Dust. I’m a freak about clean goggles. I want to see what I’m about to plow into, because nobody likes a surprise. My method of helping you see in the nasty is a lot cheaper than a front wheel or a visit to your neighbor hood bone-fixer.
Dust sticks to everything. We try to convince ourselves that it’ll be a dust free ride. We pray and beg that there’s enough rain to keep it down, or a crossing wind that follows us across the barren wasteland. But how often does Mother Nature work in our favor? Enter eye protection.
Goggles. Everyone has them; we spend hard-earned money to protect our peepers. The industry has created tear offs, roll offs and combinations of both, but those ingenious inventions don’t work in the dust. So, here are a few hints to help:
1. Invest in a good goggle case
a. This protects your investment
b. Gives you a place to store everything you need to keep seeing the trail
c. Avoid throwing your goggles in the bottom of your gear bag
d. Avoid zip lock baggies, they create static
2. Drier sheets (used)
a. Keep them in your pocket, hydration system pocket, or any place you can reach them safely while cooking across the desert—they work wonders in wiping dust off while on the trail
3. Anti-static spray
a. Use it sparingly, a spray can bought at your local store (or swiped from the laundry room) will last a long time.
4. Microfiber cloth
a. Keep whole rags clean, and in your goggle bag
b. Cut another into 4x4 pieces kept with your drier sheets, or close by
5. Water soluble “ chap stick”
a. A petroleum based is best, try to avoid the cotton candy Hello Kitty type (unless you like glitter), and definitely get plain, you don’t want to inadvertently get peppermint or spearmint in your eyes at 60 mph in the rock
Before my ride, I prep my goggles by applying a small amount of lip balm to my finger and smearing it across the air filters on my goggle frames. Then by spraying a small (more is not always better) amount of anti-static spray to the outside lens of my goggles and wiping it off with the microfiber cloth.
During the heat of battle when it’s time to give a wipe to your lens, fight the urge to swipe your finger across it—this makes static, creating a dust petri-dish and will eventually scratch the lens. Whip out your handy dandy USED drier sheet and pull it across the lens, and voila, clean. Dust sticks to static, so this buys you some time when it gets nasty.
When I finally return to my castle (and explain to my wife where the static guard went), I take my slightly sweaty, nasty goggles and wash them in warm water. This removes the lip balm filter oil, my nasty stench, and prepares them for my next outing.