Monday, January 24, 2022

Anti-Fog helmet shield treatment

 I had a really cool anti-fog helmet shield from Xelement a few years ago, but it cracked off in the cold weather.  I ended up returning the helmet and bought a nice HJC.

I like to ride in most any weather, but I hate when my helmet fogs up.  I've tried the Rain X product on the outside surface, and that works pretty well.  Its the inside surface that is the problem.  I saw someone try shaving cream, and that didn't work for me.  It fogged up just the same.

Then I read that F1 race drivers will apply a single drop of shampoo to their helmet shield.  The drop of shampoo is distributed evenly with the tip of the finger and left to dry.  Then a microfiber cloth can be used to buff it clear again.

This seemed like a simple trick and worth trying.  In my demonstration video below I compared an untreated helmet shield (silver helmet) with a treated shield (white helmet).  The results are surprisingly different.  The shield treated with shampoo really did resist fogging!




1 comment:

  1. Thanks for that great tested & proven to be adequate anti-fog tip!

    I’ve heard scuba divers will use a bit of spittle to ward off the fog. And rub the interior clear part until fully covered, apply mask to face and swim on. No need to wait or rub off (unless too much saliva was used lol)!

    It is a wonder how this issue has not been rectified by now, though.. Seems to me that integrated defroster would be ideal. A couple of tiny bands of wire embedded or a-fixed to run parallel across the top and bottom of the visual window and connected a few button batteries housed in the helmet liner easily replaceable via slotted access (no velcro wanted or needed tho, just overlap the fabric a bit). Additionally, incorporate a pass through air flow to also assist with the anti-fog design. A few well placed slits into the helmet maybe about the temple then an out point, like nape of neck area on the rear of helmet.
    Just thinking aloud really, would need to test out the air flow theory, but if angled and like a slotted cone (acceleration of wind as it enters the helmet when in motion, should let in so much that the rider experiences any noise distraction or dry eye sensation ; or experience a feeling too hot/cold in summer/winter ; or allow sleet/rain to gush in (maybe a tiny screen filter?!?)
    And a rear helmet Flashy runner/cascading LED show!! OK, maybe not so much.
    Party Mode When Parked, How Say You?
    Smyles - EAS

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