Riding in the rain with glasses - ideas?

[slugbath]

I went for a great ride around the city in the rain today. Unfortunately, I couldn't see a thing for the last couple of kilometers because my glasses were totally fogged up and covered with raindrops, and the headlights from the cars were creating this wild blur in front of my face. Strangely,the wet finds my glasses a lot quicker on a uni compared to a bike, possibly because of the differing posture. Short of laser surgery or contacts, what do bespeckled folks do to keep their vision in a downpour? Any recommendations for keeping lenses a bit more clear?

Thanks,
andrea

[andrew_carter]

Windscreen wipers for you glasses.

I don't wear glasses (although I think I'm meant to) but is there something you can apply to the surface of them that won't damage them but will stop the water from catching on them...make it slide right off?

Andrew

[tomblackwood]

I have the same problem, and haven't yet found a great solution. What I do--less than ideal--is keep a cotton handkerchief inside the pocket of my rain jacket, and pull this out quickly from time to time for a quick attempt at drying the lenses.

I have thought about applying "Rainex" to my lenses just to experiment, but haven't actually tried it yet. It has a wild effect on car windshields. You can drive in heavy rain with no wipers, and the water just beads up and gets blown off.

[GizmoDuck]

I wear glasses too- It's usually Ok during the day- I but at the 24hr races I've done it gets fogged up and very difficult to see through at night. The best thing I've found it so use antistatic lens cleaner and just wipe it through the glasses regularly. It really decreases the muck/fog build up dramatically. Water on the glasses isn't actually too bad- it tends to wash run off leaving just a few drops. It's when you have small droplets beading (ie from fog) on them or globs or smears of mud that make it difficult to see through. One solution is to have a small bottle of water to wash over your glasses-- gets rid of the muck. Otherwise a clean glove (rare) or a clean cloth to regularly wipe the muck off is useful (in combination with the antistatic lens cleaner).

I've also got a peak on my helmet but I don't think it helps that much.

[brian.slater]

Originally posted by GizmoDuck
I've also got a peak on my helmet but I don't think it helps that much.

As you are Gizmoduck wouldn't that be a beak or, in your case, a bill?

[GILD]

get contacts

cut a potato in half and rub that on the inside of your lenses
it helps stop the fogging/misting up of your glasses
(this also works on the inside of your car windscreen, btw)
u can have a permanent coating applied to the front of your glasses that is very simmilar to 'Rain-X'
just applying 'Rain-X' should work
wearing a sweatband is very 80's but it also helps prevent sweat from running into your eyes and it also helps eliminate some of the foggin/misting

but trust me on the contacts

[Tellurider]

I have used Rainex and it works great. And I have used it on plastic lenses without any problems. It also works great for your glases while swimming.

[U-Turn]

Contacts work great, especially for MUni in those steamy conditions where you have to see the ground clearly to be able to ride.

However, to keep the rain off your eyes in general, use a helmet with a visor, and then purchase a rain cover for the helmet. It is a stretchy waterproof shower-cappish thing, but looks way cooler. That keeps the rain off your head and also seals up the visor.

Here's one example:

Rain cover

Another:

Rain cover alternate brand

Yet another:

Alternate #2

Some people use shower caps, and some the new Saran Wrap Quick Cover things.

Another advantage of a helmet cover is that it is a very good way to add warmth to your helmet for colder months, but you still get some good ventilation.

[forrestunifreak]

Just wear a hat-A regular old baseball cap kinda hat.

[gerblefranklin]

I got this idea from my days on a swim team. I just spit on my glasses, rub it around, and wipe off the excess stuff, and I'm set. This kept my goggles fog-free for about 2 hours of non-stop swimming. It also works for my glasses, although my bigger problem is the salt from sweat crusting up on the glasses. Oftentimes I just ignore it. Try spitting on them, though. It's cheap, biodegradable, and reusable. Not to mention edible!

[GizmoDuck]

Originally posted by brian.slater
As you are Gizmoduck wouldn't that be a beak or, in your case, a bill?

[GizmoDuck]

And just in case you've never heard of Gizmoduck:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenton_Crackshell

[bugman]

Just do what I did go for the Lasics. Best thing I have ever spent my money on. I was damn near handicapped without my glasses though. Make sure if you do it they measure your eyes with one of the newer technologies that checks your vision at several points of the eye. My day and night correction was over a diopter different. Made night driving scary as hell. I thought it was that way for everyone.

[tholub]

There is some cool new technology to deal with exactly this problem.

[TonyMelton]

Yeah, Rain-X or the stuff you can get at car accessories stores works well. I wish I'd rain-xed my specs before riding Hawkins Hill in the fog at the NZUNI weekend. It was so misty I ended up taking off my glasses to see better.

Originally posted by andrew_carter
Windscreen wipers for you glasses.

Saying that to someone who wears glasses is akin to saying 'where's the other wheel' to a unicyclist.