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Snow in the eyes - do I need wipers?

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Snow in the eyes - do I need wipers?

Old 03-31-10, 09:19 AM
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Snow in the eyes - do I need wipers?

I scratched my ride this morning after about a half mile. The snow wasn't slick on the road (melting fast at 36 F) but I could no longer see where I was going. The snow was melting quickly on my glasses, which caused them to fog up rapidly. (Also slush isn't very transparent.)

What's your solution? Do I need some sort of wipers, or a longer visor? (Actually I'm wearing a hard-shell helmet right now that doesn't really have a visor, but it seems like the regular helmet visor wouldn't be enough above 10 mph, just guessing.)

Do your gloves work well as "wipers"?

Do you ride without glasses or goggles (and is that a good "all-weather" mode)?

Do you just not ride under those conditions?
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Old 03-31-10, 09:31 AM
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I just wipe my glasses with a glove. At 36*F I might use a finger since I could be using half finger gloves when it's that warm.
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Old 03-31-10, 10:13 AM
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I wipe them with gloves as well, or just put my glasses down my nose a bit and look over the top (I can see well enough without glasses that I don't require them to drive, so this may not work depending in your prescription).
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Old 03-31-10, 11:27 AM
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Cool.

Does that work no matter how heavy the snowfall is, or is there a point at which it's no longer effective?

How fast do you think you'd go under those conditions? (Wet road but no ice, plenty of snow on your glasses, wiping at least every 1/4 to 1/2 mile.)

(BTW my glasses are a strong enough prescription I can't look over them, 36 F wouldn't be very cold unless there were a lot of snow melting on the back of my gloves .)
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Old 03-31-10, 12:54 PM
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I use Goggles... Scott Sequence. I can't explain why, but I can, for the most part, ride through snow with them on and not have to do anything. I don't even have to wipe them off, or at least only very seldom. Even with a balaclava on, they don't get fogged. If I have two balaclavas on, with both over my mouth and nose, they'll fog, but I don't do that anyway because it doesn't let me breathe well. If the cold is that extreme I simply wear one of the balaclavas around my face and nose.

Get some good goggles that are fog resistant. The Scott brand seems to be excellent.
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Old 03-31-10, 03:47 PM
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Originally Posted by kmcrawford111
I use Goggles... Scott Sequence. I can't explain why, but I can, for the most part, ride through snow with them on and not have to do anything. I don't even have to wipe them off, or at least only very seldom. Even with a balaclava on, they don't get fogged. If I have two balaclavas on, with both over my mouth and nose, they'll fog, but I don't do that anyway because it doesn't let me breathe well. If the cold is that extreme I simply wear one of the balaclavas around my face and nose.

Get some good goggles that are fog resistant. The Scott brand seems to be excellent.
Ski goggles are basically designed for this application with ventilation and anti-fog coatings... sounds like a great idea! (Not being a skier, I might never have thought of it.)

I'm curious, do they have two layers of glass, like a double-paned window? If so that would explain a great deal to me.
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Old 03-31-10, 05:45 PM
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I picked up a cheap pair of ski goggles, they were the best 14$ I ever spent on my commuting gear. They don't really fog up and are easily wipeable with the mittens if it's really sticky snow. I love 'em.
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Old 03-31-10, 05:57 PM
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there are also ski goggles designed with extra space between the shield and your face so you can use prescription glasses with them, however, they cost a bit more.
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Old 03-31-10, 07:23 PM
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Oakleys also have a coating to shed water...if you want to go big for this issue.
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Old 03-31-10, 07:31 PM
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I have goggles, too. They are vented top and bottom and they don't fog up at all. When it gets really cold, I don't have any exposed body at all.
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Old 03-31-10, 07:55 PM
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Originally Posted by ItsJustMe
I just wipe my glasses with a glove. At 36*F I might use a finger since I could be using half finger gloves when it's that warm.
I do use one finger of my glove as a kind of wiper if the snow is wet. Dry snow seems to blow off.
At 36F, I wear half-finger gloves with $1 cotton gardening gloves inside. These are wonderful because it could be 36F in the morning and 66F in the afternoon.... allowing me to wear them w/o the cotton liners.
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Old 04-01-10, 12:06 AM
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Originally Posted by christofoo
Ski goggles are basically designed for this application with ventilation and anti-fog coatings... sounds like a great idea! (Not being a skier, I might never have thought of it.)

I'm curious, do they have two layers of glass, like a double-paned window? If so that would explain a great deal to me.
The lenses are plastic, but there are two of them. There are vents in the top and bottom, and the lenses have an anti-fog coating. The model I have is apparently discontinued, but here's a page with details:

https://www.gogglesgiant.com/scsego.html

One thing to keep in mind is that if you ride at night make certain to get lenses that won't filter out light.

The goggles also protect eyes from sleet, which can be quite harsh. They also keep my eyes warm enough to keep my tears from freezing, which seems to start to happen when temperatures are in the single digits (F) or lower. They are a must-have for winter commuting IMO, for my area at least.
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Old 04-01-10, 09:25 AM
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How little would you say you can spend and still get a good set of goggles?
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Old 04-01-10, 10:08 PM
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I really am not certain, this is the only pair I've owned. I have gone skiing but don't have my own gear for that (besides the goggles, but I bought them for commuting). I looked for a US-Made brand, found that Scott fit the bill, and then scoured eBay a bit for a pair that were a good value. I paid about $50 (new) but I think the normal MSRP was considerably higher. I think mine may have been on clearance or something like that, but they have performed perfectly, except that with their tint they impair night vision a bit... normally not an issue, but it can be if it's both wet and dark. Fortunately my night commuting sees very little traffic.

At least the Scott brand now has lenses that "amplify" light for night use. My particular model didn't seem to be offered with this - just different tints, and unfortunately none w/o tint.

Also look for models that are "helmet compatible".
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Old 04-02-10, 10:41 AM
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You can also try "cat crap" or a similar anti-fog coating you rub onto your glasses lens. You can find it anywhere that sells ski goggles.
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