Walking Equipment and Accessories

Dragon X2 Goggles | Review

The Dragon X2 goggles have heaps of style, but are also packed full of tech that'll keep you on the hill in virtually any conditions

Dragon are one of the heavyweights when it comes to making goggles for the snow – and they continue to innovate with each year that passes.

The origins of the company date way back to 1993 in a garage in Capo Beach in California, and the emphasis has always been on making high-functioning, quality gear that doesn’t forget the needs and the heart of the sports they support.

As Dragon grew, they would go on to recruit snowboarders like Jamie Lynn and Chris Roach, and in 2011 they became responsible for the first frameless snow-goggle, a style now prevalent across the market.

The X2 goggle is the latest innovation in the Dragon goggle range, and it looks just as slick as anything that comes out from the US company.

“The ‘Swiftlock’ design allows you to replace your lens with minimal effort and as few touches of the hand as possible…”

The Dragon X2 is a big goggle with a spherical lens. That may not be the most attractive sentence ever, but it is a good-looking, if easily recognisable, piece of kit. And what that all means is basically just that you’re able to get complete peripheral vision on the mountain while you’re wearing the X2 – something you really notice the first time you try the goggles out.

The shape of the X2 means that you’ve got still plenty of room and your nose doesn’t feel trapped by the kit at all, and the inclusion of a micro fleece means you’re sure to feel comfortable on the mountain. You’ll also be spared such annoyances as a fogged up lense or the need to constantly readjust your strap as well. The armoured venting and inclusion of a silicon-backed strap have that all sorted.

Bearing that famous Dragon logo, you know the X2s are going to be a superb piece of gear. Photo: Chris Johnson.

Armoured venting on the Dragon X2s significantly reduced the chances of your goggles misting up. Photo: Chris Johnson.

Lumalens technology in the Dragon X2 goggles provides incredibly high-definition optics across the light spectrum. Photo: Chris Johnson.

Dragon pair the X2 with Lumalens colour optimised lens technology, providing a lens which offers incredibly high-definition optics across the light spectrum. It’s specifically designed to improve visibility no matter what the environment, and to deliver enhanced colour vividness, contrast and depth perception as a result by filtering out hazy light and glare. Dragon describe it as “a new standard in lens performance” and it’s hard to disagree.

The X2 really excels in versatility as well. The ‘Swiftlock’ design is basically just two levers which release the lens on either side of the frame, and which allow you to replace your lens with a different tint with minimal effort and as few touches of the hand as possible.

At the end of the day, it’s hard to fault the X2 for functionality, look or design. This has got to be one of the best goggles on the market right now.