Ski Goggles
Originally Posted by
chefisaac
I was curious as to why people where these? Is it the fact they dont fog up or???
I have been wearing clear glasses in the AM and non sunny days. The bad thing is that they fog up.
Originally Posted by
tjspiel
...I've had problems with cheap goggles not only fogging but icing up on the inside.
"Jim From Boston" is somebody who still posts here once in a while and he's had good luck with plain old safety glasses over his regular glasses, - didn't work for me though.
Aside from the fogging problem, when it gets really cold I don't want any skin exposed so sun glasses don't quite cut it.
Thanks for your reference, tjspiel. To the OP, it seems riders vary in their tolerance to a cold wind on their eyeballs, but when you get into temperatures below say about 20 degrees F and zipping downhill, your eyes will naturally start tearing and dangerously obstructing vision. But even if just for comfort's sake, it's nice to keep your eyes warm by screening them from the cold. Regular eyeglasses, and I wear them constantly for vision, just are not large enough and too open for effective protection.
The problem with eyewear in the cold though, is that it easily fogs up with the exhaled moist breath, and if you cover your face, the vapor is directed upwards to the glasses, again obstructing vision. That’s been probably the most dangerous situation for me with winter cycling. I've found, IMO, a most satisfactory solution for my situation in Boston, and I am almost evangelical about spreading the word. See my post, with pictures:
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
As an eyeglass wearer, I’m one who has had excellent success with safety goggles…Besides the combined wind protection and wide-open ventilation, I like the clear plastic lenses for riding in darkness, and the rigid earpieces which allow me to wear a Take-a-Look rearview mirror on the safety glasses. I virtually never fog, and my worst case, as shown below, was the frosting that occurred from about miles 10 to 14 on my commute starting out at at 0 degrees F and finishing at minus 8. I still had enough clear vision to ride…
In any discussion about winter gear, I emphasize stating the conditions in which one rides. In Boston I commute 14 miles one way, down to my coldest temperatures of (rarely) about 0 degrees, with a few hills that cause harder breathing at slower speeds, reducing ventilation. This is not as bad I'm sure as riding in Minneapolis. In particular, I'm dubious about the use of anti-fogging agents in extremes of temperatures because I think they can be overcome by heavy breathing.
My own tolerance for cold is to start using safety glasses at about 35 degrees.