Written for American Iron magazine.

The Fog City PRO-SHIELD

On a warm sunny day there's nothing better than riding down the road, enjoying the wind-in-the-face sensation that's such an integral part of motorcycling. When the weather's right, even a rider who chooses to wear a full-face helmet will often flip the face shield up and enjoy the breeze.

And in case of a sudden downpour, that same rider can simply snap the shield into position and ride on, his face protected from the stinging droplets of rain. He can continue in safety and comfort, as long as he doesn't breathe.

Once he exhales, though, the shield quickly fogs up. At this point, our intrepid rider must open the shield a bit, allowing the air to circulate and defog the shield. Of course, that allows some rain to creep in, where it will gather on the inside of the shield. This, in turn, creates a different but equally dangerous visibility problem. Sometimes you just can't win.

Or can you? Trick question: of course you can, and winning will cost less than twenty bucks. What you (and by "you" we mean anyone who owns a full-face helmet) need to do is buy one of Modern World Ventures' dandy Fog City ProShields.

The ProShield is a clear polycarbonate insert that sticks to the inside of any full-face helmet's face shield. The factory-applied silicon adhesive extends around the ProShield's perimeter, and provides an air- and water-tight seal between the two surfaces. It is a combination of this seal (and the resulting air pocket) and the nature of the ProShield's own surfaces that prevents fog from forming on either side of the ProShield.

Earlier versions of the Fog City shield -- both standard and "Pro" -- were effective at preventing fog, but tended to be tricky to install and easily scratched. They also had trouble sticking to hard-coated face shields like Shoei uses. The latest ProShield addresses all of those shortcomings.

I installed a ProShield on a Shoei DuoTech face shield, and the most difficult part of the process was remembering how to reassemble the helmet's parts. The first step was to create positioning guides by placing masking tape on the outside of the face shield, marking the perimeter of the face opening. Once the tape was in place, I removed the face shield and thoroughly cleaned and dried it. Any residual grease or dirt could prevent the shield from adhering properly, or forever be in the line of sight.

The ProShield comes in a three-layer package. I removed the backing and protective inner liner, being careful to handle the now-exposed ProShield only by its edge. Following the guide marks (and the product's printed instructions) I made sure that the adhesive first contacted the Shoei shield in the center at the top and bottom, and then extended the contact outwards until the entire perimeter was in contact with the shield. The final step was to apply gentle pressure to the adhesive to make sure that a good seal is obtained. I waited the recommended 24 hours before reassembling the helmet.

The next day it rained, so I stepped out and tested the ProShield's effectiveness. Switching between the newly-equipped Shoei and another helmet made it clear that Modern World Ventures has a winner. The Fog City ProShield kept the Shoei crystal clear, while the other helmet quickly fogged up. In clear, dry weather the ProShield is as near to invisible as matters. The optical quality is far better than was the case with earlier versions of the product. The Fog City ProShield lists for $16.95, a small price to pay for the ability to see in the rain.