Wildhorn Maxfield Toric Ski Goggles – Test and Review

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Updated April 9th, 2024

Manufacturer and Model: Wildhorn Outfitters Maxfield Toric Ski Goggles
List Price: $149.99

Summary

The Wildhorn Maxfield Toric Ski Goggles are the latest design from Wildhorn Outfitters. They have the latest toric lens shape that gives a large field of view with low distortion. They include 2 lenses so you are set up for bright or flat light conditions without buying another lens. Their Fenom Technology lens is a step up from past Wildhorn lenses and does a good job in flat light conditions. They use the same magnetic lens swap system with latches as other Wildhorn goggles which is easy to swap and secure with latches.

Wildhorn Maxfield Toric Ski Goggles Review and Test

Wildhorn Outfitters provided us with their latest goggle to try out. The Maxfield Toric Ski Goggle. We love trying out new gear so waited impatiently for them to show up. We got the Ember Jet Black color goggles which come with a 14% Black lens and 50% Ruby lens. We got a second set that has the Arctic White frame with silver lens.

There are only 3 lens and frame color combinations available. Hopefully, there will be more selection available in the future.

As with all our reviews here, we will give you all the good and bad points whether we bought the goggle ourselves or they were given to us.

Features Overview

The Maxfield is the latest and greatest from Wildhorn. It uses the latest toric lens shape with color optimized lenses. This gives a wider field of view as well as lower distortion.

It has the same magnetic with latches lens change system that we’ve seen on the Pipeline and Roca from Wildhorn.

New for the Maxfield is the Fenom Color Optimization Technology. This works by filtering colors in the overlap regions so that your eyes can better perceive the snow surface in flat light conditions. This is similar to how Smith ChromaPop and Oakley PRIZM work.

The Maxfield includes 2 lenses. In my opinion, every goggle with an easy to change lens system should come with 2 lenses or what is the point? They give you a 14% VLT silver or black lens and a 50% VLT Ruby lens. It is a good combination that covers bright days down to dark flat conditions.

The goggles come with a microfiber bag that has 2 pockets so you have somewhere to store the extra lens. It’s big enough that getting the goggles and extra lens in at the same time isn’t too much of a struggle.

1 – Lens Clarity (9.0/10)

The lenses in the Maxfield are a step up from what we have seen in the past. The Wildhorn Pipeline lenses have quite a bit of reflection and visual noise. The Maxfield lenses are crystal clear with minimal reflections. The dark VLT 14% does a good job in bright conditions. There is minimal color filtering in the darker lens. It has a dark grey tone to it from the inside.

The lens is distortion free throughout the field of view. There is a small amount of distortion around the edges. Nothing that is noticeable when your not looking for it.

2 – Field of View (9.5/10)

The goggles have a large field of view with good peripheral vision. It is slightly better than our other favorite cheap toric lens goggle, the Outdoor Master Ultra XL. Side to side I just barely see the goggle frame. Looking down I see a small amount of frame. The field of view is more than competitive with any large fit ski goggles out there.

We have the ember color goggles which have a bright orange color frame. You do see a lot of bright orange around the nose from inside the goggle. I usually ski with black frame goggles and find the orange to be distracting.

3 – Flat Light Performance (9.0/10)

We had some typical Michigan, overcast and dark conditions when trying out the Wildhorn. The color filtering is not quite as strong as a ChromaPop lens but more pronounced than a PRIZM lens. I had no trouble making out the snow surface in some really flat conditions. It is a small step down from my favorite ChromaPop Storm Rose Flash lens but not by much for over $100 less.

4 – Anti-Fog Performance (8.0/10)

The goggles have good anti-fog ability. They have enough ventilation to be effective. I had no issues with fogging while using the Maxfield in normal conditions. The vents are not as large as we have seen on other large frame toric lens goggles. It may become an issue in humid conditions or if you get really sweaty.

5 – Lens Swapping (9.0/10)

The Maxfield has a similar lens swap system as the other Wildhorn goggles. You swap lenses by opening a latch on either side of the goggle and then pull the lens off. This keeps you from potentially losing a lens in a fall or when pulling goggles on and off your face.

Halfway through the first day of skiing with the Maxfield, I noticed while changing lenses that the latch on the right side of the goggle did not engage smoothly. It was pushing shut without catching the lens. Upon closer inspection, we discovered that 2 of the magnets had pulled out of the goggle frame and were stuck to the lens.

We contacted Wildhorn customer service and they sent us a new set of goggles within a few days. The second set has had no issues so far. We have skied with them. I also sat down and swapped the lenses repeatedly for an hour with the goggles at room temperature and frozen cold. I’m confident the replacement set has no issues with its magnets.

6 – Comfort (8.5/10)

Theses goggles have 3 layer foam around the edge with a soft smooth inner layer. The frame and lens are flexible enough to let the goggle bend to fit your face contour. They are comfortable to wear for an entire ski day. The foam is on the softer side. They feel closer to the soft feel of Smith goggles and not the stiff aggressive feel Oakley’s have.

7 – Helmet compatibility

We tried the Maxfield’s with a Smith Vantage MIPS helmet which has a freeride look with a small brim. The goggles have a good fit with the brim of the helmet with no gap. The goggle strap is long enough to easily go around size large or XL helmets.

8 – OTG Compatible

The Maxfield goggles are OTG compatible. They don’t have any cutouts in the frame molding or foam but they still fit over a regular size set of glasses okay and are comfortable to wear over glasses. There is plenty of room under the toric lens. Fogging may be an issue with glasses since the ventilation is not as much as other large frame goggles.

Recommendation – Buy or No Buy?

Wildhorn Outfitters has stepped up their game with the Maxfield goggles. They introduced a much improved lens over their Pipeline and Roca goggles. The color filtering gives it flat light performance on par with much more expensive goggles. The lens change system works and keeps the lenses secure. If you are looking for a good set of large fit goggles with big field of view and don’t want to spend Smith I/O or 4D amounts of money then the Wildhorn Maxfield is an excellent choice.

Other goggles to consider

Outdoor Master Ultra – The Ultras are about $50 cheaper and have similar color optimization with some of their lenses. They include 2 lenses but one lens is a clear or very light blue lens good for night skiing. No combination comes with a good day time and flat light lens so you still need to buy a third lens. The Maxfield has a bit larger field of view.

Smith Sequence – The Smith Sequence are purpose designed OTG goggles with a large fit toric lens. They are priced similar to Maxfield. Their field of view is a bit smaller. They do have better ventilation. Their ChromaPop lens is a touch better than the Maxfield but they do not have easily swapped lenses and they do not include a second lens. You have to buy a goggle with the lens you want and either get a second pair or spend some time to switch lenses.

Oakley Flight Tracker L – The Flight Tracker L is a large frame goggle with toric lens. They have a big field of view and lots of ventilation. They are priced about $25 more than the Maxfield. The PRIZM lenses are similar in performance to the Maxfield for flat light performance. They have a better anti-fog coating. The Flight Tracker does not have easy to swap lenses and only comes with 1 lens.

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