Nerdwax FOG Block - A Review

A review written by our friend: Dena Daw

Do Fog Blockers Work? Do They Stop Your Glasses From Fogging Up?

Sometimes it’s hard to remember what life was like before Covid-19 came around and gave us a good smack. Nightlife, drinks with friends, family reunions, parades, concerts, going out in public without having to worry about infection— it seems like a distant memory, doesn’t it?  While masks are now commonplace and crucial to reducing the spread of the virus, they’re not always convenient. One of the biggest complaints eye doctors receive from patients is that their mask keeps fogging up their glasses. Wearing your mask outside on a cold day is sure to send you straight into an Alfred Hitchcock movie, minus the murder, but what can be done? For years healthcare workers have washed their lenses with soapy water to prevent fogging, but now that everyone and their mama is wearing a mask, there’s a huge need for an “on-the-go” solution. Although anti-fog products have always existed, I was recently asked to test drive a product made specifically for mask-related foggy situations: Nerdwax FOG Block. 

What IS Nerdwax FOG Block?

Unsurprisingly, the Nerdwax brand was originally known for...well, wax. Thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign back in 2014, Nerdwax began selling a beeswax-based blend of ingredients formulated to keep peoples’ glasses in place. Following up on that success, Nerdwax released “Magic Drops,” a cleaning solution that provides a “magical clean for your sunnies, specs, and screens.” The next step seemed obvious, given the rising popularity of face masks—Nerdwax FogBlock. This reusable coated microfiber cloth is easy to carry around and even easier to use. Simply dampen your lenses, wipe with your cloth, and fog be gone! Even better, it’s inexpensive,  safe to use on all types of lenses and coatings and, according to the website, stays effective for 1 year or 300 applications when kept in its pouch. 

So, Does Nerdwax FOG Block Actually Work?

I’m not going to lie, I was pretty excited when this magical anti-fog arrived at my door for a test drive. I don’t actually wear glasses, but my sunnies were fogging up every single day, and I was DONE I SAY. The first part of my two part plan was to wear both my mask and my sunglasses on my daily four mile walk and see how I fared. The black and white packaging looked pretty snazzy, but I was more interested in how well they’d work once I stepped out into the cold air. The directions specifically told me to dampen my lenses and then wipe them with the FOG Block cloth, but I’m a dingus so I made the mistake of dampening the cloth instead. Not the end of the world, but it did take a while to clean the soapy residue off of my glasses (learn from my mistakes). After my lenses were clean, I put my dog on a leash and took her on our daily walk. Bear in mind, it was 42 degrees outside and I’m not in the greatest shape, so I was breathing pretty heavily under my mask. Under normal circumstances, my shades would fog up faster than a kid chasing an ice cream truck, but my glasses remained fog free throughout the duration of my walk. Even my dog was impressed, which is hard because she’s judgy. 

The second part of my plan involved asking my friend to try FOG Block on her prescription lenses that she wears all day, every day. She’s a lawyer, so every week she takes a trip to court and struggles to see the judge through her steamy glasses. I delivered the fog cloth to her like Santa Claus, promising that her experience would be nothing short of “unFOGettable” (Nerdwax’s words, not mine). She started off by actually READING THE DIRECTIONS and using a little spray bottle to dampen her lenses before wiping with the fog cloth. She noted that it took a few minutes to wipe the streaks off the glasses, so keep that in mind (fog cloth does apply a thin film to the lenses). She then started her day by walking outside into the cold air, but her lenses didn’t fog up as usual. Being the lawyer that she is, she was naturally suspicious and pulled them off to blow on them. The fog came and went in a matter of seconds. The verdict? The fog cloth kept her glasses fog-free until the evening, so she recommends re-using the cloth sometime around mid-day if you’re hoping to last a full 12 hours. Each time she wiped with the cloth, it did take a minute or two to get her glasses completely streak free. Saying that, we determined that a few extra minutes of wiping is worth it if it means avoiding fog for the majority of the day. 

In Conclusion