The anti-fogging reactivator marker

The anti-fogging reactivator marker

Find out the story behind the design of our anti-fogging reactivator marker.

Fog in your goggles... The eternal scourge of swimmers, both beginners and advanced. At DECATHLON | NABAIJI, we've got a solution to reduce fogging and extend the life of your goggles.

The anti-fogging reactivator marker

The findings

The most important product for swimmers is their goggles. The product that irritates them the most when swimming is... their goggles.

In swimming, goggles are a safety measure. What do swimmers expect? Good stability, no water ingress, good field of vision and no fogging.

How do your goggles fog up? Your body temperature is around 37° while the water in the pool is usually 27°. The space between the lenses of your goggles and your eyes is hermetically sealed. The air inside this space quickly becomes humid until it is saturated. The small water droplets that attach themselves to the cold surface of your lenses will impair your vision. This is called fogging.

Today, fighting fogging in goggles is fairly limited technologically speaking.

What exactly is anti-fogging? It's a coating that harbours hydrophilic (water-loving) molecules. Each water droplet is captured and spread out, joining the other water droplets to create a microscopic film of water, allowing you to see clearly. Anti-fogging doesn't remove the fog, it turns it into a film of water.

What's the problem with that? Anti-fog products become obsolete after 15 hours of use and their effectiveness diminishes. But there is another problem: swimming goggles are often used incorrectly! They get rubbed with fingers, soap or saliva to try to remove the fog. Big mistake! These micro-abrasions help to weaken the anti-fog coating by gradually removing the hydrophilic coating until it disappears. And no more coating means no more anti-fog, so no more clear vision.

The anti-fogging reactivator marker

Thoughts on this product

How can you extend the life of the anti-fog coating on your goggles? This is where the anti-fogging reactivator marker comes in. We wanted something simple and quick to use, allowing you to swim without fogging and at the same time extend the life of your goggles. Because instead of throwing them away as soon as the anti-fogging wears off, you'll be able to keep your goggles and use them longer.

The basic function of this marker is to reactivate the anti-fog already present on the lenses of your goggles. How? By applying new hydrophilic molecules to your lenses (the same molecules that make up the anti-fog coating). The marker should not be applied to new goggles, but only to goggles where the anti-fog coating has lost its effectiveness (the coating on the inside of the lenses must not be too damaged).

The design phase

When you rub the marker tip inside the lens of your goggles, a liquid will help transport the hydrophilic molecules to the lens. Just wait a minute for the molecules in the liquid to come into contact with your lens, then rinse the lens and it's ready to use!

The first version of this anti-fogging reactivator marker was launched in 2017. Since then, it has been constantly improved. We always rely on your feedback and opinions to improve our product.

A new version of this reactivator marker was introduced in 2023. Here are some examples of improvements...

In use, we found that the tip was too hard and could lead to scratches on the product. So we are reworking it to make it softer, without increasing the distribution of the solution so as not to make the marker consume more and therefore be less sustainable.

We also found that the marker could dry out and not last the promised hours of use. Why does the marker dry out? Because when it is set down, the tip is turned upwards, so the liquid is drawn downwards! That's how the tip ends up drying out. The new marker is consequently designed to be set down with the tip pointing downwards. Our new marker is also eco-designed, using recycled plastic!

Product benefits

✅ Reactivate the anti-fogging feature
Enjoy a relaxed swimming experience and extend the life of your goggles.
Each application will ensure that you can swim for 1 to 2 hours without your goggles fogging up!

Let's hear from the swimmers

Pascale - “I was a little sceptical at first about the effectiveness of the product ...given the amount of fog that prevented me from seeing (I have prescription swimming goggles...). I gave it a quick try…
And it's actually amazing!!! Not a speck of fog, I was able to swim without any issues. Super easy to apply, really fast too, just before getting in the pool... My only regret is that I didn't buy one sooner..."

Miguel - “Applied 5 min before the session, no fogging for at least an hour and a half.”

Didier - “I was surprised by the effectiveness of the product in combating fogging, one application every 4 or 5 sessions is more than enough."

Olivier - “For a long time, I had been looking for a way to get rid of the fog that systematically appeared in my swimming masks. I'd tried everything. Without success, until I found this miracle product. Thank you!!"

Patrice - “Very efficient product. Before, I couldn't go more than 500m without fogging up. Now I can swim as much as I want, with perfect vision!

Sarah - “I bought this product with no real hope for my old goggles. But I got a pleasant surprise: It was efficient from the first use! it never leaves my pool bag!"

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