Ski Goggles Fogging Up From Breathing? How to Fix It

If your ski goggles fog up every time you breathe, your face mask is almost always the reason. A buff, balaclava or neck warmer pulled up over your nose catches your warm, wet breath and sends it straight up under the goggle, where it hits the cold lens and turns into fog. The fix is to keep the top edge of the mask below the bottom of your goggle, never stuffed up inside it, so your breath has a way to go down and out. Keep your vents clear, and pull the mask down on the lift or any time you're working hard.

That handles most of it. Below is why it happens, how to wear each kind of face cover, and what to do when your lens fogs halfway down a run.

Why does breathing fog up your goggles?

Fog is just water. Your breath is warm and full of moisture, and on a cold day the inside of your lens is a lot colder than your breath. When that warm, wet air touches the cold lens, the moisture turns into tiny droplets on the surface. That's the fog you're looking through.

Goggles are built to move air through the vents so moisture leaves before it settles. A face mask can undo that. Pulled up high, it works like a chimney: every breath runs up the inside of the fabric and comes out right under your lens. More moisture goes in than the vents can move out, and the lens loses.

It gets worse when you stop. Riding down, air moves through the vents. Sitting on the chair or standing in the lift line, it doesn't, so your breath just sits behind the lens. That's why so many people fog up on the lift and not on the run.

How should a face mask sit with ski goggles?

1. Put the mask on first, then your helmet, then your goggles.
2. Pull the top edge of the mask down so it sits just under the bottom edge of the goggle. The goggle foam should sit on your skin or on a thin, flat layer of fabric, never on a bunched up roll.
3. Don't tuck the mask up inside the goggle frame. That's the chimney.
4. Give your breath a way out. A small gap between the mask and the bottom of the goggle is better than a sealed tunnel.
5. Set the strap so the goggle is snug enough not to slip, without causing pressure points. A loose goggle lifts off your cheeks and lets breath sneak in along the bottom.
6. When you're breathing hard, like on a bootpack or a long flat cat track, or when you're sitting on the lift, pull the mask down below your nose or under your chin.

Buff, balaclava or neck warmer: which fogs the least?

All of them can work. What matters most is how thick the fabric is and how high you wear it.

Whatever you wear, a damp mask fogs more than a dry one. Once it's wet from your breath, it stays wet, and on a cold day it can freeze stiff. A spare in your pocket on cold days makes a big difference.

Are your vents blocked?

A mask pulled up high often covers the bottom of the goggle, and a helmet or beanie can cover the top. Blocked vents mean the moist air has nowhere to go.

• Your goggle should sit flush with your helmet, with no big gap and the top vents uncovered. If the helmet pushes your goggle down onto your nose or leaves a gap at your forehead, here's why your goggles don't fit your helmet and how to fix it.
• Knock packed snow out of the vents after a fall.
• Skip the thick beanie under your helmet if it pushes down over the top of the goggle.

What to do when your goggles fog on the hill

• Don't wipe the inside of the lens. Our lenses have coated anti-fog on the inside, and rubbing it with a glove or sleeve can damage the coating. It also smears the droplets around.
• Pull your mask down and keep moving. Air moving through the vents often clears light fog on the way down.
• Don't push your goggles up onto your forehead. Heat and moisture come off your head, and the lens fogs from the inside.
• On the lift, let them air out. Turn away from the wind, take the goggles off for a minute if you need to, and shake off any snow before you put them back on.
• If the fog has turned to ice, that's a different problem. Here's why ski goggles freeze up and how to thaw them without wrecking the lens.

Does anti-fog coating stop breath fog?

It helps. The coating on the inside of the lens spreads moisture out so it doesn't bead up into fog as fast. But it can only handle so much water. If your mask is pushing breath under the lens all day, any coating will lose eventually. Fix the airflow first, and the coating handles the rest. We go deeper on this in the science behind anti-fog coatings and in what goes into our lenses.

And if you do damage a lens, our Lifetime Good Day Guarantee covers all damage, even loss.

Wearing glasses under your goggles?

Glasses make breath fog worse. Now there are two cold surfaces in the way, and your glasses sit right in the path of the air coming up from your mask. Our prescription goggle insert fits all of our goggles. Your optometrist puts your prescription lenses in it, and it clips inside the goggle, so you're not squeezing a pair of glasses under the foam.

Picking a goggle that works with a face cover

Fit matters as much as the mask. A goggle that's too big for your face can leave gaps along the bottom edge where breath comes straight up. In our lineup, the Valorie Snow is the smallest frame, the Emily is the largest, and the Esme has the widest view. Lenses only fit their own frame, so pick the frame for your face first and the lenses second. If you're between sizes, our guides on ski goggles for wide faces and how to choose the right goggles can help, or browse every frame in our goggles collection.

The Esme comes with a neck warmer built for it. It attaches to the goggle with magnets and is included with every Esme, so there's nothing extra to buy. It pushes your breath away from the goggle instead of up under the lens.

Snowmobilers get this worse than anyone, since a lot of sledding is stopping, digging and working hard with your face covered. Our Hillarie heated snowmobile goggle, now on preorder, warms the lens so fog has a much harder time forming.

What we do on cold Alberta days

I use the Esme goggle with the magnetic neck warmer. Before that, I would leave my nose out in the air so it wouldn't push hot air up my goggle. The Esme neck warmer pushes the air away from the goggle.

When it's really cold, everyone pulls everything up and tucks it in to stay warm. That's exactly when goggles fog. A thin layer worn low, and pulled down on every chair ride, does more for a clear lens than anything else on this list. On grey, snowy days a bright lens helps too, so you're not straining to see through a little haze. Here's our take on goggles for low light and snowy days.

FAQ

Why do my goggles fog when I wear a face mask?

Your mask sends warm, wet breath up under the goggle onto the cold lens. Keep the top edge of the mask below the goggle and give your breath a way out.

Should a buff go over or under my goggles?

Under. The goggle foam sits on your skin or on a thin, flat layer, and the top edge of the buff stays below the bottom of the goggle. Never tuck it up inside the frame.

Why do my goggles only fog on the chairlift?

When you stop, air stops moving through the vents, so your breath sits behind the lens. Pull your mask down on the chair and your lens stays a lot clearer.

Should I wipe fog off the inside of my lens?

No. Wiping can damage the anti-fog coating and smears the droplets around. Keep moving with your mask down, or take the goggles off for a minute and let them air out.

Do heated goggles stop fog from breathing?

They help a lot. A heated lens stays warm, so your breath doesn't condense on it as easily. Our Hillarie heated snowmobile goggle is on preorder now.

Until next time, have a Good Day!