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I went for a walk last night in my local woods. I took a pair of binoculars with me. It was quite a cool evening (not that cold). Every time I put the binoculars to my face though to look at something they started to steam up! When I removed them they'd clear only to fog up again after a few seconds of looking though them.

I had the binoculars slung around my neck for convenience. Is there anything I can do to mitigate this problem?

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You can buy any of a number of anti fog gels and materials that are made for scuba gear, but also work great for binoculars.

That said, we always just solved this problem by spitting on the lenses and wiping. It's gross, but it worked.

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    Spit is also the natural solution for scuba and snorkel gear too
    – Escoce
    Apr 5, 2016 at 16:03
  • I was worried about damaging the lenses/lense housing?
    – user2766
    Apr 5, 2016 at 16:06
  • @Liam -- I'm not an optics expert, but it never damaged any of mine and I've never heard of spit damaging lenses.
    – Russell Steen
    Apr 5, 2016 at 16:33
  • Just to add, for scuba diving, I threat the mask with tooth paste. I cover the inner side of the lenses with tooth paste and leave it for a day then I repeat 2x-3x
    – Desorder
    Apr 5, 2016 at 21:07
  • The more abrasive sorts of toothpaste found damage lens coatings (presumably not an issue in scuba) but spit itself would be fine. Wipe with a clean lens cloth though to avoid scratches.
    – Chris H
    Apr 6, 2016 at 7:21
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I tend to tuck mine inside my outer layer of clothing if it's cold but dry. This keeps the lenses warm so avoids condensation. It helps with camera battery life too.

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  • I agree, the only way to avoid condensation is keeping the surface warmer than the environment. That way the temperature of the air close to the surface is heated up which decreases the relative humidity, which again prevents condensation.
    – flawr
    Apr 6, 2016 at 20:48

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