“ Sometimes when you lose your way in the fog, you end up in a beautiful place” - Mehmet Muran Ildan
This is one of my favourite quotes, but what happens if the fog is just in your goggles and you are missing out everything in your special time out here? Do you really want this ruining your time on the mountains? Ski goggles fogging up? Is there anything more annoying? It’s freezing out, the snow is falling and the perfect powder is just under your skis … and then your ski goggles fog up and you can’t see a thing! You are literally missing out everything! While sometimes it's not possible to prevent your ski goggles from fogging, these 10 tips will give you the best chance of mitigating it.
1. Understand Why fogging happens: The first step to prevent your ski goggles from fogging up is to actually understand the basic science that causes them to fog up in the first place. Fogging occurs because the warm and moist air inside your goggles is coming in contact with the cold surface of your lens. This humid air condenses into drops of water that build up on your lens.
2. Invest in a good pair of Ski Goggles: When it comes to skiing, the two most important things to me are my feet and my eyes. My feet are encased in my boots for most of the day, so comfort is key and if I can’t see, then I simply cannot ski! Often the biggest complaint from people who buy cheap ski goggles is the fogging issue. If the fit is good, the next thing to consider is the ventilation, which can be poorly designed on cheap ski goggles and well designed on the expensive ones. Although most of today’s modern ski goggles come equipped with vents and/or an anti-fog coating, that doesn’t mean that all ski goggles are built the same. For instance, high-quality ski goggles are often made with patented fabrics and materials, designed to wick moisture and prevent this type of inconvenience. So, while there’s nothing wrong with using a cheaper pair of ski goggles, especially if you’re just getting into the sport, it’s still important to understand that better quality goggles are less prone to fogging. We at 6fiftyfive have dedicated days and sleepless nights to design, test and improve our ski goggles until we reached the result we wanted. We designed a new lens completely from scratch to ensure better clarity and improved anti fogging compared to even the best traditional ski goggles out there. Do you want to know more? Click here to know more about our multi layer lens technology
3. Double lens work, multi layer lens work better: Traditional double lens ski goggles are made of two lenses, one dark, on the outside, one clear, inside. Between the two lenses there is a small air gap. This allows to keep the inner lens at a higher temperature than the one outside, reducing the risk of fogging. In our lens this is achieved through several layers of shatterproof polycarbonate material combined in a single, thicker, multi layer lens. An analogy can be made with the old double windows of the houses in the 80s (the double lens masks) in comparison with the multilayer windows of today (our ski goggles). The result is: improved anti-fog compared to traditional lenses. The different layers of plastic are more efficient than the air gap in increasing the temperature in the inner part of the lens, reducing the risk of fogging. Inside our mask we have added an anti-fog film to increase the anti-fog capacity (a thin layer of transparent plastic), the double lenses usually have an anti-fog spray applied in the inner lens (you can see if they have a transparent plastic film inside that must be removed before first use). The spray is much more delicate and deteriorates over time. Interesting? Have look at our collection of multi layer ski goggles here
4. Make sure your vents are open: While not all ski goggles are equipped with ventilation, most mid-range goggles will have vents that are specifically designed to prevent fogging. Large vents on top and at the bottom of the frame ensure a steady air flow without actually allowing cold air to hit your eyes.
5. Let the air in while on the lifts: Things tend to move a bit slowly on the lifts, so even with vents, there might not be enough wind for them to function fully. You don’t need to remove your ski goggles, however, it can help to simply lift them off your face for a few seconds. Just be careful when doing this that you don’t end up getting any snow or water on your lenses, which will only make things worse.
6. Don't rest your ski Goggles on your head: Heat rises. If you rest your goggles on the top of your head or on a vented helmet (most are), then all of the hot humid air from your body is going to go into the goggles. It's best not to remove your goggles from your eyes during your runs unless you absolutely have to.
7. Don't Tuck in your Balaclava: Neck warmers, balaclavas, or gaiters are great to keep warm but don’t tuck them inside your goggles as moisture and hot air will travel up from your mouth and into the bottom of your goggles, increasing the likelihood of fogging issues. If it’s really cold out, tuck the smallest amount of material possible to cover your nose, but not so that it sits completely between the foam padding. The best thing you can do is leave a small separation between your goggles and balaclava, leaving your nose slightly exposed.
8. Don't Overdress Clearly, you need to stay warm on the mountain, but there is no need for sweating. Skiing and snowboarding is a physically intense activity, so even when it’s freezing outside – it’s easy to overheat, sweat and release vapor up and out towards our goggles.
9. Properly Dry Out Your Goggles: When you're done skiing for the day, the best thing to do is to let your goggles rest on the counter or some other place where they can dry naturally.
10. Have Two Lenses as a backup plan: While this is a more expensive option, it’s worth having two pairs of ski goggles or one pair of goggles with interchangeable lenses. Not only is having two lenses going to give you maximum visibility across a range of weather conditions it will also give you a spare lens to use while the other dries off or de-fogs. Now you can find amazing goggles with magnetics interchangeable lenses at affordable prices, just be careful about the magnets. What is suggested is to have 6 or more pairs of N45 rare earth magnets that allow easy and fast lens switching while holding your lens in place. You can personalize your ski goggles with different spare lenses: different colours and VLT (Visible Light Transmittance).
CONCLUSION: In the end, preventing moisture inside your goggles is the key to a fun, fog-free skiing experience.So make sure to invest in a decent quality pair of ski goggles that are designed with air vents, always store them properly, keep them clean, and dry, and you’re guaranteed to have a better time out in the mountains!
