Seeing is kind of a big deal when you’re bombing down the side of a snow-covered mountain on a plank of wood!
So, getting decent snowboarding goggles is a bit of a no-brainer – but you also want to keep those goggles clean.
You want your vision to be as optimal as possible – especially on those low-vis days.
Protecting Your Goggles
Not only do you want to keep your snowboard goggles clean, you also want to be able to do it without damaging them – especially if you’ve invested a decent amount of cash into them.
For starters, you don’t want them to get scratched as your cleaning them – for obvious reasons.
Secondly, you don’t want to damage the anti-fog properties of the lenses. Reducing the effectiveness of the anti-fog coating can also greatly hinder your vision on those fog-up days (technical term 😉 ).
Cleaning Your Snowboard Goggles
So, cleaning your goggles is important and all about making sure the lenses are as clean and clear as possible but without damaging the lens in any way.
So here are some tips for keeping your goggles clean and at the same time safe:
Don’t Use any Products to Clean the Lens
You might be tempted to use some kind of lens cleaner if you have a bit of grime or finger marks on the lenses. This is usually a big no-no!
Chemicals in cleaning products can harm your lenses – particularly when it comes to things like the anti-fog coating.
Drying the Lens When They Get Wet
Sometimes you don’t necessarily need to clean the lens but just need to dry them off – for example, if you’ve fast planted into 2 feet of fresh powder!
But you don’t want to be too aggressive with wiping the lens as there might be grit in the snow and you don’t want to wipe hard and potentially scratch your lens with that grit. Dabbing is usually always recommend over wiping.
The best idea to dry off your lens when you’re on the mountain and need them dry right away is to:
- Shake the goggles and lightly tap them against your hand. This is to shake off any excess snow etc that’s clinging to the goggles.
- Rather than wiping. Dab the rest of the excess wetness with a microfiber cloth. Your bag for your goggles is the best for this and this is a good reason to always carry your bag up the mountain with you – it doesn’t take up much room in your pocket.
- Don’t be too concerned with getting them fully dry. The wind through the vents in your goggles should finish them off nicely
If it’s the end of the day and you want to dry them out, the best bet is just to let time do it.
Be Particularly Careful with the inside of the Lens
The inside of the lens is the most vulnerable to damage and that’s where the anti-fog coating will be.
So, try to avoid any kind of wiping on the inside of the lens if possible. If the inside of the lens is wet and you need to get it dry in a hurry, then dabbing rather than wiping is the best way to go.
A good rule to go by is to try not to touch the inside of your lens. This way you’ll never need to wipe off finger marks. This can be tricky if you’re taking a lens out to swap it for a lighter or darker lens but if you have to touch the lens at all in this process, try to make it the outside of the lens.
When You Need to Do More than Just Dry Off
Sometimes you will have finger marks or other grime on the lenses of your goggles.
In this case you might need a little more than a dab with a microfiber cloth.
In this situation though, still be very gentle and don’t use anything other than that microfiber cloth/goggle bag and water.
Damp a microfiber cloth (not too wet) and use that to wipe the outside of your lens. Then dry it off with a dry part of the cloth or another cloth that’s dry.
For the inside of the lens, still try not to wipe, if at all possible. If there are marks, see if they will come off simply by dabbing them with the wet cloth and then waiting a while and then dabbing them off with the dry cloth.
Don’t use snow to clean your goggles though! I know this turns to water – but it could also be harboring unseen nasties, like grit, that can scratch your lens!
Prevent them Getting Dirty in the First Place
You know the saying right? Prevention is always better than a cure. Or something like that.
Of course, there will always be situations where you won’t be able to avoid it and that’s fine but where possible take measures to keep them clean.
Some things you can do are:
- When changing goggles try to use non-abrasive gloves or put your hand through your goggle bag and change them that way – finger marks are one of the major reasons your goggles need cleaning
- Always keep your goggles in a goggle bag when not in use – and better yet get a hard case for them – at least for when they’re in your snowboard bag
Cleaning Snowboarding Goggles Tips Overview
- As much as possible dab instead of wiping
- Shake off excess snow before cleaning or drying
- Always use a microfiber cloth – e.g. your goggle bag
- Never use any chemicals or cleaning products to clean your lenses
- Read the cleaning instructions from the manufacturer of the goggles carefully, if you still have them. If you’re buying new goggles, keep those cleaning instructions to remind yourself for when you next need to clean them
- Use gloves or put your hand through your goggle bag when changing lenses to avoid finger prints
- If you do use your bare hands when changing lenses try at least to not touch the inside of the lens
- Keep your goggles in their goggle bag whenever not using them
- Or go one step further and get a hard case for them if they didn’t come with one – this will not keep them cleaner than a goggle bag but used as well as the goggle bag will help to protect them from scratches
Thanks for reading
Hopefully this has given you some good tips for cleaning your snowboarding goggles and doing so without damaging them.
If you have any other tips or suggestions feel free to leave them in the comments section below.
Related: How to Choose the Best Snowboarding Goggles for You
Excellent advice, to which I would add: buy quality goggles. A few years back Oakley replaced the lens of my goggles when the coating turned opaque even though it was probably my own fault. You cant beat customer service like this. Im using some Von Zipper Johnny Jacksons now (they were on offer) theyve got an extra low light lens and are terrific.
Very good point Dave.
Quality goggles can make a big difference and are worth the investment. And having interchangeable lenses is also a must – unless you want to own 2 pairs. Having that low light lens for low viz days is so valuable. Also check out the link below to learn more about choosing snowboard goggles.
>>Choosing Snowboard Goggles