“In contrast to testing snowboards, you actually want the worst conditions imaginable to properly test goggles. Good job, then, that during one of last winter’s demo days we were subject to dismal conditions: heavy, wet fog settled over icy pistes with snow cannons turned on. It was a great winter, just not every day.

“ChromaPop works so well that going back to a lens without it makes you feel like your eyes have something up with them”

In all this, the Smith Squad XLs stood up to the task. The most important things a pair of goggles should do are give clear vision and avoid misting up, and I’m happy to report that even in tricky conditions they held up. Smith’s ChromaPop (blue tint tech similar to Oakley’s Prizm and Dragon’s Lumalens) works so well that going back to a lens without it makes you feel like your eyes have something up with them, and the larger frame gives a great field of view.

As for fogging, the nerdy technology behind their Fog-X is hard to understand (something about micro scratches to disperse moisture) works as far as I could tell, and the fact they claim it can’t be wiped off is a bonus. Where they fall down slightly is with the fit, if your face doesn’t align with the frame too good. The lack of pivot where the strap meets the frame means that, should you wish to have the it higher or lower on the back of your head, then you’ll be pulling the whole frame around with it.

Smith’s own I/O range does have this feature and it’s a godsend – it’d be cool if they included it on the Squads as well. They claim it’s helmet compatible but then again, what goggle isn’t? These days that’s like advertising a beer as ‘fizzy’.

Overall, another great product from Smith, just one that I’d recommend you try on in a shop rather than order online.”

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