Its been kinda warm here in NJ for this time of year, so I went for a nice ride yesterday.  Temp's in the high 40's....

I just got a new full face helmet (previously had a 3/4) ....I had ridden with this new helmet a few times in the last weeks, and noticed that cold air still hits me in the chin and neck.......so I got a schampa neck curtain too.

Now what happens is my breath fogs up the visor, and my eyeglasses! 

The helmet came with a little plastic insert which clips in, and sort of covers the nose, like the top half of an oxygen mask.....supposed to divert breath downward..this thing made it worse, as it channels the damp breath directly up to my glasses..........

The Schampa thing sort of prevents air from coming up from below the helmet and chin....but this makes everything fog even more!!  (no air flow thru helmet..)

After I got sidetracked, helping out some friends with a project, it was dark befor I headed home...and just a bit hazy too......I fogged up so bad a couple of times it got dangerous!!

I ended up riding home with the visor about three clicks open, to keep air flowing over my glasses and the visor to keep it clear........but now my face froze!!!

So I remembered many years ago, at a discount store, some guy was demonstrating some stuff you rub onto your glasses to prevent fogging.....It was some blue gel stuff in a little medicine container..  Normally I just ignore those kinds of demonstrations...but the the guy basically grabbed by glasses off my head and rubbed some of the stuff on one lense...then held the glasses over a steaming tea kettle....the treated lens did not fog...I bought the stuff, and used it on everything....scuba mask, bathroom mirror, glasses etc...well that was 35 years ago..never saw the stuff since then....

So now I do an internet search and find this stuff called "Cat Crap"  seems like the same stuff.....but some reviews say it doesn't work all that well....

So I head down to the "outdoors" store, to buy cat crap...guess what?  Out of stock! 

But they had these tissue wipe things from Nikon to do the same thing......tried it on glasses and on visor, but only in the garage...seems to work a little but still seems to fog if breathing heavy....

Also found on internet, stuff called "c-clear"..........this sounds like the exact stuff I got 35 years ago, ...In fact they  say they started out in 1977 selling in stores and malls with a little demo kiosk...

So I'm going to order some of this stuff online and try......

So it seems like Warm= Fog

Airflow to prevent fog = cold face

Any other suggestions??

Cookie

My Shoei Qwest fogs terribly!  I'm using FogTech. It does really work. One application lasts me a couple of weeks.

Shoei Pinlock insert. On of the best investments I've made. Visor fogging just doesn't happen

There is ways of doing it yourself with old housewives remedies -

Potato method - http://www.ehow.com/how_4866082_make-goggles-antifog.html

Vinegar method - http://www.ehow.com/how_10042_make-own-anti.html

Quote from: Twisted on January 01, 2012, 12:52:43 AM
There is ways of doing it yourself with old housewives remedies -

Potato method - http://www.ehow.com/how_4866082_make-goggles-antifog.html

Vinegar method - http://www.ehow.com/how_10042_make-own-anti.html

Also heard you can use baby shampoo, or dish detergent.....of course when snorkeling we always just use spit...

I think the principle is the same in all these cases... and the comercially available stuff too...to create a micro surface which causes water to become "wetter" that is instead of condensation forimin in millions of tiny dots, or droplets, the condensation forms in smooth "sheets" thus remaining clear.....Back when photographers actually used film....there was some stuff called photo flow which was added to the developing process to make water have "sheeting action" on the film...so it would not form "drops that spot"....also automatic dishwahser detergent does this...

Cookie

Quote from: mitch79 on December 31, 2011, 08:15:20 PM
Shoei Pinlock insert. On of the best investments I've made. Visor fogging just doesn't happen

"web bike world" does reviews on all kinds of stuff.....they have reviewed just about every anti fog solution.......

The only one they say really works is this one!  The Shoei Pinlock!   (I think there are a couple of other brands, but use the exact same concept!)

They say this idea was developed in The Netherlands in 2005...but...

We've been using this same  concept in gliders since the early 1950's...  In high altitude flights, and winter flights, the outside temperature can be below freezing.....sometimes -20 to -60 F !!

When you breathe, or even moist heat from your body, will form, first "fog" on the plexi canopy, and then it quickly freezes over into ice......you can't see a thing...and if you try to scrape it off with a towel or a glove it smears and reforms, worse than before....

Gliders have no heat or defroster!  You can try to direct outside air thru the air vent to the isnide surface of the camopy, but this makes it too cold inside, and doesn't always work well.....

To the point..in the 50's (maybe it was the '40's) they started using what they called "clear vision panels"..they simply got some clear plastic sheeting....like "saran wrap"...cut into like 4"x 6" pieces and taped them onto the canopy....one front, one left, one right and one top......

Frost would form everywhere but where these panel were....so you at least had three or four little windows to see out!

This Shoei thing is the same deal...just more elegant.....once you make a double layer, and seal the edges...no fog!!!

So, this is what I will try next.......but still another problem.....eyeglasses still fog up!!   So I think I'm going to use some "rub on" stuff for the eyeglasses and the Shoei thing for the visor!

Cookie

+1 for pinlock .. Though i think Pinlock are their own company ... Not made by Shoei necessarily .. Pinlock makes suitable inserts for nearly every visor out there .
I do still get tiny fog spotting if i huff and puff on purpose but it fades real quick ..
O.p.. Really no chin vents ?

Quote from: Janx101 on January 01, 2012, 09:02:09 PM
+1 for pinlock .. Though i think Pinlock are their own company ... Not made by Shoei necessarily .. Pinlock makes suitable inserts for nearly every visor out there .
I do still get tiny fog spotting if i huff and puff on purpose but it fades real quick ..
O.p.. Really no chin vents ?

Helmet is Z1R Phantom....Has vents in front of mouth, and on top of forehead.....but frankly these do nothing, as I notice no diffenence whether they are open or closed!  Hot breathe goes up, not out of vent  (heat rises)....and cool air comes in from under chin bar, whether vent is open or not....

Only way to get good air flow inside the helmet is to open the visor at least one click...then lots of air comes in below chin bar, and visor stays clear of fog...but face gets cold!

Went riding yesterday with my old 3/4 helmet, and no fagging at all!  And it's just a warm as the full helmet, and a lot more comfortable, and a lot easier to get on and off, and easier with eyeglasses on too...just less crash protection....maybe full helmet purchase was a mistake for me?

Cookie

Mmmmmm, I'm still trying to understand this thread, I started riding with Bell RT open face and Bell Star full face helmets and I'm now going into my 28th winter of riding here in NE Ohio.  Guess 3/4 is just another name for an open face helmet?  I used the open face for spring-summer-fall and the full face was for winter.  After all, riding is about wind in the face isn't it?  Full face is/was warmer, period.  Getting involved with forums and online mc info about 10 years ago I started wearing a full face or flip face all the time because of safety issues except for a few very hot 90F+ summer days when I still use my open face.  I started wearing eyeglasses all the time long before I started riding.

Never bothered with any of those treatments for eyeglasses or helmet shields for fogging prevention, just open my shield to clear/prevent fogging.  Use to ride down to about 20F but only have gone out in above freezing weather last couple years due to old father time catching up to me a bit.  The fabric jackets and fleece garments of recent years have replaced the leather jacket, scarf, sweaters, and long johns I use to wear.  Now I ride with turtle neck fleeces under a mc jacket and a full face helmet in cold weather and my helmet shields are cracker open a notch or two all the time except in very cold weather when I have to flip open the shield to prevent fogging when coming to a stop in traffic and when getting up to speed for any distance I close it completely without fogging to prevent my face from freezing.

Quote from: gsJack on January 02, 2012, 09:01:56 AM
Mmmmmm, I'm still trying to understand this thread, I started riding with Bell RT open face and Bell Star full face helmets and I'm now going into my 28th winter of riding here in NE Ohio.  Guess 3/4 is just another name for an open face helmet?  I used the open face for spring-summer-fall and the full face was for winter.  After all, riding is about wind in the face isn't it?  Full face is/was warmer, period.  Getting involved with forums and online mc info about 10 years ago I started wearing a full face or flip face all the time because of safety issues except for a few very hot 90F+ summer days when I still use my open face.  I started wearing eyeglasses all the time long before I started riding.

Never bothered with any of those treatments for eyeglasses or helmet shields for fogging prevention, just open my shield to clear/prevent fogging.  Use to ride down to about 20F but only have gone out in above freezing weather last couple years due to old father time catching up to me a bit.  The fabric jackets and fleece garments of recent years have replaced the leather jacket, scarf, sweaters, and long johns I use to wear.  Now I ride with turtle neck fleeces under a mc jacket and a full face helmet in cold weather and my helmet shields are cracker open a notch or two all the time except in very cold weather when I have to flip open the shield to prevent fogging when coming to a stop in traffic and when getting up to speed for any distance I close it completely without fogging to prevent my face from freezing.

This is an example of what they call a 3/4 helmet...but notice it has a FULL face shield...

http://z1rhelmets.com/productDetails.jsp?catId=2034&productId=8067&rank=100&tree=2026&branch=2028&leaf=2034


This is an example of what they call a full helmet:

http://z1rhelmets.com/productDetails.jsp?catId=2032&productId=8061&rank=100&tree=2026&branch=2028&leaf=2032

I own one of each of these...

The idea of riding without any face visor, and without any windsheild, does not appeal to me in the least......."wind in the face" is "romantic" for about two blocks, then a PITA...not practical for long rides, and not safe, and not healthy IMHO..

In cold weather no face protection is a recipe for frostbite!  In the warm weather your face becomes a crash zone for various bugs....

I find the 3/4 helmet above to be very comfortable, easy on and off, even with glasses on...Air flow thru the helmet is good (summer) ...but can be cold on the chin and neck in winter...

I got the full helmet because the chin bar provides greater crash protection, but this helmet fits tight around cheeks, and cannot be put on with glasses on...you have to put on helmet first then "feed" the glasses in between the face and padding to get over the ears...PITA... 

Full helmet is really no warmer, and it seems that you have to leave the visor cracked open to avoid fog, so cold air is directed right to the neck and chin anyway!

I did title this thread "rambling"  but to understand...I want safe, warm in winter, and no fog...

(I also want World Peace, and a million dollars, and a Tall Blonde)

Cookie

Okay, here's a blonde for you...



And in living moving color...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml3ybCxxMRk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWEMf0GGVgQ

Moving

fair enough then .. I also have a Nolan N102 .. Which came supplied with chin curtain and pinlock insert ..and the little mount tabs already in place .. Installed chin curtain right away and even with that in i get little fog as i mentioned b4 .. Chin vents and top vent provide slow airflow imo but still enough to clear any minor fog build up at the lights away within a few seconds once i moving again ..
I do also like those shark jobs with the 'hideaway' chin bar .. Which every owner swears that you just dont notice .. But still looks like a added lump of plasticene moulded on top really!
still and all i not been out in sub zero cold .. Only down to about 5 celcius
and i took the chin curtain out one day to test the change .. Dont like it not there .. Went back inside of 10 minutes .. But there are noisier helmets than a 102 ?!.. Good grief i dont want one of them then! .. The swirly buffet near your ears is tolerable ...... Just ... My 20 year old hjc MX helmet is much quieter ..
All said and done i like my Nolan .. But had the cash i would go past the shark and get the shoei flip front! .. Only other one that feels comfy on my 2XL head!

Quote from: Janx101 on January 02, 2012, 01:53:58 PM
fair enough then .. I also have a Nolan N102 .. Which came supplied with chin curtain and pinlock insert ..and the little mount tabs already in place .. Installed chin curtain right away and even with that in i get little fog as i mentioned b4 .. Chin vents and top vent provide slow airflow imo but still enough to clear any minor fog build up at the lights away within a few seconds once i moving again ..
I do also like those shark jobs with the 'hideaway' chin bar .. Which every owner swears that you just dont notice .. But still looks like a added lump of plasticene moulded on top really!
still and all i not been out in sub zero cold .. Only down to about 5 celcius
and i took the chin curtain out one day to test the change .. Dont like it not there .. Went back inside of 10 minutes .. But there are noisier helmets than a 102 ?!.. Good grief i dont want one of them then! .. The swirly buffet near your ears is tolerable ...... Just ... My 20 year old hjc MX helmet is much quieter ..
All said and done i like my Nolan .. But had the cash i would go past the shark and get the shoei flip front! .. Only other one that feels comfy on my 2XL head!

Yeah...I call those "modular helmets"...would solve some of my troubles, like putting on helmet over eyeglasses...

But the $500 price range is out of my budget for now....(I got into scooters and motorcycles mostly for the "economy"...once you add in all the accessories, clothing, and maintenance, tires, etc...not all that economical!)

My helmet does not offer a chin curtain...but I may try to fabricate something!

Cookie

Not too long ago a company in Italy I think developed an antifog coating that is amazing. They had one visor coated and one other coated on one half. They had pictures of holding the half and half one over a pot of boiling water, and it didn't steam up at all on the coated side. Wish I could remember what that company was called, but I think the review was on webbikeworld.

Quote from: comradeiggy on January 02, 2012, 05:58:26 PM
Not too long ago a company in Italy I think developed an antifog coating that is amazing. They had one visor coated and one other coated on one half. They had pictures of holding the half and half one over a pot of boiling water, and it didn't steam up at all on the coated side. Wish I could remember what that company was called, but I think the review was on webbikeworld.

http://www.webbikeworld.com/motorcycle-helmets/visors/fog-city-progrip.htm

I think this may be the rewiew you are talking about..........Pro grip (Italy) is an insert type fog preventer similar to the pinlock.....

Webbike world says these are the only ones which work...that the rub on or spary on compounds don't work very well, especially poor on MC helmets!


Cookie

Quote from: twocool on January 02, 2012, 10:11:13 AM
I find the 3/4 helmet above to be very comfortable, easy on and off, even with glasses on...Air flow thru the helmet is good (summer) ...but can be cold on the chin and neck in winter...

I got the full helmet because the chin bar provides greater crash protection, but this helmet fits tight around cheeks, and cannot be put on with glasses on...you have to put on helmet first then "feed" the glasses in between the face and padding to get over the ears...PITA... 

Full helmet is really no warmer, and it seems that you have to leave the visor cracked open to avoid fog, so cold air is directed right to the neck and chin anyway!

Since our last posts here I have bought a HJC IS-33 helmet which I'd call an open face with a full shield, looks like your Z1R you call a 3/4 helmet.  Been using it about a week and do agree it's quite easy on and off with my glasses on and it's also like replacing a helmet with a small window with one with a picture window.    I had been looking for a helmet with a built in sunshade to try which this one has. 

I have a couple old HJC Symax and CL-Max flip face helmets aka modular helmets on the shelf that I have previously used, also easy to use with glasses but when the Symax was totalled back in 03 I replaced it with a Shoei RF-1000 thinking it would be even safer than the flip face helmets.  It's surprising how easy and automatic it becomes to hold the glasses with a couple fingers while I put the helmet on, really a non issue I think after a while.

Was thinking of another flip face but one with the built in sunshade I wanted, got tired of changing shields between the clear and tinted ones and frequently finding myself out with the wrong one.  Your thoughts on the 3/4 helmet got me thinking about one rather than another flip.  It was 37F outside when I went out for a ride today, was in upper 50's yesterday and I have to agree there is really not too much difference as far as winter warmth goes between the RF-1000 full face and the IS-33 open face with shield helmets.  I still don't bother with any anti-fog devices or treatments, just lift the shield some if I start fogging at low speeds or mostly when stopped in traffic.  No problem with either at speed with shields fully down.  So far I think that retractable sunshade feature is great and I really am enjoying my new picture window view of the world.  It's a noticeably lighter helmet too another feature I like with my arthritic old neck.

I just switched from a Nitro 3/4 helmet to a full face HJC... I end up riding with the shield up in town but it doesn't seem to fog up on the highway. I did have to cut out a path in the foam inserts for my glasses though. I wear thick Ray Ban glasses and it was painfully impossible to feed them onto my face through the front. It arrived on tuesday and I already got the hang of putting on the helmet then feeding in the glasses.