Clearly’s New Anti-Fog Glasses Actually Work (VIDEO)

Masks save lives. We need to wear them, it’s the right thing to do. We know this.

Folks who don’t have 20/20 vision also know that wearing glasses and a mask is very annoying. It’s almost impossible to prevent your breath from fogging up the lenses. 

For that reason, I’ve been wearing contacts for most of this past year, which is only slightly less annoying than the aforementioned glasses fog. I have fallen asleep with them in more times than I can count, and there’s really nothing worse than peeling plastic out of your eyeballs at 2 a.m. 

But a couple of months ago, I got an email from Clearly asking if I wanted to try their latest venture—anti-fog glasses specifically made for mask-wearing. My answer was something along the lines of, “Sure, I’d love to!” 

Internally, it was closer to: “Yeah, right.”

I was extremely skeptical. Call it cynicism, or maybe just a poor understanding of technology, but I simply didn’t think it was possible to make a lens that didn’t fog up from the heat of your breath.

Well, science proved me wrong. My pair of anti-fog glasses arrived this week, and they have truly surpassed my every expectation. Here’s some evidence: the photo on the left is me wearing my regular Clearly glasses (see, I was a fan before) and on the right, the anti-fog ones.

Photos don’t do the technology the justice it deserves—I can exhale a hard “HA” directly at the frames and they won’t fog. Here’s some video evidence for naysayers. First, my regular glasses:

And second, the anti-fog glasses:

It’s incredible. Tesla could never. 

According to Clearly, the anti-fog tech is a coating sprayed on to the lenses during manufacturing. To keep them working properly, I’ve been told to wipe them regularly and clean with lukewarm water once a week (so, pretty standard glasses care). My prescription is significant—I have my mother’s eyes, in the worst way—at -4.00 and -4.25, and even with my thicker lenses, there was no fog to be found.

One disclaimer: The anti-fog coating makes the glasses very reflective. I’ve noticed that in Zoom meetings, I can see my own computer screen in the reflection of my glasses, and if you really pay attention, you can see shiny things reflected when you’re in areas with a lot of light—for example, walking around outdoors when it’s sunny, I can see the sky reflected out of the corner of my eye if I really look. It’s a small distraction that I got used to almost instantly. It’s something you’ll notice if you like to take a lot of selfies (or have to, for demonstration purposes, for example).

I’m not an essential worker, but I’d think that for glasses-wearers working in grocery stores or other public-facing areas, these would be a godsend. If you spend a lot of time in front of a computer, you can also get the BlueReflect coating. The glasses absolutely do what they claim to do. According to Clearly’s website, the anti-fog coating is $20 more than regular lenses—not a bad investment for a fog-less world.