Goggles may seem like an old-school or MX-only accessory, but they can be an essential piece of moto gear.
Goggles may seem like an old-school or MX-only accessory, but if you have ever had a helmet shield rip clean off when your brain bucket tips off the seat of your bike when you stop for coffee (yes, this has happened to me), you understand the value of backup eye protection. And, yes, if you are an ADV/MX rider, goggles can be essential when riding slowly over rough terrain, protecting your vision while you pop that visor lid for some much-needed venting.
Here’s our list of the best motorcycle goggles you can buy, including a variety of fits and a range of pricing and application options. One key bit of advice: make sure you try on the goggles with your helmet before you’re about to head out on that big ride.
Biltwell Moto 2.0 Goggles
Just Get This
This is a very basic pair of goggles, but if the idea is to have a pair just in case, the Moto 2 will do the job. Its no-fog design moves enough air, and the oversized frame should accommodate glasses, but you’ll need to test that out to be sure.
Oakley Front Line MX Factory Pilot Prizm Goggles
The Splurge
Oakley’s known for excellent optics, and the Prizm is just the next step in their technological prowess, with exceptionally accurate color clarity while blocking UVA/B light. Oakley also built in extended frame outriggers, a removable noseguard, and incorporated tear-off functionality.
These Oakleys have a larger fit, and notches at the corners of the frame accommodate the space that the arms of your glasses need to fit over your ears.
100% Accuri 2 Goggles
The Smart Spend
It’s hard to argue with the value play of the Accuri 2. 100% says this is the broadest fit for most helmet designs, and the lenses themselves are coated with a fog-proofing layer. The frame can also receive any lens in the 100% lineup (save the Armega we’ve also reviewed), giving you choices to carry, say, a tinted and clear lens and to swap as needed. The extra-wide, silicon-coated strap should hold the goggles securely to your helmet, and the mirrored stock lens comes with a backup clear one in the box, as well as a chamois.
Halcyon MK49 Goggles
The Best Vintage Style Goggles
The MK49 is a pretty pair of goggles, but it’s also highly functional. Split lenses give you an excellent peripheral view, and individual lenses for each eye seal extra well, for superb protection. Also, leather backers feel better against your skin, and the rubberized strap grips especially well on your helmet, so once anchored, these English-made specs won’t budge. And even the clear lenses offer UV protection.
The downside? That’s a small socket for air to move through, so if you’re sweating and riding more slowly, fogging is more likely than with a modern design.
Leatt Velocity 6.5 Enduro Goggles
The Best Goggles for Dirt Riders
The super-wide, 170-degree field of view makes these goggles a prime choice for riders who need maximum peripheral vision, and the dual-layer lens ensures anti-fogging. The 6.5 Enduro is also compatible with Leatt’s own roll-off system, and Leatt says the more tapered frame makes their goggles more readily compatible with most MX open-face helmets. The deeper goggle frame should also make it easier to wear glasses beneath the 6.5s. And a removable nose guard protects your beak, too.
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100% Barstow House Industries Goggles
Goggles with Old-School Style and New-School Tech
No brand mines moto history as much as 100%. Here they’ve partnered with House Industries (who’ve made fonts and custom designs for every brand from Hermes to the New Yorker) for a limited run of Barstow goggles that look extra dope, with a custom strap and metallic accents. (Barstows come in lots of fantastic styles too. So poke around for the color/vibe that mates well to your helmet and overall riding kit.)
Beyond aesthetics, 100% still makes sure you’re getting current tech, with an anti-fog, mirrored, polycarbonate lens, a goggle bag, a second clear lens standard and a wide-frame field of view that’s decidedly not vintage.
Klim Viper Pro Off-Road Goggles
The Best Goggles for ADV Riders
When you ride slower, you need more venting, because your goggles can’t breathe as well as when you’re going 50 mph. Hence the oversized ducting of the Viper Pro Off-Road, which is designed to vacuum in oxygen, even if you’re picking your way through a dirt line on an old fire road at 12mph.
The frame is designed with wide outriggers for extra stability, and you can use the nose guard for added protection. Lenses protect from UVA/B and are designed to accept two-post tear-offs.
Spy Foundation Reverb Goggles
The key with these Spys is venting. The upper vent sucks in air from the top, pushes it back through between your face and the goggle and yanks it out the bottom. These goggles also get ultra-wide framing to aid peripheral vision. And they’re designed to work with an MX helmet.
Both the base reflective lens and the secondary clear lens (included) are compatible with a tear-off setup. The goggles even come with a pack of ten tear-offs. Spy also touts the moisture-wicking properties of its fleece backing that seals more closely against your face.
Scott Fury Goggles
Goggles for Dirt Riders on a Budget
If you need a tear-off system but want to spend less, the Fury is a good option. Its four-post mount system holds tear-offs tauter to the lens for less distortion, while the overly-wide strap offers better helmet sealing. Scott says its three-layer foam does a better job of wicking moisture, too, without growing clammy as you sweat. Scott includes two lenses: the stock mirrored chrome one and a clear version.
100% Armega Goggles
Goggles Made for Swapping Lenses
The new Armega provides a more rigid lens that won’t twist, leading to less visual distortion. Because the lens is rigid and mounts only at the nose and the outward edges, you can swap in a new one in under ten seconds. Yank the two edge clamps forward and pull the old lens up and out; Replace by pushing the lens into the nose bridge and snap both end clamps and you’re done. No other system is as slick.
This is a larger goggle though, and with outriggers, it may not fit all eye openings of every helmet. Test that out for sure when you get them. The HiPER lens is ultra-sharp, with excellent clarity.
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