Originally Posted by
Bat56
Googles suck…
…Rip that foam off.
Now you want to get set up to maximize air movement.
I use Cat Crap also. This stuff works for a while but eventually the fog that the crap prevents turns to condensation and then you have a real mess.
Originally Posted by
fotooutdoors
I disagree that goggles suck. Poorly managed temperature and condensation coupled with goggles sucks. Same with glasses in the cold…IMHO, nothing should directly cover your mouth... If you are breathing into the gaiter, that warm, moist air needs to go somewhere, and the path of least resistance is likely up instead of through the fabric….I occasionally fog up my goggles from my face sweating...
Originally Posted by
Colorado Kid
I too disagree...
The key is vent holes. My pair (an old Forest Fire Fighters.) has about 15+ holes in it…No need for Cat Crap or anything else. The vent holes will take care of everything.
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
From my own experience, and reading other such threads, it appears that other than anti-wetting agents (Cat Crap, soap, saliva, etc), there are two basic strategies to prevent fogging:
- Sealed goggles, i.e. like typical ski goggles with a foam seal, sometimes also with double-paned lenses, or even blower fans, to keep out exhaled moisture. The problem with these are IMO, they are made mostly for downhill skiing or snowmobiling, where the traveling speeds are much higher, but the physical exertion and the burden of exhaled moist air is less. A high rate of ventilation is produced by the onrushing air to remove trapped moist air inside the goggles via small gaps in the seal. However, we cyclists are breathing hard with a limited rate of oncoming air to ventilate.
I don’t think any ski googles can be made to completely exclude moist air, unless you breathe away from them. And once moist air is trapped inside the goggles, it will fog up.
- Widely ventilated glasses, like industrial safety glasses ("goggles") as described by me, or as altered goggles as described by Bat56, or Colorado Kid. The lenses serve as a windscreen, and the wide gaps provide a large area for ventilation.
Originally Posted by
wipekitty
It's the annual fogged goggles thread!...
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
Here we go again. I perennially post about my winter eyewear for my 14 mile [one-way] year-round commute, from about 35° down to as low as 0°. I must wear my prescription eyeglasses, and fogging is one of the worst dangers of winter riding. I am entirely satisfied with my system:
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
…for eye protection is a pair of simple, wide, plastic industrial goggles that I suspend from my cycling cap using Velcro around the nosepiece. The glasses sit very comfortably on my face securely in place even though my ears are covered. The earpieces then provide a secure mount for my eyeglass-mounted Take-a-Look mirror. The goggles allow sufficient room for my prescription eyeglasses, and are widely ventilated to carry away the exhaled moisture preventing fogging…
This morning (12/14/13) I did my 14 mile commute at 11° F with no fogging problems. After about one mile I was comfortable with lowering my face mask below my lower lip. When going fast on windswept downhill runs of about a few hundred yards, I raised my face mask to below my nose. The warm, moist exhaled air kept my exposed nose and cheeks warm, and the onrushing air dissipated the moisture before it could fog up the goggles. With a slightly forced exhalation, I could even warm my eyebrows, with no fogging.
I realize now that my goggles and face mask are actually an integrated system of heating and ventilation that keeps my face warm and my vision unencumbered by fogging. The windscreen of the goggles is so effective in keeping my eyes warm that my eyelids actually perspired because my central core body was so warm, and my eyes never got cold, even on those fast windswept downhill runs...