We are in a stretch of extreme cold. I cannot figure out how to wear a mask to bring horses in at 4pm. If I wear a face covering outside then my glasses ice up and I can’t see. If I take off my glasses outside I wouldn’t be able to see if a horse was injured. If I pull my face covering up when I go in the barn and down for outside, then the mask gets damp, then freezes, and then when the ice/moisture builds, my face gets wet and then I am going outside with a wet face.
Any ideas/suggestions?
Do you have ski goggles? I’ve been wearing them along with a whole head cover (minus the eyes/mouth) and it works great.
Are they prescription googles or are you able to wear over glasses?
I’ve skied with folks that wear prescription glasses under ski goggles so you’d likely be ok with Joe Goggles.
In the barn environment I am sure you can get by without wearing anything when bringing horses in? You are obviously wearing gloves if it is that cold.
Picture the cartoon picture of the kid who can’t move because of the layers of clothes + snowsuit. I think that’s probably how CHT is dressing for the cold snap in her area. It is bitter, truly bitter cold. All the clothing is more about the cold than COVID-19.
I just put on my readers under my ski googles and it worked well.
Er, nevermind my original response. I read the original post inside out. The OP is indeed concerned with COVID-19 masking and not balaclava type masking.
Jelly brain. I haz it.
I’ve started double-masking based on health dept recommendations about these new variants. It’s actually quite comfortable but the really happy accidental discovery is that my glasses do not fog up.
(And when you speak, your mask doesn’t slide down the way it often does when you just have one mask on).
So maybe give double-masking a shot and see if that helps?
I bought these cool foam nose bridges that I added to my regular, cloth masks to stop my glasses fogging at the barn/outdoors. They work GREAT! I got them from a company called Knotty Tie. I plan on ordering more. I also have silicone nose bridges that work well, to, just aren’t as comfy as the foam ones. Ski goggles sound pretty ideal, too, for cold outdoor use.
Try a mask with a wire nose piece that can be molded snuggly to the bridge of your nose. I don’t have issues with glasses fogging that way, especially outside. I do have issues when I walk into a really warm building regardless of the type of mask, but I would think a barn would be cold enough that that wouldn’t happen. I also use the NerdWax Fog Block cloth for glasses and clean my glasses every few days with it - it works pretty well and is around $10. The cloth is good for something like a year.
@anon81364900 double masking is what I found to help the most in the arena while coaching, but it isn’t enough to keep my glasses (and eyelashes) icing up in this cold. Only 3 more days to survive now though…
@Calvincrowe Thank you for the recommendation! I have been wanting something like that, but didn’t know where to look. I think those would be good in a lot of situations.
@ChestnutArabianMare our barn is about 10 degrees (celcius) compared to -30 or so outside, so it is inevitable they fog up when I come in…which I am fine with as I can take them off when I come in the barn, it is just outside that I want to be able to see and taking a something on and off when in the barn isn’t working as my face gets too wet. I want to see outside to make sure the outside boarded horses are ok/fence is ok/water is ok.
It sounds like Ski Goggles are something I should invest in though! Even without covid, being able to wear a face covering in the cold and keeping my eyelashes from icing up would be lovely!
CHT, your temperatures are far more bitter than mine, but following the advice of another COTHer I use medical tape to tape my mask to my face. I put a long strip of tape over the entire top seam of the mask. I do this even with my masks that have a nose bridge, and it makes the whole thing much better.
Lay a warm washcloth over the tape for about 30 seconds and it will remove more easily.
For masks freezing, unfortunately, all I’ve found is to carry many and rotate them.
The medical tape might be a good option. I may have to do that for coaching anyway as I find my mask fogs then too as the arena is humid. I am thinking I will tape mask #1, and then put a second mask overtop which I can then change out if it becomes damp?
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