GOGLES
& FOG REMOVAL
Written on 11 June 2011 by Susan Dun
One of the most annoying things that happens to your goggles is that they fog up – and while no pair of goggles is ever guaranteed never to fog up, one reason for spending a little more on a decent pair of goggles is their great anti-fog features, so they’re a lot less likely to fog up and if they do they’ll clear very quickly.
Goggles fog up when the warm moist air around your face comes into contact with the cold lens of the goggles – just like the mirror in the bathroom. Good goggles use different features to stop the lens getting cold enough for fog to settle or to move the warm air away from the lens before it has time to settle.
More energetic skiers and boarders generate more warm air and have more problems with fog, so they in particular need goggles with good anti-fog features.
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Goggle Fog Removal Systems
Double Lenses
One of the commonest and simplest ways of preventing fog forming is a double lens which works in a similar way to double glazing. The sealed space between the lenses insulates the inner lens, keeps it away from the cold outer lens and stops it getting cold enough for fog to settle.
Single lens goggles are much more likely to fog up and are really only found at the very cheap end of the market these days, and for high speed racing where perfect vision is very important and the goggles are only being worn for a couple of minutes anyway.
Ventilation
Most decent goggles these days also feature some type of ventilation which works by keeping your face and the air inside the goggle cooler and by moving warm, moist air out of the chamber before it gets time to settle.
Ventilation systems vary in their technology and effectiveness and this is one factor which does have quite a significant effect on price – with more expensive goggles you will nearly always get better and more effective ventilation, so it can be worth the extra spend.
Frame Ventilation
At the bottom end of the market, you’ll generally find simple frame ventilation – foam strips along the top and bottom of the lens or around the whole frame which let cold air in to keep your face cool. This is a passive system – there’s no positive driving of cold air in and warm air out, so it’s less effective than the more sophisticated ventilation systems out there.
In more expensive models, you’ll often find active frame ventilation with intake and outlet vents incorporated into the frame material to actively direct cold air into the goggle chamber and warm air out.
Lens Ventilation
Higher-end goggles also often feature lens ventilation – holes in the lens which improve air flow and direct air circulation more effectively. The larger the holes, the more effective the air flow but larger holes can make your face cold, so some models offer adjustable ventilation which can be opened when you need it and closed when you don’t.
Adjustable ventilation is also a good option for contact lens wearers who can find that too much air flowing through their goggles makes their eyes dry, or for people who find that a lot of ventilation makes their eyes stream at high speeds.
Mechanical Ventilation
Right at the top end of the market, there are a few goggles with a battery-operated fan to speed up airflow and improve ventilation. These are expensive and some people find them heavy but they do work.
Lens Shape
The smaller the space inside the goggle chamber, the less space there is for the moist air inside to move around so the more likely it is to settle on the lens as fog.
Cheap goggles tend to have a flattish lens and a small chamber. Better ones have a curved or even spherical lens and as well as improving peripheral and downwards vision these are also less likely to fog up.
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