SunGod: Ski Goggle Heaven

Ski goggles that don’t cost the earth, are high spec and fully customisable. Sounds impressive – and so thought 1,400 people from 43 countries who backed a kickstarter campaign to get SunGod’s new Revolts into production in January. In fact, after raising £133,725 (way beyond their £20,000 target) they became the biggest Ski & Snowboard campaign on Kickstarter and the most funded Fashion & Apparel project in the UK ever! So now that the goggles are on the market, do they match up to expectations? We’ve been using the incredible snow conditions in the Alps to road test them, and we also caught up with the team behind the company to get their inspirational inside story…

Goggle Review

Designing your own goggles is great fun. The SunGod website allows you to play with the colours and design, mixing and matching up your strap, lens and frame until you find the perfect combination. Then, if you change your mind or need one of those parts replacing, you can do that easily without needing to buy a whole new pair. The 4KO®snow lenses use new patented technology developed through 2 seasons of testing and development to enhance contrast and clarity in all conditions. They come in 6 tints for varying light and all filter 100% of UVA and UVB rays so you can ski relaxed that your eyes are totally protected even on a bright bluebird day. They’re spherical for great peripheral vision too.

We chose the pink lens, and were really impressed with the contrast, which was noticeably clear and defined in both bluebird and flat light. They felt lightweight on the face and the super-flexible frame and sponge comfortably and easily moulded to your face shape and to the helmet, without leaving any punter gap. They’ve not fogged up at all despite some rigorous off piste powder testing and you can feel the airflow vents working in high winds. The silicon strap is really handy to keep them in place on your helmet too.

At £85 they’re really affordable and great value. We’re huge fans of these goggles and always get lots of comments on how great they look while we’re out on the hill.

So what’s their story?

How and why did you start the company?

The idea for SunGod came from years of frustration with countless pairs of sunglasses. Good quality branded pairs cost over £100, while cheap £10 knock-offs offer limited protection and always break too easily. We knew we could bring to market a better pair of sunglasses at a fairer price… So, in 2013 we launched on crowdfunding site,  Indiegogo! The response was incredible, and it gave us the impetus needed to quit our office jobs plus the cashflow required to enter our first production run!

What were the problems and highlights along the way, and what are you most proud of?

Developing high quality products that will last the course, and meet precise design specifications, takes a lot of time and work to get right! Hearing people’s feedback on our products, and seeing pictures of them being used all over world makes it all worthwhile. A recent survey that over 1,000 of our customers completed showed that 98% of people said they would recommend SunGod to a friend – which was awesome to see!

What was your experience of the rest of the goggles market?

We found that a lot of the ski and snowboard goggles on the market today were over-priced, offered limited design options and didn’t always last the course. From the experience and success of our adventureproof sunglasses, we knew we could bring a better pair of goggles to market. So we started from the ground up, to develop an innovative new goggle concept featuring interchangeable and fully replaceable parts.

How did using Kickstarter help you?

Kickstarter was a great platform for us to launch our goggles. It allowed us to check we were on the right track, reach a much wider audience and also leverage the virability and excitement that comes with crowdfunding a new product. We were stoked that so many people got behind our campaign, and would definitely recommend it as a way to launch a new idea!

How popular are your products?

Our primary market is people who love the adventure and the outdoors – generally in their 20s and 30s, they enjoy a wide variety of different sports, and have an appreciation of and desire for high quality eyewear, that will protect their eyes from the elements and look the part, but won’t break the bank. We’ve now sold SunGods to tens of thousands of customers worldwide and we’re growing fast, so it’s an exciting time!

What’s different about SunGod?

All of our products are custom, inspired by an endless quest for the next adventure, and built to last the course! Our Classics² sunglasses are made of a unique memory plastic, and are covered by a lifetime guarantee. Our new Revolt goggles are also fully custom, and each part can be purchased separately (lens, frame and strap), so if one wears out, or you want to switch up your design, you don’t need to invest in a whole new pair!

What does the future hold for SunGod?

Continuing to develop high quality, custom eyewear that’s inspired by many more adventures to come!