Anti-fog: what is it and how does it work?

There is nothing worse than a lens fogging up and ruining a day spent freeriding in the woods.
Fortunately, over time great improvements have been made: from single-lens goggles to dual-lens goggles (which compensate for the thermal shock between the face and the outside air) and the use of anti-fog layers, but not everyone knows that anti-fog lenses are not all the same!

What is the anti-fog treatment?
The anti-fog is a layer of hydrophilic material that is uniformly applied to the inside of ski goggle lenses. It serves to absorb moisture, reducing the surface tension of water, and distributing it across the entire surface of the lens, preventing condensation from forming.

Not all anti-fog coatings are the same
The EN166 law defines that, to be defined as anti-fog, a lens must pass the standard test by resisting fogging for at least 8 seconds. So yes, there is actually a very precise measure of how effective an anti-fog coating is, even if it’s not usually disclosed, which is the number of seconds the lens withstands the test. The more seconds a lens resists, the better the anti-fog performance is. 

To give you an idea of the difference that can exist between lenses, we use a special formulation that withstands the test for over 300 seconds: it is more than 37 times more effective than the legal minimum! So if you’re looking for the best anti-fog and want to go beyond marketing slogans, this is the data you should ask for.

Fun fact: 300 seconds is the maximum time the test machine can run, so we don’t know how much longer it could have lasted.

How to take care of it
Even the best anti-fog coating can be damaged if handled poorly, and once damaged, it is very difficult to restore it with aftermarket sprays. But, with a few simple precautions, you can make sure that the anti-fog coating on your goggles lasts a long time:

• Do not rub the inside of the goggles, especially when wet.
• Clean them only when dry by gently dabbing.
• If snow gets inside during use, do not rub the inside; instead, remove it by shaking the goggles and then dab the most critical areas.
• If they get wet, let the goggles dry in a ventilated place before storing them.