Oakley Fall Line Ski Goggles – Test and Review

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Updated April 9th, 2024

Looking for a new pair of ski goggles to take your skiing and snowboarding experience to the next level? Check out Oakley’s Fall Line Ski and Snowboard Goggles. With a large fit and Ridgelock Technology for easy lens changes, these goggles are perfect for any skier from pros to weekend warriors.

Whether you’re hitting the slopes for a day of skiing or snowboarding, or just enjoying the winter scenery, you can do it in style and comfort with Oakley’s Fall Line Ski Goggles. Keep reading to get all the details of the Oakley Fall Line Ski Goggles.

The choice of professionals

Oakley ski goggles have been used by some of the top professional skiers and snowboarders in the world, including Mikaela Shiffrin, Chloe Kim, and Eileen Gu. If you paid any attention to the 2022 Winter Olympics, it was hard to miss how many skiers and snowboarders relied on Oakley snow goggles.

Oakley Fall Line ski Goggles Test and Review

We picked up a set of Oakley Fall Line goggles to try out. I have been skiing with a lot of spherical and toric lens goggles recently but couldn’t help but notice how cylindrical lens goggles were making a huge comeback. The Oakley Fall Line is the flagship cylindrical lens goggle from Oakley with their Ridgelock quick lens change system and frameless design.

We purchased these goggles ourselves for review. As with all reviews, we’ll give you all the good and bad about them whether we paid for them or a vendor gave them to us.

Our review sample has the Prizm Snow Sapphire Iridium Lens. We also purchased a Prizm Persimmon lens for use in flat light conditions.

Price

Oakley Fall Line goggles retail for between $186 and $216 depending on the lens option. If you can find a set from a prior year on Amazon or somewhere else you can get them a bit cheaper. Most big online outdoor shops such as Backcountry, evo, REI, and Moosejaw carry the Fall Line. Extra lenses run $35 to $75 depending on the VLT and finish.

The standard set of Oakley Fall Line goggles comes with a microfiber bag for cleaning and storage. They do not come with an extra lens.

Lens color, size, and VLT selection

The Fall Line is available in both an L and M frame. There are 14 lens and frame combinations available that range from a VLT of 5.5% for bright sun conditions to a 64% clear lens. There is a lens option available for any light condition.

Huge peripheral vision

The Fall Line frame was designed to have a huge field of view similar to the Oakley Line Miner goggles. They had to move the lens a little farther away from the face so they could incorporate the Ridgelock system. The lenses grew a little larger so that field of view is just as good. Think of the Fall Line as a Line Miner with easier to change lenses and frameless design. Just about everything else in the 2 designs is similar.

Cylindrical lens shape

The Oakley Fall Line uses a cylindrical lens or flat lens. It has no curvature in the vertical direction. Cylindrical lenses have come back in style recently. This was obvious watching the last Olympic Games where very few freestyle athletes had spherical or toric lens goggles on. There is no technological advantage of the cylindrical lens. They are cheaper to make and have a little more distortion towards the edges. They give you a leaner look. Spherical lenses can look a little bulgy.

Oakley Prizm lens technology

Oakley’s Prizm lens technology enhances detail and contrast, which in turn improves performance for activities such as skiing and snowboarding. The lenses are specifically tuned to provide enhanced color recognition and increased depth perception, which can allow skiers and snowboarders to see obstacles and terrain more clearly in any light condition. This can lead to a safer, more confident experience on the slopes.

Flat Light Performance

Oakley PRIZM lenses are known to be among the best for bringing out detail on the slopes on flat light days. The mid to low VLT lenses such as the PRIZM Snow Rose and PRIZM Snow Pink do a great job of making terrain easier to see. We have tried them on some really awful flat light and foggy days now. They always let you see the terrain.

UV Protection, Glare reduction

UV protection should be a top priority for anyone who spends time outdoors. UV radiation can cause serious long-term damage to the eyes, including cataracts and cancer. Oakley’s Plutonite lenses provide 100% protection from UVA, UVB, and UVC radiation.

Iridium lens coating can also help reduce glare. This coating is specifically designed to reduce glare caused by bright light sources, such as the sun. It can improve contrast and make it easier to see in difficult lighting conditions.

Anti Fog Performance

Oakley Fall Line goggles have excellent anti-fog performance. Professional athletes need clear vision on the downhill course or doing tricks in the halfpipe which is why they choose Oakley goggles. The following features contribute to the Oakley Fall Line having excellent anti-fog performance

• Triple Layer face foam with a moisture wicking inner lining keeps you comfortable and helps remove moisture from inside your goggles.
• Double layer lens has an F3 anti-fog coating that prevents moisture build up on the lenses keeping them clear.
• Flexible O-Matter Frame design conforms to your face and provides a good seal against the elements keeping snow and moisture out
• Lots of ventilation helps transport moisture out of the frame so fogging doesn’t happen or clears up quickly.

The Fall Line goggles have been great for anti fog performance. They resist fogging. If any does form it quickly goes away once you start moving. The Fall Line has a larger frame with more space inside which always helps with ventilation and getting moisture out. Like any goggle, they work best with helmets that have defogging vents that help move air through the goggles.

Helmet Compatibility

Most ski goggles and helmets have found common ground in the last several years regarding shape. The Oakley Fall Line goggles will work with almost any ski helmet out there. They work great with the Oakley MOD5 and MOD3 helmets. We have tried them with Smith, Giro, and Outdoor Master ski helmets and they worked well with all of them.

OTG Compatible (L size only)

The L size Fall Line is OTG compatible and can be worn with prescription eye glasses. I have given them a try while wearing glasses. They are very comfortable to wear and don’t feel like they are squeezing my glasses on any side or nose. The frame has notches on the side to clear ear pieces. The strap is mounted forward and outboard on the frame so it doesn’t interfere at all. The frame is large enough with enough space inside that fogging isn’t an issue.

Swappable Lenses

Fall Line snow goggles use Oakley’s Ridgelock system. This uses a groove around the frame that the lens locks into. It takes me about a minute to swap lenses after doing it a bunch of times. Swapping involves pulling the frame off the lens and bending it back on. You can’t do it with your goggles on your head or helmet. You have to take them off. It’s an okay system. We prefer magnetic lens swap systems such as the Anon M4 or Outdoor Master Pro goggles.

The Verdict

If you’re in the market for a new pair of ski goggles, we highly recommend Oakley’s Fall Line Ski Goggles. They have great lenses for any light condition. They are comfortable and stay fog free. Our only wish is they used an easy swap magnetic lens change system. Whether you’re hitting the slopes for a day of skiing or snowboarding, or just enjoying the winter scenery, you can’t go wrong with Oakley’s Fall Line Ski Goggles.

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