Anti-fog

[ajwaverider]

I went diving this past holiday and had a big problem with my mask fogging.
I wear a hooded vest under my wetsuit and the mask is a cressi lince.I precleaned the mask when I got it but haven't used it in cold water (67f deg)
and had no problems in warm water just spit and rinsed and it was all good.
I used sea gold anti-fog gel and had minimal success with it .I don't know if it has to be above a certain temp to be effective.I had my wife keep it in her pocket and I got out every 30 min or so to reapply.Any suggestions for anti fog or other soloutions to try .My old mask was not so low in volume and farther from my face so it didn't fog up.Thanks a million . AJ

 

[SeaWitch]

Some masks are quite tenacious and may require another cleaning. I would clean it again, toothpaste each lens & cotton ball 4 min. per lens, time it, don’t cheat. Rinse well and apply the gel just prior to your dive. I use 500PSI Gel, but the one you are using is quite good as well.

Or buy an Omer mask.

 

[DeepThought]

For those days when my spit doesn't work I use what I use for lube as my antifog (shampoo+conditioner). It works just as well (or better) than a cheap anti-fog I once bought.

I dive with a sphera in moderate-warm water.

 

[Mr. X]

First clean the lens both sides with washing up liquid for best results (this is often essential). Then I use glycerin/glycerol (about 1.25 in Tesco pharmacy) on the inside (only) of the lens -- this is the main ingredient of some anti-fog products (also often found in shampoos & conditioners too). Use as small a drip as possible. Rub it around & remove any excess. It is a good idea to keep a little water it the mask to swish away any mist that might appear. Seems to work quite well (not perfect though). It is cleaner, more effective and more consistent than saliva in my experience. Usually lasts for a couple of trips. I use it on swim goggles too.

BTW I found the commonly suggested toothpaste cleaning did not help with my mask -- if anything, it made viz worse. My mask did not fog when new though -- apparently most/many do -- so perhaps there was no silicon layer to remove. [The tooth paste trick is reasonably effective at cleaning scratches on cellphone case screens though!].

 

[Ricochet]

Like DeepThought, I use conditioner-lube.
This works very well even in cold water where the mask usualy tends to fog quite bad.
Though, this requires that you do not accidently submerge the mask in the water or the effect of the lube is gone.

 

[DeepThought]

I find that the effect stays on for quite somewhile even if I do...

 

[Absolute]

I use dish soap for no fog, but I don't dive in cold waters either.

Joy works best because it gets bubbly in salt water. Which is also good for washing any oils you might have on your face and hands off before spearfishig. Fish are super sensitive to oils.

 

[jimdoe2you]

I found that having the prettiest girl on the boat lick the inside of my mask for about ten minutes really works best for me!

(doesn't neccessarily help prevent my mask from fogging when I dive though)

 

[ajwaverider]

I bought some anti-fog drops like 5 years ago and the bottle is still full .Never dove much after winter set in,and now I have to try to adjust to colder water.I bought a 7 mil suit last summer and I plan on making a few dives this winter even if the fish are absent.I'm going to clean the mask again and give the anti-fog gel another try,then try the other brand I have.Thanks for the replies.

 

[Mr. X]

I found that having the prettiest girl on the boat lick the inside of my mask for about ten minutes really works best for me!

(doesn't neccessarily help prevent my mask from fogging when I dive though)

rofl Well worth a try though! rofl

 

[DeepThought]

Which is also good for washing any oils you might have on your face and hands off before spearfishig. Fish are super sensitive to oils.

Sensitive in what way?

 

[Absolute]

Sensitive in that there will not be any fish around you. I think they can smell it somehow. It's just like trolling for fish in the boat with a 2-stroke engine. The engine exhaust which is mixed with oil is discharged into the water leaving an oily smell behind. I have been in the water before and had an 2-stroke boat idiling close by and even I could smell it some how in the water.
So I just make it good practice to wash off any excess oils (especially sunblock) as the definatly do not attract fish.
P.S. It dosen't mean that if you go trolling and your boat has a 2-stroke engine or if you don't wash off the sunblock or just daily oils on your face and hands before you go spearing that you will not catch any fish.
There is always luck involved.
J

 

[Mr. X]

Maybe we should just smear sardine oil on ourselves (good wetsuit lube too?) -- crayfish certainly smell & are attracted to it! rofl

Has anybody tried using one of the those auto de-mister or anti-rain products. I think they have names something like Rain-X, Fog-X, Mist-X? I tried Rain-X on the outside of my car windscreen after 2 of the heaviest rain storms I have ever seen (one in Illinois, the other in Toronto) -- cars just pulled over because you couldn't see anything; the rain drops were huge. Rain-X is actually too effective for cars -- your windscreen disperses water so effectively that the wiper blades screech & drag on the dry surface coat.