Wildhorn Roca Ski Goggles – Test and Review

Frameless sperhical lens ski goggles with a great magnetic lens swap system available in many colors

Manufacturer and Model: Wildhorn Roca Ski Goggles
List Price: $49.99

Summary

The Wildhorn Roca is an entry level ski goggle with spherical lenses and a frameless design. It uses Wildhorn’s magnetic lens swap system with 2 latches for extra securtiy. It has good lens clarity and comfort and everything you’d expect in a mid-level ski goggle at a budget ski goggle price.

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Wildhorn Roca Ski Goggles Review and Test

The Wildhorn Roca has been around for several years now. It’s proven to be one of the best entry level ski goggles out there. Wildhorn brings it’s own frame design and magnetic lens swap system. They don’t just slap their name on a generic cheap goggle and call it theirs. We have tried a bunch of gear from Wildhorn now and they always seem to produce something that is well thought out and what the users want. They almost never have anything in the design that leaves you scratching your head wondering why they did that. The Roca’s are no exception.

I picked up a stone grey Roca with VLT 17% ice blue lens along with an extra 54% VLT yellow flat light lens to try out. Keep reading to get all the details about the Roca.

Features Overview

The Wildhorn Roca is a frameless design ski goggle with a spherical lens. They were the first goggle to use Wildhorn’s magnetic lens change system with 2 latches on the sides of the frame. No accidentally losing a lens pulling up your goggles. The lenses are double layer with an anti-fog coating. The frames use triple layer foam for comfort and a good seal to prevent fogging. They come with a microfiber bag for storage.

1 – Style

The goggles have a frameless look with a spherical lens. There are 17 lens and strap combinations along with another 6 womens colors. It is easy to find a color and look that you like. The spherical lens has a bit more bulb look to it than a toric or cylindrical lens. The band has a Wildhorn logo and lettering on it. They have an expensive look with no overdone graphics or weird color combinations. Overall, the Roca has a very clean look that doesn’t look low budget at all.

2 – Lens Clarity (8.5/10)

The Roca lenses are a little above average for a budget ski goggle. They are clear with low distortion that isn’t noticeable except around the edges. They don’t have the visual pop that Oakley Prizm or Smith ChromaPop, or the Wildhorn Maxfield have. They are better than most other cheap ski goggles.

3 – Field of View (8.0/10)

The Roca has similar field of view to other medium fit spherical lens goggles. I can see a decent amount of frame looking down and around the edges. There is no tunnel vision effect. The field of view is not as big as some of the newer more advanced goggles out there.

4 – Flat Light Performance (8.0/10)

The Roca has a variety of lens options. They have a couple good flat light lens options. A yellow 54% VLT and a mirrored yellow 46% VLT lens. I tried out the yellow 54% VLT lens on some flat no sun cloudy Michigan winter ski days and thought it gave good definition of the terrain. It’s not going to work as well as a ChromaPop or PRIZM lens but it works as well as any yellow or orange flat light lens.

5 – Anti-Fog Performance (8.0/10)

These goggles have all the standard anti-fog features. They have double layer lenses, triple layer face foam, anti-fog coating and a good amount of ventilation. The top vents on the goggle have a plastic grate cover that keeps snow from going into the vents. I have had no fogging while skiing with them so far. Spherical lens goggles have the lens farther away from your face which also helps keep them fog free.

6 – Lens Swapping (9.0/10)

The Roca was the first goggle from Wildhorn with their magnetic swap system. It has 10 magnets on the lens with 2 plastic latches on the side. The latches open up by pulling them out. You can easily change the goggles while wearing them. You do need to take gloves off to pull the latches open.

The latches are not quite as refined and easy to open and close as their later Pipeline and Maxfield designs. Overall, it’s a good design that works well. For people who don’t trust only magnets, this is one of the better magnet plus latch designs out there.

7 – Comfort (8.5/10)

The frames have triple layer foam. The goggles have a nice comfortable soft feel to them. The frame does not need to flex to seal up well against my face. They do not feel as stiff as Oakley goggles. They do not have the ultra soft inner layer that Smith does. They are closer to soft feel than stiff feel.

8 – Helmet compatibility

I tried out the Roca goggles with a Widlhorn Drift ski helmet. That is their entry level ski helmet that pairs up nicely with the Roca. They have a good match on the top with minimal goggle gap. The Roca has a standard top shape that will pair well with almost any modern ski helmet.

9 – OTG Compatible

The Roca goggles are OTG compatible. They have cutouts in the plastic frame sides where glasses frames pass through. They are spherical lens so they will have good clearance between the goggle lens and glasses lens. I find that they slip over my glasses easily without much hangup on my glasses frames. They do not have as much ventilation as some of the better performing OTG goggles out there. They do okay.

9 – Recycled Packaging

Wildhorn uses recycled packaging for all of their products. Everything comes in a brown cardboard material box or bag. I haven’t see them use any plastic packaging yet. I like seeing sustainable packaging because of the amount of foam and plastic I end up throwing away from all the items we review at Adventure Gear Insider. Any brand doing the right thing and using environmentally friendly packaging always gets a mention.

Recommendation – Buy or No Buy?

The Wildhorn Roca is a very good entry level ski goggle. They have expensive looking style with easy to swap lenses. They perform well on the mountain with the right lens. If you are looking for your first ski goggle, you can’t go wrong with the Roca.