Anti-Fog

[KYtrailfan]

Went for a nice day-break ride this morning. Had to stop more than once for helmet visor and glasses fogging up. Solutions? Weekend rides at daybreak are my preferred time to be on the road.

 

[dmonkey]

There are anti fog sprays that work alright, so does rinsing a lens with Head & Shoulders shampoo. I run a Pinlock on my motorcycle visor and that works excellent, but in a full face helmet have to stay moving or crack the visor and open chin vent for my Rx eyeglasses to not fog.

 

[Shoot870p]

Shaving cream?

 

[BaldRider]

Definitely a pinlock. I mostly run a 3/4 helmet and my glasses don't tend to fog up too bad with that provided I keep the glasses warm beforehand. I usually keep my riding prescription glasses in a saddlebag (on bikes that have them) so they get cold.

I remember riding to work in 28F and having to stop and buy a microfiber to wipe the ice from the inside of my visor long ago.

 

[NMCoyote]

Aerostich sells some little squiggly wipers that fit on your thumb, you just reach up and wipe the fog off.

 

[SneakyDingo]

Team Pinlock here. The only options to me for someone using their helmet regularly are more airflow across the lens or a pinlock. Even though divers use it, shampoo doesn't work that well and requires reapplication, it's good in a pinch but not as a semipermanent solution. Also baby shampoo is superior, it doesn't sting the eyes ever. Note that Pinlocks do have a known warning for waring them at night (causes ghost images) and can be problematic when used at night for people with astigmatisms. The other product I remember being popular a few years ago is a paste thing called catcrap, about the consistency of vaseline.

I'd say if you're willing to replace your visor regularly, you could even consider RainX despite warnings saying not to use that. It tends to etch the lens as it's not glass, so it will eventually fog in a permanent way but forms a hydrophobic barrier in the process. I get hit in the face by debris on a regular basis so visors are basically consumables for me due to damage, and it's something I've considered.

Aerostich sells some little squiggly wipers that fit on your thumb, you just reach up and wipe the fog off.

I don't really understand how that works on the inside of the lens where the fog forms. They'd be great for wiping water off in the rain mist we get up here in the PNW, that sits on the outside and just... hangs around, because the CT125 doesn't go fast enough to actually blow the water off the helmet visor.

 

[Kev250R]

I'd say if you're willing to replace your visor regularly, you could even consider RainX despite warnings saying not to use that. It tends to etch the lens as it's not glass, so it will eventually fog in a permanent way but forms a hydrophobic barrier in the process.

My Dune Buggy has no working windshield wipers, yet I comically get caught in the rain (and once sleet) in it. So I covered the windshield in Rain-X then turned a hose on it and was impressed with how well the water beaded-up and rolled-off. Then I took it off-road and immediately the dust and dirt stuck to it like glue!

For a street-driven application it might work well, but if you ever see any trail use at all with the Visor you apply it to, I'd think twice.

Personally, when I'm wearing a full-face helmet I tend to leave the visor up just a notch, which seems to help.

 

[SneakyDingo]

Actual photo of me trying to ride in rain conditions with my visor opened a tiny bit to prevent fogging. I'm the guy on the left.

a crac

 

[dmonkey]

Cat Crap works great, the kind in a plastic container, not a sandbox. Same issue as other coating products though, it needs to be reapplied. That's why I just run the Pinlock. I replace my visors when they get scratched up enough to annoy me. Something to watch out for are harsher products intended for use on glass rather than polycarbonate, compounds like ammonia can damage the visor or make it prone to cracking or shattering.

 

[AZ7000']

I've used rain-x for 1000's of miles in a 4 wheel vehicle without issue for the outside, we have forced air on the inside. Some shields will not like the rain-x and get ruined...

 

[KYtrailfan]

Thanks for the responses. The air was at saturation point. Traveling on backroads you could feel a significant temperature difference (maybe 10 degrees between sheltered valleys and open hilltops just a few hundred yards apart. Opening the visor helped but more than a few times the full-face visor became fully coated and then my prescription eyeglasses were next when I fully opened the visor. Paved county roads 25-30 mph roads at best when you could see.

I have some "snot" for my diving mask. Wonder how that might work on my eyeglasses? At 20mph on a backroad I wouldn't worry too much about leaving the face shield open when needed and relying on the glasses for protection.

 

[SneakyDingo]

I have some "snot" for my diving mask. Wonder how that might work on my eyeglasses? At 20mph on a backroad I wouldn't worry too much about leaving the face shield open when needed and relying on the glasses for protection.

Under certain conditions I'll bring some safety glasses (like... Carhartt safety glasses) and ride with the visor open, safety glasses on. The key there though is that they're designed for the application. 2 of my friends have gone through windshields and 1 had a scratched cornea so I have a lot of "encouragement" to at least wear that. But they also advocate for not relying on normal eyewear as protective. (I also get hit in the face too much to not wear that, I need my eyes for work)

 

[dmonkey]

I saw a wreck near Mt Rushmore during the Sturgis rally where a guy went down slow but when his mirror hit the ground the broken glass got his eye. 0/10 do not recommend even watching people ride without eye protection.

 

[BaldRider]

I wear WileyX or similar impact-resistant 'shatterproof' glasses when I ride the majority of the time. If I am wearing a full-face helmet, I don't always wear them but I also don't raise the shield.

 

[NMCoyote]

I have some "snot" for my diving mask. Wonder how that might work on my eyeglasses? At 20mph on a backroad I wouldn't worry too much about leaving the face shield open when needed and relying on the glasses for protection.

Divers do use spit on the diving mask lens, cheap and readily available!

 

[SneakyDingo]

Divers do use spit on the diving mask lens, cheap and readily available!

Sometimes they even use their own spit

 

[oldskool]

Shampoo or potato will work or get a pinlock visor if one will fit your helmet.