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wearing glasses while riding

20K views 26 replies 22 participants last post by  srtorelli 
#1 ·
Hello,

I am thinking of getting into the sport but have one concern. I wear glasses to see and dont' have contacts. I am worried that my glasses are going to fog up inside the helmet. I know there are a couple of helmets that are supposed to prevent this. Is there anyone on here that rides with glasses that can let me know if it is possible, how to get them not to fog and what is the best helmet for this?

thanks for your help!
 
#6 ·
I wear glasses and they fog up almost instantly under any snowmachine helmet. In the summer on ATV's they are ok but not in the winter. I have a vented helmet, top and bottom, and a breather box, the humidity from your face is what does it, not usually your breath. Cracking the visor open can help but it sucks to do on a -30 day, especially if its REAL cold because when you crack the visor the condensation might just ice-up on his glasses (been there) instantly which sucks at 80km\hr. Your best bet is to get disposable contacts. They make them super cheap now. I get 1 pair of "30 day" contacts for 20$ Canadian (and I have a special prescription since I'm damn near blind lol) and use them the whole season. 30 day is just a guideline, use them when you want, on warmer days (no frost bite risk) crack the visor open and use the glasses if you like.

No amount of venting, heater visors, or any other gadgets will prevent GLASSES from fogging 100% of the time. Coming from experience here :laugh:
 
#8 ·
4tyson said:
Hello,

thanks for that detailed feedback.. have you ever tried that anti-fog spray stuff?

thanks
Yes, with little to no success. It sometimes works, sometimes it works for a full day, sometimes not. It's real hit and miss, and nothings worse than being 100mi out on a trail ride in -30 or colder and having your glasses fogging up at every bend. Everyone's different though, fogging is more the persons body than anything, some people fog constantly, some are off and on. Always best to be safe than sorry.
 
#9 ·
I've been riding for about 11 years now wearing glasses until just recently (switched to contacts). Almost every helmet has given me problems with both fogging, and actually put the helmet or the glasses on, there just isn't a good way to do it. Until I got the Bombardier Modular helmet. Personally, this helmet eliminated fogging of my glasses (the mask prevents any humidity from your breath to stay inside the helmet). It's so nice not to have to crack the shield open to eliminate fogging. It also makes putting your glasses on very easy. I recommend the helmet to everyone I know that rides with glasses, plus they have gone down in price significantly from their release. However, contacts are by far the best solution if you can get them. Hope this helps.
 
#10 ·
i had a queation with contacts. i have glasses but i dont like to wear them. i want to get contacts but i was wondering, if you ride with your shield open, can your contacks fall out?
 
#11 ·
I can take a shower and swim with my contacts and not have them fall out. I think if you are going fast enough to blow off the contacts you wouldn't be able to keep your eyes open in the first place.


I used to ride with glasses and it SUCKED. Snowmobiling was one of the biggest reasons i started wearing contacts. At first i thought i could never stick my finger in my eye but after 1 week it was no big deal. So if you are concerned about the discomfort of putting them in don't worry about it.
 
#12 ·
I had the same concern, being new to riding. So far it has not been too bad with temps ranging from zero to plus 32. The vents do the job when moving above 10mph, but I need to open the shield below that. I think I might invest in some disposable contacts for longer riding days.
 
#13 ·
Dang, old people, get with it. :cheeky4:
 
#14 ·
Maybe you'll allow me to take this one step further....I've been through the eyeglass issues, the contact lens issues (drying out, falling out, no solution, etc) & decided enough of this crap!!:mad: I had Lasik surgery about 8 years ago. My only regret was that I didn't get it done sooner! If you're thinkin' about it, I highly recommend it!!:thumbsup:
 
#16 ·
i ride with glasses all the time. i cant stand anything over my mouth, i have tried the modular helmet. i have no fogging issues when the temps are above 0*F sometimes when below 0 i have had issues while riding hard and bereathing heavy. i have learned to control my breathing and i also had a helmet that let alot of air in. last year it was time for me to purchase a new helmet, i was really worried about the figging issue. i decided to go with a CKX helmet, one of their better ones, not that any of them are exceptional, but it is snell approved. i have had 2000 miles on it and its behaved great.
 
#17 ·
i wouldnt worry about contacts falling out. the new ones are flexible and stick to your eyes better than the ones from like the 70s which were probably made out of beach glass. (just kikking). honestly, i can swim and open my
eyes underwater without my contacts falling out. no big
deal.
 
#19 ·
I went to the modular helmet because I have to wear glasses.
I like it because I can put it on without taking my glasses off. It also does not fog up inside the helmet unless I get very warm. Then I just have to open the shield a little until I get moving again just top clear my head heat out.
 
#20 ·
im a snowboarder/skiier and although i've never had an issue with fog, the industry standard to anti fog is cat crap. another thing you might want to look into is wearing snowboard/ski goggles. they can be worn with glasses underneath, and certain brands like oakley and i believe smith can actually be ground to a prescription lense you you literally have prescription goggles. its expensive as hell though. just some other options.
 
#22 ·
I wear glasses and I ride motorcycles year round. On the bike during cold days (-0*f) I wear a openface helmet on on the bike with no prob. I found however that on the sled when going slow the snow tends to melt on my glasses Then when I pick up the pace it freezes. That stinks. I tried goggles in combination with the open face and thermal mask which I also use on the bike, and it was a whole nother world. I will not look back.
 
#23 ·
Haven't tried the cat crap(lol, what a name). Been using Clarity No Fog. Works until they get wet from snow. Use the HJC Sy max modular helmet with mask but mask interferes with glasses on my nose.I'm goin' to try MST No-Fog mask. It's designed for glasses. Pretty ugly piece and I don't know how cumbersome it's gonna' be.Can't quite get meself to do contacts or surgery and do a lot of night ridin' which means colder situations/more fogging probs. If the mask fails, I might cinsider the contacts. Always wanted to wear a nice pair of Oakleys:cool:
 
#24 ·
glasses vs rk(lasic, etc) vs contacts

I wear glasses. I use a nose deflector in the helmet and crack the visor when needed. Anti fog definately does help, but is not a 100% solution to fogging.

RK is good but is typically a $1000/year expense. Surgury costs about 2000 bucks and lasts a couple of years, according to friends who have had it done. It is just a temporary fix unless you plan on having it done regularly. Save your flames-this is just my friends' experience- your results may vary.

Contacts are great if you can wear them. Most older people- over 45 or so, can't. I had them once. For 10 hours. Had to go back to optician to have them removed. Eyes were too dry.
 
#25 ·
If you absolutely have to wear glasses, I'd get a Skidoo modular helmet. My dad and some of his friends wear glasses with those helmets and none fog up. One guy even rides without the air mask. I owned one too and it never fogged up,excellent helmet!
I had laser surgery about 8 years ago now, I think, and glad I did. Had my eyes redone,but now wear contacts. No regrets, I was as blind as a bat before the surgery and really still not too bad now,just wear the contacts for fine tuning. I wear open face helmet now with goggles. :)
 
#26 ·
I wear glasses when I ride and havn't had any real problems. I used to have a "wedge" polaris helmet and it was great. Never fogged my glasses or the visor. I now have a modular and would definitely recommend it to anyone. I would get the electric visor though. My wife has very poor sight and she usually rides with her contacts in. However during the day she sometimes experiences dry eyes and has to take the contacts out. She now has an electric visor so she can leave it closed. It has made it so there is less air inside the helmet therefore not drying her contacts out nearly as much. Just a suggestion if you wear contacts out on the trail, take your glasses as a backup. Trust me we learned that the hard way!:eek:
 
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