googles fogging

[giggy]

this has been an ongoing problem with me for years - last week - I couldn't see anything and kept taking them off in high winds - luckily the temps weren't all that low. It seems I always end up taking them damn things off - but someday this is going come back and haunt me if the wind chill is extremley low - been lucky so far.

I have heard a few things - double panned googles, - that stuff you buy to rub on them - but wondering if anyone has first hand exp with this.

my goggles are decent - bolle.

 

[David Metsky]

Goggles with double lenses are certainly better. A good quality pair, with double lenses and good ventilation will make a difference. There is stuff like Cat Crap which can help, but frankly spit works just as well.

The best advice I'd give is once you put them on don't mess with them. Wiping them will just make things worse in the long run, let them clear themselves by holding them away from your face for a bit.

-dave-

 

[jessbee]

I can't speak for goggle-clearing on mountaintops just yet, but when scuba diving, we spit on the lenses and smeared that around before a dive. That seemed to work fine. So, I'd second Dave Metsky's advice.

 

[Jkrew81]

Gel Toothpaste treatment

In my teenage mountain bike racing days I used to have this problem with my sunglasses all the time. At one race I had a guy tell me the take and apply Gel toothpaste onto my lenses, then wash it all off. As I remember I gave the guy a "Ummm yea thanks". Low and behold I continued to have the problem so I tried it out and it worked like a charm. Now I have not tried this on ski goggles, but the principle seems to be the same.

As well, once you go above treeline, never place your goggles on your forhead since the sweat in your hat will fog them up rather quickly.

 

[Chip]

If you have good goggles, double lens, vented, etc than the problem (edited) MAY be your hot breath venting into the goggles from whatver you've got over your face. I took Kevin Rooney's advice and got a couple Turtle Fur fleece neck warmers to pull up under the goggles when it's cold, the turtle fur breaths better than the neoprene face mask I used to wear, so no hot air is blown into the goggs. The hat or hood is just over the top of the goggs. That was my rig on our trip, no fogging. I'd have to imagine you'd wear just sunglasses if you didn't need a face mask and hat or hood along with the goggles.

 

[daxegraphix]

Goggles

Cat Crap. I swear by it. Sold at all gear stores worth a darn. Comes in a small red canister about 2" in diameter. The brand name is Cat Crap. Its a blue paste that you smear on and then buff off--when you're at home packing up for the trip.
I've never had a problem since I started using it. I don't have to worry about my breath or anything else fogging them up. I have used it with $30 Bolles and $20 Scotts.
Wish I had invented it.
Oh yeah, that's my Scott goggles (single pane, I think) in the pic to the left.
They were previously smeared with Crap and were working well in this pic up on the top of Algonquin on a typical chilly, breezy day in February.

 

[sardog1]

Be careful which toothpaste you use, if any. We had a snorkel mask come into the store that was ruined with the first application of an abrasive toothpaste. I would personally not use anything on goggles that advertises any whitening ability.

Cat Crap works well, and I would stick with either that or the "natural" lubricant that Metsky mentions.

 

[Jay H]

Cat crap does need to be reapplied more often the colder it gets, but it should be enough to last for a bit.

When we were on Adams, and using goggles, I didn't have a problem like you guys were having, as mentioned above, try to wear the goggles all the time, even when not needed. What I also did was pull down my balaclava so my breath from my nose wasn't in any way going up to steam up my goggles.

Jay

 

[Dugan]

Cat Crap works for me except on very humid days. I do both sides of my glasses, then the outside of my goggles. Most goggles made to go with glasses have a special coating on the inside. As mentioned previously, the key is that once the goggles are in use, to leave them in place.

 

[jbreen]

I make sure the goggles are in contact with my face, and have the hat/balaclava/gaitor but up against it. Anytime the goggles go over those, I get instant fogging.

 

[Lawn Sale]

I have this problem with my glasses, and since I'm blind without them, I really need them to see. I picked up some liquid stuff at a dive shop that works well, can't remember the name of it now and it's buried in the "Pack Room". I do have to reapply it about once a day, but that's it. I have tried the "cat crap" and it works well, I think both are silicone based coatings.

I've tried the spit, but it's a PITA to chisel it off when it freezes instantly.

 

[DougPaul]

Many years ago I read of a NASA anti-fogger formula. Unfortunatly the details are long forgotten (and the notes probably lost), but I recall glycerine and liquid dishwashing soap being part of it.

One can use a weak solution of liquid dishwashing soap. Spread some on the lens and wipe off. (Don't wash off.) The residual soap causes condensate to wet the lens and spread out into a thin film. Far less visible than droplets on the lens.

Doug

 

[jfb]

Like many others, I'm a firm believer in keeping moisture out of the goggles to prevent them from fogging. I only wear mine over my eyes, never on my forehead. I butt my balaclava around the goggles, never overlap them. When I don't need to wear them, they go back in the cloth sack or I carry them in my hand with the inside facing down so snow or rain doesn't get inside. If the insides do get wet, I let them air-dry or use tissue paper with a very light touch.

 

[TomD]

Anti fog

I bought some stuff made by Kryptin-spray and a gel-at a ski show. It works fairly well. Diving is a different deal. When I taught scuba, I'd just flood the mask every now and then to clear off the fog; spit and flood worked about as well. Not that practical on the trail. I've got a pair of Goggs (brand name distributed by Guard-Dogs.com from Ventura, CA) and they don't seem to fog much. Plus they fit under a ski helmet. Fairly cheap as well.

 

[Daniel Eagan]

This is the first question I asked when I met Stephen Venables, the first Englishman to climb Everest without bottled oxygen. He said that he just takes his glasses off. I must have looked so crestfallen that he said he hadn't found a good answer yet.

I usually encounter fogging only when ascending. Spit's okay at first but soon washes off. I find that when my glasses get overloaded, the fog turns to water. Then, like rain, it's just a question of wiping them occasionally.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

With glasses

Not googles (did you try googling googles?) but regular glasses, is something I have to deal with just about every day on my bicycle commute. Fogging can mean many things.

First of all, try looking at a pair of fogged glasses with a magnifying glass, then look at a cat-crap-et-al applied pair of glasses.

In cold weather (IE -15F and colder) condensation of the breath on the outside freezes. None of the cat-crap stuff really works for this, since it is crystals of ice.

Then there is the fogging on the outside on extremely humid, foggy days. You simply walk into suspended drops of water, and they collect on the glasses. Something which breaks up the surface tension of the water helps here. Note that anti-glare glass is worse.

The most common cause of fogging, in my experience, is overheating of the face, and the humid air from the sweat condenses on the inside. The best solution for this, is to increase the airspace between the head and the glasses, or turning your head so that wind goes behind the glasses (usually easier on a bicycle than hiking) Other solutions are to take off your hat (wear ear-thingys if ears get cold), or pick up a handful of snow and rub your eyes.

Of course, the most common thing I do, is to remove my glasses. It is the most effective thing. Who needs to see?

 

[Lawn Sale]

You coming at me with your "axe on a bicycle with no glasses" image just flashed into my mind and caused me to chuckle...quite an image!

 

[talldrink]

googles

I play some hockey and I wear a face sheild. Its some form of glass and tends to fog quickly....like a few up and downs to get you huffing and puffing and the mask fogs...similar to the problem here.

The cure (and tell me if you tried this)...use a little shampoo and apply to the goggles just like anything else. Dont dilute the shampoo with water and dont be afraid to use enough (apply liberally....but really, a drop and a half works....wipe off the excess)

This is considered the #1 sure cure for foggy masks...I rest my case.

 

[Chip]

If you have good goggles, double lens, vented, etc than the problem (edited) MAY be your hot breath venting into the goggles from whatver you've got over your face. I took Kevin Rooney's advice and got a couple Turtle Fur fleece neck warmers to pull up under the goggles when it's cold, the turtle fur breaths better than the neoprene face mask I used to wear, so no hot air is blown into the goggs. The hat or hood is just over the top of the goggs. That was my rig on our trip, no fogging. I'd have to imagine you'd wear just sunglasses if you didn't need a face mask and hat or hood along with the goggles.

Note: This is a 5 year old thread.

I'm sure the Gig-Man has resolved this issue by now, but I thought Kevin Rooney's old advice about the Turtle Fur fleece neck warmers was worth resurrecting. I have tried a number of other products and techniques and have come back to this one. I still prefer glasses or no eye wear, but when it's cold and blowing, the Goggle/Turtle Fur combo is hard to beat.

 

[Paradox]

Be careful which toothpaste you use, if any. We had a snorkel mask come into the store that was ruined with the first application of an abrasive toothpaste. I would personally not use anything on goggles that advertises any whitening ability.

Cat Crap works well, and I would stick with either that or the "natural" lubricant that Metsky mentions.

Concur, most "Whitening" tooth pastes contain alot of pumice. A gel is less likely to contain lots of hard abrasive but.... Take a pea size amount on your finger and rub it onso a glass surface such as a drinking glass. You will feel the grit as you massage it onto the glass.