The real reason why your goggles are fogging

So you just bought a pair of new goggles, but every time you take them out on the mountains, they're fogging up making it impossible to ride. In many cases, the reason boils down to how to treat and care for your gear. Before we get into how to fix the problem, it's important to understand a little bit about why fogging happens in the first place.

How goggles work

Just like how your car's windshield defogger works, goggles are designed to avoid fog by allowing air to cycle through the goggle using vents at the top and bottom. If these foam vents get wet from snow, sweat, or rain (where are my east coast riders at!), the material loses its breathability, causing air to get trapped inside the goggle and create condensation. So what can you do to fix the issue?

Keep them dry

This is the most important thing for goggle care. Take your goggles out of their bag if you use one, and allow the goggle to fully dry every night. Ideally, try to let the goggle dry near a fire or heater if it feels damp after a day of use. If you were really pressed for time, a hairdryer might work to expedite the process.

Sometimes sweat or heavy snow can cause the goggles to start fogging after a few runs. If that happens, you can try taking them into a bathroom and using a hand dryer to dry them out again.

Take them out of your car

This was a mistake that we learned the hard way. Similar to the previous point, although your car is protected from the elements, it's not nearly warm enough in the winter to allow the goggles to properly air dry after a heavy powder day. Every time you're done using your goggles, bring them into the house along with your other gear.

Check the fit and condition of your gear

If you wear a helmet on the mountains, (which you should) most helmets will have vents which act as an extension of the vents on top of the goggles to vent up through the helmet. Check to see if the helmet and goggles are playing nicely together. A good fit will allow the air to circulate through the goggle and out through the helmet. Take the Smith Code for example — you can see there are two vents on the front which are designed to help circulate that air. Ensure that your goggle vents line up with the vents on your helmet.

Additionally, if your goggles are very old, it may be time to upgrade them. If you notice the foam material has started to break down, there's a good chance it has lost that breathability. You'll have to make that assessment on your own, but if you decide to shop for some new goggles, places like Evo or Backcountry are always offering good deals.

Don't wipe or spray the inside

There's a lot of advice online that will tell you to treat the inside of the lens with XYZ chemical, or wipe it in this or that way. From my experience and talking to people over at Oakley, this is a bad idea. The goggles come from the factory with a coating on the inside that's designed to repel moisture. If you apply harsh cleaners or try to add your own coating, you jeopardize that factory coating. I trust the engineers at these goggle manufacturers to apply a far better coating than anything I could do on my own.

Conclusion

I know what a buzzkill fogged goggles can be, so I hope this helps at least one person out there enjoy their time on the mountains without having their goggles fog up. Unfortunately, there isn't really a magic solution to fix all causes — you'll have to experiment to see what the root cause is of your fogging. If there's anything I missed, feel free to shoot us an email at

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