enough to work well on a bright light condition day. The goggles have 100% UV protection so you won’t have to worry about hurting your eyes. The lenses are decent without too many reflections or other noise inside the goggles.

Ski Helmet compatibility and appearance

These goggles work well with all the helmets I tried them with. You can see them with an OutdoorMaster Diamond MIPS and Giro Nine-C helmet in the images below. The extra long strap is long enough to work with most helmets out there. I didn’t see any objectionable goggle gap with any of the helmets I wore them with. The style of these lenses is a lot better looking than the cheap goggles available at Dicks or from some other mainstream brands. They look a lot better than a generic black frame ski goggle with a yellow lens.

Lens swapping

These goggles have a magnetic lens swapping system. The large has 8 magnets holding the lens on. The small has 7. They hold the lens on as tight as any other magentic lens goggle I have tried including an Anon M4 Toric. I don’t have any worries the lens is coming off during a fall. One nice feature is that the lenses have a tab on the lower right corner to help pull them off the frame. You can pop them off without bending the frame to release them using the tab.

OTG – Over The Glasses

These goggles are designed to be OTG compatible. They have cutouts in the frame edges to clear prescription glasses. They work. That is about all I will say about it. I haven’t tried a set of cylindrical lens goggles yet that I felt were comfortable with glasses on. Cylindrical lenses do not have as much clearance as spherical lenses for your glasses. I always feel like my glasses are touching the goggle lens and being pressed back into my face. I could ski with these wearing glasses for an hour or 2 if I had to. They wouldn’t be my pick for OTG goggles to wear for an entire day.

Monkey Forest Ski and Snow Sports Goggles summary

The Verdict

Overall the Monkey Forest Ski Goggles are much better than I expected them to be for the price. If I had a friend who was a new skier and wanted a cheap ski goggle, I’d feel good about recommending these. They work well on the slopes and they have a fun colorful look to them. I think these are a good value given how cheap they are. Even if you have to buy a low light lens to use with them, they are still really cheap.

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