Snowboard goggles fogging up?
Is there anything more annoying?
It’s freezing out, the snow is falling and the wind is whipping in. Your carving some epic lines on a couple of feet of fresh, perfect powder…..and then your goggles fog up and you can’t see a thing!
You take them off and rest them on your helmet so you can see properly, but then the snow is being slammed into your face by the wind and you can hardly open your eyes.
Sound Familiar?
Then you’ve probably had issues with foggy-goggles-syndrome.
Everyone experiences it at some stage and every goggle (though some are much more prone than others), at some point or another, will succumb to this plight.
So what to do about it?
10 Tips to Prevent Your Goggles from Fogging Up
O.k. so here are some tips. Hopefully they’ll help you to have a clear ride all the way down so you can confidently bomb the mountain in any conditions.
Tip #1: Keep Riding
As long as you’re moving and your goggles have vents (that are open), there should be enough airflow to stop those goggles fogging up.
Tip #2: No Goggles on Forehead
O.k. so you can’t keep riding when you’re on the lift. You won’t always be moving – but when you are stopped, don’t keep your goggles on your forehead – the body heat will fog them up quickly.
Fog is cased by warm air inside your goggles contrasted with the cold air on the outside of your goggles.
If you are taking your goggles off your face have them on your helmet if you ride with one or hold them in your hands.
Tip #3: Shake off Excess Snow
Whenever you are stopped – on the lift for example or in the lift line, check to see if there is snow on your goggles. If there is, shake it off.
Tip #4: Remove Snow from Vents
Pay special attention to removing snow from vents on your goggles. If snow is blocking the vents, then air won’t be able to flow through them.
Tip #5: Don’t Wipe with a wet lens bag
If you try to wipe the inside of your goggles with a wet (even just a little bit wet) lens bag it’s likely to make the problem worse and could even damage the lens.
Tip #6: Dry them out
If you do get fogging up going on, despite preventative measures, try shaking them up and down to get some air flow in there. Or put them in a dry pocket and see if that sorts them out.
If all else fails, you may have to go into the lodge to dry them out (if you use a hairdryer make sure you don’t put the goggles too close for risk of melting!). But I’ve never found this necessary. Usually taking the goggles off your face for a bit will sort them out if they’ve got some air flow going on.
Tip #7: Change the lens
The other thing you can do, if you have another lens on you, is to change the lens – so long as it’s a suitable lens for the conditions.
Tip #8: Buy Goggles that Won’t Fog Up
O.k. I know this one is obvious but if you haven’t already bought your goggles, or if you are thinking of getting new ones, there are some things to look out for to get goggles that are less prone to fogging up.
Some things to look out for:
- Make sure the goggles fit to your face well
- Make sure you get goggles with vents
- Make sure the vents won’t be blocked by your helmet
- Get goggles with a spherical lens (goggles usually have either Cylindrical or Spherical Lenses. Spherical lenses tend to fog up less – but they do also tend to be more expensive)
>>See more tips for choosing goggles
Tip #9: Put Your Goggles Away When Hiking
If you are doing any hiking then don’t wear your goggles. All that heat and sweat are a sure fire way to fog your goggles up. Instead, wear sunglasses on the way up and keep your goggles in your pack or a dry pocket and only use them for the way down.
Tip #10: Have Two pairs of Goggles
If you don’t have interchangeable lenses on your goggles it’s always a good idea to have two pairs anyway – so you’ve at least got one lens for brighter days and one for gloomier days.
The other advantage of having two pairs is that you can swap them out if one fogs up. This can be annoying though if you have to carry a second pair in your pocket or if you have to return to the car to grab your second pair – and also the second pair may not be suitable for the conditions you are in.
Thanks for reading
Hopefully some of these tips will help you to get less fogging up so you can actually see where you’re going when careering down the mountain – it comes in handy 😉
Remember that prevention is always better than cure so if you follow the preventative measures, then hopefully the cures aren’t even needed.
Do you have any other things you do to stop your goggles from fogging up? If so, leave a comment in the comments section below.
Related: How to Choose Snowboarding Goggles
I have a wax called zooke that I bought at the ski show. Is suppose to help if you clean your goggles with it. Is that true? Thanks
Hi Dave
Thanks for your message.
That’s the first I’ve ever heard of cleaning your goggles with wax. I would be very hesitant to try it. I would do a lot of research first. I would be particularly hesitant to go anywhere near the inside lens with it – as that’s where there is anti-fog and you don’t want to ruin the anti-fog coating. I would be very weary. I have never tried it or even heard of it, so I can’t really comment, but I would make sure you do some serious looking into it before trying it.
If youre wearing a face mask dont put your goggles over the junction over your nose (unless its an Airflow one with a nose hole) this will definitely cause goggles to fog up. A couple of years back in Sestriere my Von Zippers fogged up in between the lenses? and I asked an instructor for advice but hed never seen this happen before. All I could do was stay in the warm until they cleared, which didnt take too long and they were fine afterwards. I believe a combination of keeping them in my bag and wet low cloud with poor visibilty caused this problem. I highly recommend Von Zipper goggles and Ive had no problems with fogging in normal conditions – even whiteouts.
Hey Dave
Thanks for your input. Yeah definitely I find if I put goggles over the face mask, then it definitely fogs up. However, I don’t find this so much with facemasks that attach to your goggles with a magnet, if you have them set up right. I haven’t tried Von Zipper goggles personally but would definitely like to give them a go.
Wow, I did not know that there were so many ways that there are so many ways to keep goggles from fogging up when snowboarding. This is a problem that my wife and I run into all the time when we’re on the slopes. We’ll definitely have to heed some of your advice like keeping them dry, or carrying around an extra pair, or something like that.
Fogging is really a big problem for goggle. But actually most goggle lenses are anti fog coated . Not only goggle lenses , helmet visor , football visor , wind shield , swimming mask , etc , all of the lenses are made of polycarbonate ,then the best anti fog solution is anti fog coated based on the polycarbonate sheet. This is what I read this morning from this ebook Fog Solution Guide .Hope to help
Hi Sunny – thanks for your input and the extra info.
You’re right, I would almost go as far as to say that all snowboard goggles have anti-fog coating of some description – but this isn’t foolproof – no matter how good the coating is, I always manage to be able to fog my goggles if the conditions are right for it! But that coating does certainly help.
Hey Nate , ski goggle fogging , biggest problem is the dual layer structure , if any company can develop single layer goggle lens , then all things done.
Hi Sunny
Thanks for your message. Hopefully someone comes up with single layer goggle lenses soon then!