Product Review: Defog It for Glasses, Binoculars
As an eyeglass wearer I am at a disadvantage when hiking up the trail on a cool day with a pack full of gear on my back. The disadvantage is that my glasses fog up and then I can’t see to make the shot, should one present itself. I used to have a small soap-like stick that I used and that worked extremely well. My only problem is that was 15 years ago and I can’t remember who makes the stuff. I decided to give Defog It a try. It gets good reviews and those are the ones I tend to like to spend my money on.
I tried this product out in New York and in Southern California. In NY it was super wet, temperatures in the 40’s and I was wearing layers. In SoCal I was in 70 degree temps on one day and 30’s on another day, two layers on both times, and I had to hike in a mile and a half. In both instances Defog It performed the same way. Not very well, if at all. It worked the first minutes and then my glasses seemed like there was nothing on them at all. As soon as I started to heat up from hiking my glasses got steamed up. What bothered me was this excerpt from the FAQs on their website.
In tests, lenses treated with the Defog It™ formulation were placed directly over steam. No fog formed for six, ten, 20 minutes. Competitive products failed. Treated lenses moved between hot and cold environments, remained clear for 100 transfers, while other anti-fogs failed.
My lenses tell a different story. I did everything they recommend. I cleaned my lenses very well. Dried them and then applied the Defog It drops to each lens. During both tests the product results were the same. It worked for a few minutes and then once I worked up a good sweat and my glasses fogged up and they stayed that way.
The proprietary surfactants contained in the formulation form a hydrophilic (water absorbing) layer on the surface of the lens that helps water/fog to sheet evenly and hence improve visibility.
From reading this, I gather that you’ll still have condensation on your glasses, but that it will eventually sheet off. Mine didn’t sheet off. Mine didn’t even drip off. My lenses stayed fogged the entire time I hiked and the only two ways I got them cleared was to take my hat off and let me head cool down or to wipe them clean over and over with a Defog It cloth. The wiping with the cloth got very old quickly. I had to wipe off my glasses every few minutes. I finally got sick of it and decided to just wait it out, turned my hat backwards and tried to cool down.
A single application cleans and stops fog.
My results seem to be the exception to the rule above. I applied the liquid to my lenses every day of my hunts. The US military uses this stuff and I guess people do have it work. Maybe I got a defective bottle, I don’t know. I just know that I put each product through trials according to what the manufacturer recommends. I certainly wouldn’t recommend any of my readers to go purchase this product. If any of you have anything else you use I am definitely interested in knowing what it is.
I'm disappointed to hear Defog It didn't work for you. Truly, it's unusual. Defog It is used in the military and lots of other tough environments. Please contact me and let's see if we can't make things right. Lynn Lilly [email protected]