It's a glorious day, and you're ready to hit the slopes. But before you set off, you realize your vision is full of spots. Does that sound familiar? Proper care not only prolongs the life of your goggles, it also keeps your vision clear.
Understanding the Sensitivity of High-Quality Goggles
High-quality products like models such as Revent L HD Photo or the Four Q HD from ATOMIC are much more sensitive than sunglasses. The flexible lens and the anti-fog coating on the inside increase their care needs. It’s about protecting the sensitive coating, avoiding scratches, and preserving the foam and headband.
Essential Cleaning Tools
The best choice is the original cleaning cloth from the manufacturer, which you received when you purchased your goggle. Alternatively, you can also use a high-quality microfiber cloth. Better get a new, suitable cloth before you ruin your goggles with a handkerchief or similar if you have lost your cleaning cloth.
Step-by-Step Cleaning Guide
Do's and Don'ts
- Never wipe over wet lenses! The anti-reflective coating could be damaged, and the lens scratched.
- If your glasses are iced up, warm them up under your jacket first.
- If your glasses are still wet after shaking them vigorously, dab them dry with the cleaning cloth or a soft microfiber cloth.
- Only clean the outside of the lens!
Cleaning the Lens
The inside of the goggles should only be cleaned if absolutely necessary with warm water and a gentle dabbing motion. If cleaning the inner lens is necessary, dab the inner lens carefully with a clean, dry soft microfiber cloth. If this is not enough, carefully and with minimal pressure wipe the inner lens with the microfiber cloth.
Especially when skiing or snowboarding, it is possible for water drops to accumulate on the snow goggles. You can simply dab and remove the water beads on the outside of the lens with a microfiber cloth or a microfiber bag. The inside of the ski goggles is very sensitive because it has an anti-fog coating. It is therefore essential to keep the inside of ski goggles and snowboard goggles clean.
Read also: Safe Ski Jacket Cleaning
Water stains should be dabbed very carefully with the microfiber material. Stay away from other materials! Gloves in particular have a very rough surface and can damage the coating.
Cleaning the Foam and Headband
- Clean the foam: Rinse lightly with lukewarm, mild soapy water and air dry. Yes, the foam can be carefully wiped off with lukewarm water and a small amount of a mild liquid detergent.
- Washing the headband: Sweat and salt can cause the headband to become brittle.
Dealing with a Damaged Lens Coating
The anti-fog coating is a sensitive protective layer that prevents your ski goggles from fogging up when you are out in the snow. It consists of a special surface treatment that minimises condensation.
Unfortunately, there's not much you can do if the inside of a goggle is damaged. If the damage is minimal, you can try an anti-itch spray. However, this is probably a short-term solution. Deeper scratches are usually impossible to remove. Polishing compounds can help with minor scratches, but replacing the lens is often the best solution. If its that bad you may just need to get a new lens.
If you wipe away the original antifog you can also just try to apply aftermarket antifog meant for glassea or other eyeware (e.g. cat crap). Warm water rinse ...shake off excess water and let it air dry ...absolutely no wiping of inner lens .
Additional Tips for Goggle Care
- Always store goggles in the provided storage bag.
- When your day on the hill is over, a good way of storing your goggles is in the supplied microfiber bag inside the helmet for extra protection.
- For Ullr’s sake, please avoid leaving them on your helmet over longer periods of time, as this will degrade the elastic in the strap.
- Don’t leave them in your car overnight. Bring them inside, remove them from the damp microfiber bag, and let both dry out at room temperature while you rest for the following day. Avoid heat sources like the fireplace or hair dryer.
- Never store them in extreme cold or heat! Make sure they are completely dry before packing them away! If you put cold ski goggles on your face, they will steam up easily.
What to Avoid When Cleaning Goggles
- Handkerchiefs: Handkerchiefs contain mineral fillers, which act like sandpaper on the glass surface and damage the glass. The same also applies to gloves or jacket sleeves. These can also cause micro-scratches on the lens.
- Special cleaning agents: When cleaning, you are probably quickly tempted to use special cleaning agents or cloths. However, you should avoid these in any case, as they can damage the coating and the lens.
- Anti-fog sprays: Nowadays it is often advised to use anti-fog sprays to prevent fogging up ski goggles. However, it is a misconception that these help, as the applied layer of spray can damage the anti-fog coating on the inner glass of the ski goggles.
Pro Tips from Ski Experts
If you crash and find your googles full of snow, turn them upside down and try to shake it out, and make sure the vents are clear of snow. Avoid rubbing the inner lens. It is better in the long run to ski a couple of laps with some droplets inside the googles than to take a microfiber cloth to it.
Read also: Clean & Maintain Your Boots
On the slopes, the general rule for goggle is once they are on, keep them on, unless you go ass over tea kettle and they fill with snow. A trick for tram or gondola riders is to take them off and hang them from a window or tip of your skis to help keep them dry and shed some moisture. If you just put the goggles up on your helmet, they will not air out sufficiently, and the vents on your helmet could also pump additional moisture inside the goggle. The key is to remove the goggles from the heat and moisture source (your head) and they will clear up.
Resting your goggles on your helmet or your beanie is seldom a good idea in foul weather.
Maintaining Your Goggles for Longevity
After powdering is before powdering - that's why storage and product care is just as important as cleaning. In order to have the perfect view on the next day on the slopes, you should let your goggles dry after skiing and snowboarding. As soon as the ski goggles are dry, they can be stowed away in a case. This protects the glasses from scratches and prolongs the pleasure. Storage in the case is also important for the foam.
The lifetime of your NAKED Optics ski goggles is very important to us.
Snowboard Goggle Tips - Keep them Fog Free & Lasting Long
Lens Color Guide
Aspects like translucency, fit, tint and UV protection play an important role when buying ski goggles. Find out what to keep in mind to find the perfect goggles! Blue, black, red or yellow: What’s the best goggle lens colour? Find out more about different tints!
Read also: Is the Gnu Antigravity Snowboard Worth It?
Where to Find Replacements and Accessories
Are you looking for a new model or do you need cleaning products for ski goggles? At INTERSPORT Rent you will find many accessories and top ski goggles such as the FOUR PRO or the Revent L HD Photo from ATOMIC. Our RENTertainers on site will be happy to help you find the right ski goggles for the current snow and light conditions.