Pinlock Anti-Fog Visor

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Do you think visor fogging is a problem for motorcyclists?

Here's one more option: the Pinlock anti-fog visor system.  The Pinlock name has been known in Europe for some time, but most motorcycle owners in the U.S.A. are not familiar with this product. 

That's about to change, because Pinlock is coming to the U.S.A.  First announced at this spring's Dealer Expo in Indianapolis (see the wBW coverage of that event), we received a couple of visors with the Pinlock anti-fog system installed and have been using them during the recent unseasonably cold and wet Mid-Atlantic spring.

Development of the Pinlock system was started in 1978 by Derek Arnold in the Netherlands and has been continuously evolved since then.  The system includes a special moisture-absorbing plastic insert that looks something like a miniature tear-off.

A silicone gasket is added around the edges of the Pinlock insert, which forms a virtually air-tight seal when it is installed against the inside of the motorcycle helmet visor.  The special plastic and the double-wall system work to create a very good anti-fog barrier on any helmet visor.

The Pinlock system is used on motorcycle helmets, motocross helmets, and on other types of visors and goggles.  Several police forces and others use the Pinlock system to prevent fogging.  The system also has several international patents in Europe, the U.S.A. and Japan.

A dozen or so major motorcycle helmet manufacturers have been offering Pinlock equipped visors as an option in the European market.  The system has been tested and approved to ECE 22.05; the Snell Memorial Foundation says they're OK; and several highly respected European motorcycle magazines have reviewed and recommended them.  Also, several MotoGP riders use them for racing in wet conditions.

The Pinlock system is available as a "do it yourself" add-on kit that will work with almost any existing visor.  A special "service center kit" is also available to motorcycle dealers. 

The Pinlock system consists of the anti-fog visor, the two pins (thus the brand name), a drilling template, a drill bit and instructions.  To install the system, the visor is first removed from the helmet. 

The template is applied to the visor, and two holes are drilled into the visor using the supplied drill bit. 

The two pins snap into the resulting holes, and the anti-fog visor is placed on the visor and between the pins.  The pins hold the two opposite edges of the Pinlock anti-fog visor on to the helmet visor very tight, holding the silicone gasket against the visor.

We did not receive the kit, so we can't comment on the difficulty of the installation.  We did receive two helmet visors with the Pinlock system pre-installed; one visor for an HJC helmet and one for a Shoei.  But the instructions seem clear enough (pun intended!), and although drilling into a $40.00+ visor may make some owners nervous, I wouldn't hesitate to try it myself.  We're hoping to get a kit soon and we'll report back after we try it.

Pinlock is working with U.S. motorcycle helmet distributors and manufacturers to get the system added to their option list.  In the meantime, all this would be a moot point if it didn't work to prevent visor fogging.  So how does it work?

In a word, great!  We tried the Pinlock-equipped visors on a couple of different helmets in a variety of wet, cold and nasty weather conditions.  The plastic is optical quality and is crystal clear (once the protective shipping film is removed).  The Pinlock visors are available in clear, yellow, light tint and dark tint.

Since the Pinlock insert doesn't cover the entire surface area of the helmet visor, the silicone seal does create a line above and below the rider's line of sight, but it's virtually unnoticeable.  We do notice that the insert's plastic can sometimes separate or touch the visor plastic, causing some irregular patterns that are reminiscent of water spots. 

The effect is like a slightly dirty or dusty visor, and the marks are random and different, depending upon the application.  But they're also nearly invisible and seem to be a small price to pay for the excellent anti-fog properties.

Since it's impossible to take a photograph of a real-life example of the Pinlock insert's anti-fog capabilities, we tried the old boiled water test. 

This is a tough test for any anti-fog coating -- we boiled a pot of tea water and held the visor over the steam. 

Any non-treated surface will immediately become fogged.  But the Pinlock insert area stays perfectly clear even when it is held directly over the steam.  And the moisture absorbing plastic seems to work - we did not notice any drips or runs on the Pinlock insert.

This photo was taken through the Pinlock-equipped Shoei visor.  The animation shows two focus points: focusing on the tabloid, then focusing on the visor.  The fogged portions of the visor can be seen surrounding the perfectly clear Pinlock insert.

The product is very new to the U.S. market, and we're still waiting to learn about the suggested list price.  Pinlock visor do-it-yourself kits retail for about £19 (~$35.00 or so) in the U.K., so we expect the same in the U.S. and we'll report back as soon as we learn more.

Conclusion
The Pinlock system has been tested, approved, reviewed and is used by many motorcyclists throughout the world.  No visor anti-fog system is without compromises (yet), and the disadvantages with the Pinlock system include having to deal with the additional part attached to the visor; the potential for slight fuzziness in vision due to the way the insert seals on the visor; and the installation (with the DIY kit). 

On the plus side, once the system is installed, it's virtually maintenance free; it fits inside the visor, so it's well protected from scratches and bugs; it doesn't have to be re-applied; and it's available in several different tints.  And by the way, it works to prevent fogging, and does it with a minimal intrusion and maintenance, so it may be just the solution for you.