What is the Best Anti-Fog Eyewear? - Feature Friday
Welcome back to Feature Friday, MacMor's deep dive into the various products we carry (or those you request to hear about). This week we’re doing something a little different. We put a series of glasses, both anti-fog and standard, through various tests to determine the best anti-fog technology for various situations. In this blog post, we primarily focus on the results of the glasses that possess anti-fog qualities, but we invite you to watch our video if you're interested in seeing the full range of products tested.
We Tested:
Jump to
- Testing Methods
- The Technologies
- Test 1 - Steam Test
- Test 2 - Freezer / Freezer to Steam Test
- Test 3 - Outdoor Test
- Test 4 - Outdoor to Indoor Test
- Summary
- Results
Testing Methods
Steam Test
Glasses were held directly over an active kettle to test the coating's ability to handle steam.
Freezer - Freezer to Steam
Glasses were left in a freezer for 30 minutes then directly brought to an active kettle to test their ability to handle a harsh transition from cold to hot.
Outdoor
Glasses were worn outside at -26C with a mask on to simulate regular use. Considering many workers are experiencing fogging issues when wearing masks and glasses outside in the cold, we feel this was one of the most important tests.
Outdoor to Indoor
After wearing the glasses outside, we brought them inside while wearing a mask and evaluated how they handled the transition from the frigid cold to the warmer indoor environment. This test was similar to our "freezer to steam" experiment, but we still wanted to test this out for ourselves since it allows us to experience the transition first hand.
The Technologies
DSI - 4A Technology
The 4A technology from DSI is Anti-Fog, Anti-Scratch, Anti-UV 99% and Anti-Static. It is permanently bonded to polycarbonate using proprietary technology. The coating uses Hydrophobic water ‘fearing’ technology and is available on a variety of glasses.
DSI - Dyna-Shield Technology
The Dyna-Shield anti-fog technology is a Polyurethane based coating that's made to last long and provide a clearer, unobstructed view. The coating also has self-healing properties that's meant to recover from light surface or hairline scratches after a few hours.
3M™ - Scotchgard™ Anti-Fog Technology
While we weren’t able to gather too many specifics on the Scotchgard™ technology, we can confirm that the coating is bonded to the lens and retains its effectiveness for at least 25 washes*. As far as we were able to uncover, the technology works by flattening water beads into a thin transparent film to maintain clarity.
*We were not able to get confirmation on what constitutes a "wash", but we assume it likely involves running the lenses under tepid water and wiping them down thoroughly.
Uvex by Honeywell - Hydroshield Technology
Lenses coated with Hydroshield both absorb (hydrophilic) and repel (hydrophobic) moisture to maintain clarity. Once the lens reaches its saturation point, moisture begins being pushed to the frames.
Test 1 - Steam Test
DSI Volcano Plus Sealed Eyewear with 4A Coating - 9/10
Overall the Volcanos with 4A coating performed well in this test. As water pooled and flattened across the lenses, we began to notice some distortion in the field of view but it was very minimal.
DSI Hummingbird Eyewear with Dyna-Shield Coating - 9.5/10
The Hummingbirds with Dyna-Shield coating performed exceptionally well in this test. The PU coating flattened moisture droplets into a clear transparent film with little-to-no blurriness.
3M™ Solus Protective Eyewear with Scotchgard™ Anti-Fog Coating - 10/10
Scoring first place in this test, the 3M™ Solus glasses with Scotchgard coating were impressive in the steam test. When the glasses were pulled away from the steam, it was next to impossible to tell that there was any water on the lens.
Uvex Seismic Sealed Eyewear with Hydroshield Coating - 9.5/10
Another heavy hitter for this test, the Uvex Seismic eyewear with Hydroshield coating proved to be an excellent contender against direct steam. The lenses maintained clarity and showed no signs of visible fogging. The only point of contention was some water pooling in the frame of the lens. Being the only framed pair in our lineup, this is a common occurrence for the Seismics but it generally didn't hurt its performance.
Test 2 - Freezer / Freezer to Steam Test
DSI Volcano Plus Sealed Eyewear with 4A Coating - 7.5/10
Coming out of the freezer the Volcanos did very well; there was no visible fogging which is a positive. However, once the steam was applied, the lenses became covered in liquid as they attempted to mitigate fogging from the temperature contrasts. Unfortunately, having significant liquid on your lenses typically results in blurred and distorted vision for the wearer, which is easily just as bad as heavy fogging.
DSI Hummingbird Eyewear with Dyna-Shield Coating - 8.5/10
The Hummingbird glasses suffered from a similar issue as the Volcanos. No initial fogging as we brought them out of the freezer, but as soon as they came into contact with the kettle, the lenses became blurry from liquid buildup and one of the lenses began showing a spot of fog near its centre. With that said, the blurriness here wasn't quite as bad as the Volcanos but if we're being honest, we were expecting a stronger performance from this premium coating.
3M™ Solus Protective Eyewear with Scotchgard™ Anti-Fog Coating - 9.5/10
After earning a perfect score on the previous test, the Solus came out swinging on this test as well. The only complaint about the Solus is the build-up of moisture around the nose piece. This caused a little bit of blurriness to start up and spread from the middle part of the glasses, but overall they performed well.
Uvex Seismic Sealed Eyewear with Hydroshield Coating - 10/10
The Seismic glasses with Hydroshield coating were by far the strongest performer in this test. While there was some moisture pooling up at the bottom of the frame, the lenses remained fog-free despite the harsh transition from the freezer to piping hot steam.
Test 3 - Outdoor Test
DSI Volcano Plus Sealed Eyewear with 4A Coating - 8/10
This is the point where the Volcano Plus glasses started to run into some issues. Our main concern with their performance was the constant generation and dissipation of fog and moisture around the nose. While the moisture did dissipate fairly quickly, we had to take a couple points off for this performance.
DSI Hummingbird Eyewear with Dyna-Shield Coating - 9/10
The Hummingbirds performed about as well in this test as they did in the freezer-to-steam testing. In comparison to the Volcanos, the Hummingbirds suffered from the same fogging issue around the nasal area, however, the rate at which they started fogging up was significantly lower.
3M™ Solus Protective Eyewear with Scotchgard™ Anti-Fog Coating - 9.5/10
The Solus with Scotchgard™ coating had no fogging whatsoever. The only thing keeping the Solus from a perfect 10/10 was the build-up of tiny amounts of moisture droplets around the nose. However, it was so minimal that the field of view was hardly affected by it.
Uvex Seismic Sealed Eyewear with Hydroshield Coating - 10/10
The Seismics with Hydroshield coating scored a perfect 10/10 on this test. No fogging and no noticeable moisture buildup which is great. Although we don't really have any substantial evidence to support it, we started to wonder if some of the Seismic's success came from its defined frame. Where the other glasses featured a "frameless" design, we think it's possible that the Seismic's frame might have acted as a barrier against some of the hot air coming out of the mask with the way it sat around the bridge of the nose. Difficult to say if this is truly the case, but it was a curious observation since they were the only glasses on the roster with a full frame.
Test 4 - Outdoor to Indoor Test
DSI Volcano Plus Sealed Eyewear with 4A Coating - 7.5/10
When transitioning from outdoor to indoor, the DSI Volcanos did not perform as well as we would have hoped. A decent amount of fogging led to some distorted vision which unfortunately makes this spec not ideal for environments where transitions from cool to warm temperatures are frequent.
DSI Hummingbird Eyewear with Dyna-Shield Coating - 8.5/10
In this test, the Hummingbirds faired pretty well. We experienced some fogging along the inner corners of the lenses near the nose. After a few heavy breaths, there was a bit of fog appearing on the lenses but it all dissipated fairly quickly.
3M™ Solus Protective Eyewear with Scotchgard™ Anti-Fog Coating - 8.5/10
While they have typically outperformed the Hummingbirds, the Solus showcased nearly identical results this time around which came as a surprise given its track record up to that point.
Uvex Seismic Sealed Eyewear with Hydroshield Coating - 9.5/10
Just like in previous tests, the Seismics were the most impressive in this round. The only thing keeping them from a perfect 10/10 was some moisture build-up around, you guessed, the nose area. Despite that little bit of moisture, they still managed to maintain lots of clarity even through some exaggerated breaths.
Summary
Through this testing, we put 4 of the industry's top Anti-Fog technologies through some rather vigorous testing that really pushed these products to the limit. We then scored each technology on a scale of 1-10 and averaged scores across the 4 tests for a final verdict. Below is a summary of each pair along with a bar graph outlining the results of each product in every test.
DSI Volcano Plus Sealed Eyewear with 4A Coating - 8/10
Overall, the Volcanos did well. While they did not score the highest in any of the tests, we did want to give DSI some recognition for their 4A technology as we would happily recommend it to anyone looking for a quality, budget-friendly anti-fog product.
DSI Hummingbird Eyewear with Dyna-Shield Coating - 8.875/10
As a special guest for this "study", we were excited to see the Dyna-Shield coating perform well across the board. While its ability to prevent or recover from fogging was well-rated, we'd have to say that one of the more unique features of the Dyna-Shield technology is its ability to self-heal from light surface scratches.
3M™ Solus Protective Eyewear with Scotchgard™ Anti-Fog Coating - 9.375/10
The Solus with Scotchgard™ coating did exceptionally well across the board. Scoring a perfect 10/10 on the steam test allowed it to get an early lead in the rankings but it started trailing behind in the outdoor/indoor tests. We would easily recommend these glasses for most applications where anti-fog eyewear is needed.
Uvex Seismic Sealed Eyewear with Hydroshield Coating - 9.75/10
Overall the best performing eyewear in this whole study, Uvex's Hydroshield coating was a strong performer across all tests. For those looking for an affordable pair of Anti-Fog glasses that perform well under pressure and in various applications, these are the glasses for you.
Results
