odd fogging on new goggles

[liv2ski]

I got some new Smith goggles and noticed they get foggy right in the center part of the lens in the same shape as the lens. The fog strip is about 1 inch high by the width of the lens and right in front of my eyes. WTF is this? I have never seen anything like this before. And what to do, toss the lens and buy a new one or is there a way to clean the lens so it stops doing this? Thanks for helping a jong out.

[whyturn]

Buy some cat crap

[oftpiste]

dry them better?

[old goat]

Are they fogging on the inside or between the lenses?

[mntlion]

1) dry them out (like remove from goggle bag everytime)

2) Smith will warranty if its not just a drying issue

[johnmtl11]

Only time I've managed to fog up my Smith I/O is when I forgot to take them out of my buddy's car after a trip and they sat in the car overnight stuffed in my helmet. Next day they were completely fogged between the lenses because they didn't dry out.


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[AK47bp]

Same happened to me with my I/O's. Both pair of lenses fogged inside. Wrote a review on backcountry.com and a Smith rep reached out to me and sent me 2 new lenses, they fogged too. Funny thing after about a month all the fog ended, now I have 4 fog free Smith I/O lenses.

[2FUNKY]

Dry them out immediately/completely. Don't leave them in a vehicle or the bag. Get a helmet that vents properly. Stop over dressing.

[oftpiste]

my I/Os are the least foggy lenses I've ever had. The caveat being they absolutely positively have to be very well dried after every use. Out of the bag, warm air, enough time.

[swissiphic]

A trick I use during the course of meticulous goggle maintenance of my smith's with that little porous plug thingy is hang them from the rear view mirror on the drive home from skiing every time. The moving warm air from the defrost vent dries em out and eliminates the risk of fogging in between lenses due to storage of goggles in damp goggle bag in a back pack or something similar.

[Kenny Satch]

Are they fogging on the inside or between the lenses?

1) dry them out (like remove from goggle bag everytime)

2) Smith will warranty if its not just a drying issue

If they are fogging inside you have a bad lens

If so send them back

[AweShuksan]

If they are fogging inside you have a bad lens

If so send them back

Not necessarily. It's possible for water to enter via the pressure equalization valve. Especially in wet climates. A few heat/cool cycles or trips to high altitude and back when the air is drier should fix it.

[mtskibum16]

I have always fought with my Smith I/O fogging between the lenses. First high end goggle I ever bought, and it's really turned me off from Smith. Even better when it's cold, they fog on a traverse loop, then freeze on the way down and never recover. Waited too long to complain, and they denied any warranty help. Properly dried every time.

[swissiphic]

A detrimental long term effect of the fogging between the lenses on the smith googles is a slow but noticeable contamination of the inner lens surfaces that shows as a buildup of a micro haze...that can't be cleaned. But i'm talking like 8 seasons long term. Was thinking with my new lens remove the porous plug and seal the hole with silicone...really can't see the positive utility of that feature if it keeps allowing moisture to wick into the gap...in the real world conditions of long, warm rain/snow days on the coast, it really is a 'thing'.

[skizix]

In CO or UT you can probably get away with leaving them in the goggle bag (*if* if wasn't a big storm day, and if you didn't face plant and fill them with snow - bag is good for some protection against scratching the lens), but do take them out of your pack when you get home.

For fksake, do NOT store them in the bag, in your helmet, in a pack, after skiing (and definitely do not leave them in there once home). I used to do that, figuring they'd be protected sitting inside the helmet (now they go in the goggle bag, in the top pocket of my pack where there's nothing else wet). But of course after a hard day skiing, your helmet is probably holding the most water of all your gear (plus all your other stuff is probably somewhat wet too). Once significant moisture gets between the lenses, they will be fucked until you actively dry them out (like, heat and blowing air - letting them just sit out may not work at all, for many days).

The helmet/goggle interface is key. I went through years of incurable fogging issues, finally to realize my shit Boeri helmet had a rounded edge to the styrofoam liner, that basically sat in and blocked the top vent. Giro Seam helmet solves this, and goes one further, with a vent over the forehead that sucks air through the goggles as you ski. Works great. Totally solved my fogging issues (and I'm kinda passionate about this issue, as like I said I had chronic issues for years - many goggles bought, none worked until new helmet).

swissiphic's strategy seems like an excellent strategy/habit that will likely work every time.

If you saturate your goggs during the day (pow face plant that fills 'em), your only recourse may be to hit a baffroom and use a hand dryer (be thorough - takes a while to really clear them out). Only works inbounds obviously, but it works (simply wipe them all you want - won't work). In the bc: carry a spare pair (esp'y if in a humid climate or storm day).

[GeezerSteve]

I once had fogging between lenses on new Smith goggles. I blasted them with Honey's hair dryer on low setting for 15 minutes then hung them to dry for a couple days. That fixed 'em forever.

Yeah, of course hang dry your goggles after every use.

But i'm talking like 8 seasons long term.

WTF? I get new lenses every 2-3 years. The foam perimeter holding the lenses together eventually deteriorates.

[old goat]

I once had fogging between lenses on new Smith goggles. I blasted them with Honey's hair dryer on low setting for 15 minutes then hung them to dry for a couple days. That fixed 'em forever.

Yeah, of course hang dry your goggles after every use.

WTF? I get new lenses every 2-3 years. The foam perimeter holding the lenses together eventually deteriorates.

I warped a lens doing that.

[swissiphic]

I once had fogging between lenses on new Smith goggles. I blasted them with Honey's hair dryer on low setting for 15 minutes then hung them to dry for a couple days. That fixed 'em forever.

Yeah, of course hang dry your goggles after every use.

WTF? I get new lenses every 2-3 years. The foam perimeter holding the lenses together eventually deteriorates.

hmmmm, i think the smith lens i used for 8 seasons has some kind of rubber perimeter stuff holding lenses together, not foam. still looks factory fresh.

[TurxSki]

Dunno if it's been made clear that you should take the lens out of frame to give it a chance dry in-between inner and outer.

[GeezerSteve]

I warped a lens doing that.

on lowest setting?

[liv2ski]

Thanks for the responses guys. Initially looking at the lens, it looked like one lens, but it obviously has to be a sandwich of two layers to get fog between layers. I have always used Smith lenses and never had this issue before. Going forward, I will do a better job of airing them out, rather than just leaving in my gear bag, although removing the lense from the frame seems going a bit to far. We will see.

[GeezerSteve]

. . . although removing the lense [sic] from the frame seems going a bit to [sic] far.

Nope, that's standard procedure if the lenses are fogged between the double lenses

[optics]

Which Smith goggles?

I had several issues (including fogging exactly like you described) with the io7's and went back to the iox.

There should be a dedicated thread for "new and improved gear" that ain't.

[liv2ski]

Which Smith goggles?

I had several issues (including fogging exactly like you described) with the io7's and went back to the iox.

There should be a dedicated thread for "new and improved gear" that ain't.

Huh....they are io/7 lenses. Maybe there is an issue with that model, hence why they were on sale for such a smokin deal. To bad, as I really like the lense color.

[AweShuksan]

Dunno if it's been made clear that you should take the lens out of frame to give it a chance dry in-between inner and outer.

If removing the lenses that have a pressure equalization valve from the frames makes them dry faster then the googles are defective/wornout.

The pressure equalization valve is there because the edges are hermetically sealed. As long as the factory edge seal remains intact, removing the frame won't help.