Runner Up Best Bang for Your Buck Ski and Snowboard Goggles

Oakley makes some of the best eyewear for just about any activity, from lounging on the beach to pursuing the most extreme sports in the most epic conditions on Earth. Oakley also has a reputation for making eyewear that carries an obnoxious price tag just because it bears that famous O. However, that is not the case with the Oakley Line Miner Prizm ski and snowboard goggles, which are a strong contender for the title of best bang for your buck ski and snowboard goggles of 2021.

Lens Shape and Quality

Oakley is among the best when it comes to making cylindrical lenses that perform like spherical lenses, and the Line Miner Prizm is a perfect example. The Line Miner’s lens is injection molded, just like Oakley’s spherical lenses, making for a distortion-free lens that is only a shade behind its more expensive spherical and toric counterparts.

Meanwhile, the Oakley Line Miner Prizm lens features the same F3 anti-fog coating as more expensive Oakleys, and the top of the line Prizm lens technology has made its way to the mid-priced lineup. If we have one real gripe about the Line Miner Prizm overall, it is that it only comes with one lens. This is what allowed the Smith Squad XL to edge it out as our top pick for the best bang for your buck ski and snowboard goggle of 2021, as it comes with two Chromapop lenses.

Comfort

Again, the Oakley Line Miner takes a page out of the premium Oakley ski and snowboard goggles’ playbook here, using the same three-layer foam found in the Airbrake and Flight Deck. This provides a plush, moisture-wicking layer of foam next to your skin, while also providing ample cushion and allowing for adequate airflow.

The Line Miner also comes in an XM variant, for riders with smaller/narrower faces.

Ventilation

The Line Miner Prizm might not compete with the best of the best in the ventilation category, but it is certainly not a bottom feeder in it either. A fairly warm goggle, the line miner is best suited to resort riding, particularly in dryer, cooler conditions. That said, you would be hard pressed to find a much better-ventilated goggle at this price point, though the Smith Squad XL does edge it out here.

Ease of Changing Lenses

This is the only real weak point for the Oakley Line Miner Prizm, and an area where the Smith Squad XL performed significantly better. Like the Oakley Flight Deck, the Line Miner’s lens is removed by unsnapping from the nose, followed by unsnapping from the sides and all the way around. They are inserted in reverse order.

If there is a category that we would prefer to see a mid-priced ski and snowboard goggle fall short in, it is this one. If you don’t tend to change lenses often, then it might not be a big deal. And it’s not as if changing the Line Miner Prizm’s lens is akin to taking the SAT, it is just that you probably won’t be doing it on the fly on the mountain, and it does require you to be a bit more handsy with those sweet Oakley Prizm lenses than we would like to be.

The Bottom Line

Overall, the Oakley Line Miner Prizm is a great ski and snowboard goggle, with an MSRP of $160 and sale prices below $100. We are thrilled to see Prizm technology making its way to more affordable goggles, and fans of Oakley will be well served by the Line Miners.

That said, we felt that the Line Miner Prizm fell just a bit behind the Smith Squad XL, which shipped with two great lenses instead of one, had slightly better ventilation, and featured a significantly easier lens changing experience.

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