Goggles and back protectors: the standards, and what each discipline requires.

Goggles: ISO 18527-1

ISO 18527-1:2021, "Eye and face protection for sports use: Part 1: Requirements for downhill skiing and snowboarding goggles", was published by ISO in March 2021 and adopted in Europe as EN ISO 18527-1:2022. National adoptions show it replacing the older European goggle standard, EN 174:

• Germany: DIN EN ISO 18527-1:2023-11, replacing DIN EN 174:2001-07.
• Slovakia: STN EN ISO 18527-1, released 1 September 2022 as an identical adoption of EN ISO 18527-1:2022, replacing STN EN 174. A search summary gave a withdrawal date for STN EN 174, but the Slovak standards page itself gave none, so no date is given here.

Scope, as DIN describes it

The standard covers non-corrective goggles for skiing, snowboarding and similar activities, protecting against ultraviolet and visible solar radiation, rain, snow and wind. It excludes eyewear for driving, solariums and direct observation of the sun, and hazards from unrelated sports. An annex gives guidance on choosing and using goggles.

What changed from EN 174

DIN lists these changes:

• test methods moved to the ISO 18526 series;
• filter categories renamed S0 to S4 (previously 0 to 4), with the transmission limits unchanged;
• photochromic lenses also measured at 5 C;
• a single optical class, the former class 2;
• stricter ultraviolet limits;
• field of view defined by angles;
• abrasion testing under ISO 8980-5;
• low-temperature resistance testing now optional;
• the built-in ventilation requirement dropped.

Marking: the maker's name and a reference to the standard on the frame, and the maker's name and filter category on the lens.

One inconsistency sits inside DIN's own listing: its title identifies the document as the German version of EN ISO 18527-1:2022, while its scope text cites "EN ISO 18527-1:2018". This page follows the 2022 European edition given in the title and in the Slovak listing, and records the other figure here.

Goggle rules by discipline

Back protectors: EN 1621-2

EN 1621-2:2014, "Motorcyclists' back protectors", is a motorcycling standard; the 2014 edition is the one SATRA, a test house, describes. It was not written for skiing, but FIS cites it, asking for "the latest" EN 1621-2 without giving a year. According to SATRA, it recognises full-back, central-back and lower-back (lumbar) protectors and two performance levels. For level 1, the mean maximum force transmitted through the protector must be below 18 kN, with no single value above 24 kN; the mandatory impacts follow ambient and hydrolytic ageing, with optional tests at +40 C and -10 C. Level 2 limits were seen only in a retailer's and a protector maker's search summaries, not on a primary or test-house page, so they are not given. The companion standard EN 1621-1:2012 covers motorcyclists' limb-joint impact protectors.

The research found no back-protector standard written for skiing, and no wrist-guard standard for snowboarding.

Back-protector rules by discipline

FIS also regulates other protectors in alpine: forearm guards in super-G, giant slalom and slalom and shin guards in slalom may be worn other than underneath the suit, and rigid shin pads inside the boot are not allowed, though FIS may approve soft medical padding within stated limits (3.5 in the 2026/27 edition; the shin-pad rule, 3.5.4, is in both the 2025/26 and 2026/27 editions).

What injuries skiers and snowboarders suffer, as studies report them, is on injuries, named.