One of the common problems of riding a motorcycle in winters is the helmet visor fogging up frequently even when you are doing your best to keep the helmet visor from heating up or cooling down suddenly which are usually the fundamental reasons behind the moisture in the air condenser working on the surface of your helmet visor. Nowadays, you can find helmets with anti-fog mechanisms built into the helmet, but even then, there might be conditions when condensation can build up, impacting your visibility, especially under extreme weather conditions. Here are a few special tips to help you see clearly under all conditions and keep helmets to a minimum.
Understanding the science behind condensation
The air you breathe out is warmer than the outside especially during winters when the temperature outside drops to 10 or 15 degree celsius or even lower depending upon whether you are situated. The difference in temperature creates a very cold surface on the visor, and when hot air from your nose touches the cool surface, it immediately transforms into small water droplets, thereby fogging the visibility completely. This is the reason why you see helmet fogging up in winter and not in summers or in any other weather condition, well, except maybe in the monsoons when it is raining very hard because it has a similar cooling effect on the surface of the visor! So now let’s get into the section where we share tips with you to prevent the helmet visor from fogging up in winters.
How to prevent helmet visors from fogging up
Keep the visor slightly cracked open: The simplest and most effective way to ensure that cool air from outside continues to circulate inside the helmet which is comparatively warmer than outside, you can simply leave a little gap in the visor to allow cold air from outside to come inside and balance out the temperature difference. Unless you are riding in extremely cold conditions this will in fact make your experience better because the cold there will keep you feeling fresh rather than feeling stuffy and sleepy because of the warmer temperature inside the helmet. Cold air is usually a good thing that will keep your situation awareness in its peak performing condition!
Invest in a Pinlock® technology helmet: The second option is slightly more expensive but it’s a sure-fire way to rewind even the slightest possibility of having fog on your helmet visor. It is a special technology that is implemented in premium motorcycle helmets which places an additional layer of polycarbonate underneath the primary visor layer which stays warmer compared to the outer layer and that prevents the problem of condensation.
Keep the air ventilation open: In most modern motorcycle helmets there are other ventilation systems that are placed to increase the aerodynamic performance of the helmet as well as to keep the rather comfortable in hot weather conditions. These come in handy in order to maintain temperature balance inside the helmet compared to the conditions outside. Using the air vents is very simple and convenient, all you have to do is flip them open to allow some cold air inside the helmet and close up in case you feel the air becoming colder too fast for your comfort levels.
Fogged visor is a very common problem especially in winters when the cold temperature outside causes the visor to become cold and when the hot breath touches the cold surface, it immediately results in condensation, hence the fog. Try these tips and you will definitely see an improvement in the condition.
Source: smkhelmets.com
