Reviews > Eye Protection and Binoculars > Cleaning and Defogging Products > Sven Can See Xtreme > Test Report by Nancy Griffith

SVEN CAN SEE ANTI-FOG SPRAY GEL
TEST SERIES BY NANCY GRIFFITH
LONG-TERM REPORT
June 25, 2017

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TESTER INFORMATION

My outdoor experience began in high school with a canoeing/camping group which made a 10-day voyage through the Quebec wilds. I've been backpacking since my college days in Pennsylvania. I have hiked all of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina. My typical trip now is in the Sierra Nevada in California and is from a few days to a few weeks long. Over the past few years I have lowered my pack weight to a lightweight base weight of 15 lb (6.8 kg) while still using a tent, stove and quilt.

INITIAL REPORT

PRODUCT INFORMATION & SPECIFICATIONS

Manufacturer: Cross Research & Development, Inc.
Year of Manufacture: 2017

Manufacturer's Website: http://www.svencansee.com
MSRP: $10.95 US each

Listed Weight: Not Listed
Measured Weight: 0.7 oz (20 g) each pen and 0.1 (4 g) for lens cloth

Listed Volume:
Anti-Fog Spray Gel: 0.27 oz (8 ml)
Anti-Fog/Anti-Frost Xtreme Cold Spray Gel: 0.33 oz (10 ml)

Made in Canada

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION

There are two products that are similarly packaged in a blue wide pen-like applicator with a spray top and a clip on the cap. The Sven Can See Anti-Fog Spray Gel (hereafter referred to as the Spray) is the more general purpose product which can be sprayed on, wiped and ready right away. It came with the pen in a box and includes a lens cloth with a Sven Can See name and logo on it.

The Spray lists biodegradable surfactants as the active ingredient. It claims to have no odor, alcohol or fumes and to be biodegradable and safe for kids. The website FAQs state that children should be over 6 years of age to use this product. The Spray is for four season use but if I find that I need a more cold-weather extreme version then the Sven Can See Anti-Fog/Anti-Frost Xtreme Cold Spray Gel (hereafter referred to as the XC Spray) is the way to go.

The XC Spray is designed for temperatures from -20 to 20 F (-29 to -6 C) but works fine in warmer temperatures too. The XC Spray is recommended to be applied at room temperature and allowed to sit for at least 10 minutes before buffing. This application process is the key to how this product works. The XC Spray lists polyacrylate and ethoxylated alcohols as the active ingredients.

Both products are for use on sunglasses, snowshoe and ski goggles, snowmobile visors, hockey visors, shooting and hunting glasses and safety glasses. Note that in the FAQs that it says that although this product has been tested with certain prescription eyewear, it is ONLY recommended for non-prescription lenses.

Both products are stated to last for 8 hours so one application per day should be sufficient. Each pen applicator is stated to have enough product inside for 50 applications equal to 50 pairs of glasses. The product is listed as best-used within two years of purchase. There is no manufacture or expiration date on the product itself.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS & TRYING IT OUT

My initial impression was that the products come in convenient, small and easy-to-use packages. Both products are similarly packaged and similarly named, so I wasn't clear what the difference was between the Anti-Fog Spray Gel and the Anti-Fog/Anti-Frost Xtreme Cold Spray Gel. Even on the website they have very similar descriptions, but the main difference is that the XC Spray version is made for the coldest temperatures.

So, I had to know who this Sven guy is, right? From the Company Info on the website I learned that Sven was a bedtime story that the company founder used to tell to his daughter. Sven and his goat, Chuck, climbed mountains and Sven would have problems with his glasses fogging up in the cold.

My testing plan was to carry Sven Can See with me on the trail and apply it once I encountered situations where my glasses were fogging up. However, since the instructions particularly for the XC Spray say to apply it at room temperature and allow it to dry for 10 minutes before buffing, that doesn't seem feasible. I may still try that with the Spray version since it seems to allow for the Wipe and Go instruction. But for the XC Spray, I think I'll apply it to one lens on my glasses before a cold weather trip and leave the other lens without treatment. That way I should be able to tell when I'm in a fogging situation and how much the XC Spray is helping.

I pulled out several pairs of sunglasses, safety glasses and shooting glasses to begin the process. My glasses were in varying stages of filth, so I first cleaned all of the lenses with a standard eyeglass spray cleaner prior to getting started. The gel has a spray top to it, and when I pressed down it dispensed a narrow spray. Both spray dispensers took multiple presses to squirt anything out. With the XC Spray, I was sure that I had a defective sprayer after dozens of presses but then all of a sudden it squirted out. Yay! There is no control over how much is dispensed.

When I smeared it around with my finger it seemed like a gel. I then wiped the spray gel onto both sides of my lens. One spray easily covers two lenses on front and back. Both products seemed to go on similarly with no color and no odor. I then allowed it to dry for 10 minutes and wiped the lenses with the lens cloth. Both products seemed to buff out similarly. There was no noticeable residue or difference in the lenses after treatment.

READING THE INSTRUCTIONS

The Sven Can See came with an instruction card that says to apply it to a clean, dry lens. The website recommends removing old gel first if possible. Then I'm to remove the cap, apply ONE SMALL DROP to one side of one lens, rub it onto both lens areas front and back, let dry for 10 minutes and buff with a clean dry cloth.

The Anti-Fog Spray, Wipe and Go! product came with a lens cloth so I'll be using that. The Spray states on the package to 'Spray, Wipe and Go' but the website has a video which emphasizes two keys to success: less (product) is more and let it sit for at least 10 minutes (more is better) before buffing. This is a little contradictory, i.e. is it ready to go right away (Spray, Wipe and Go!) or is it required to wait 10 minutes? I'll try both ways to see what works.

Sven Can See offers a 100% money-back guarantee.

The product is not meant to go in the eye, so it is not recommended for contact lenses. If it gets in the eye, flushing with tap water is recommended. If ingested then I should seek medical help. It should be kept out of the reach of children.

SUMMARY

The Sven Can See Anti-Fog and Anti-Fog/Anti-Frost Gels are products designed to keep glasses from fogging up or frosting up in a variety of conditions and situations.

Initial Likes:
Convenient package
Spray comes with lens cloth
Claims to keep glasses fog-free
Claims to work in various conditions
Claims to work on various types of glasses

Initial Concerns:
Need to apply ahead (not just carry on trail)

LONG-TERM REPORT

LONG-TERM TEST LOCATIONS AND CONDITIONS

A sample of my glasses

Over the test period I used the Sven products for all of my outdoor activity. I wore a variety of glasses with a variety of lens colors. So, I used the Sven products for backpacking, snowshoeing, hiking, mountain biking, softball, running and just around town. Conditions ranged from below freezing to nearly 100 F (38 C). Humidity varied widely from hot sunny dry conditions to stormy wet conditions.

Backpacking:
Marble/Cottonwood Canyons, Death Valley National Park, California: 4 days, 34 mi (55 km); 1,167 to 4,680 ft (356 to 1,426 m) elevation; 52 to 90 F (11 to 32 C). Partly cloudy with breezy conditions.

Shadow Lake, Sierra Nevada, California: overnight trip of 10 mi (16 km); 6,327 to 7,264 ft (1,928 to 2,214 m); 28 to 52 F (-2 to 11 C); sunny and clear.

Pacific Crest Trail, Section F, Southern California: 6 days; 86 mi (138 km); 3,773 to 7,003 ft (1,150 to 2,135 m); 29 to 87 F (-2 to 31 C); clear sunny skies to dense 'raining' fog to snow to howling desert winds.

Snowshoe Hiking:
Polaris Trail, Loon Lake, Sierra Nevada, California: 6.1 mi (10 km); 6,327 to 6,510 ft (1,928 to 1,984 m); 32 F (0 C); stormy, windy, snow conditions.

China Wall, Sierra Nevada, California: 4.6 mi (7.4 km); 5,000 to 5,200 ft (1,524 to 1,585 m); 33 to 39 F (0.5 to 2 C); sunny with large puffy clouds.

Coldstream Valley, Donner Lake, California: 3.3 mi (5.3 km); 5,935 to 6,236 ft (1,809 to 1,901 m); 33 F (0.5 C); mostly cloudy with storm moving in.

Mount Rose, Carson Range, Nevada: 1.8 mi (2.9 km); 8,911 to 9,080 ft (2,716 to 2,768 m) elevation; 43 F (6 C); sunny and clear.

PERFORMANCE IN THE FIELD

My carrying pouch

The first thing that I did was treat several pairs of my glasses with Sven product on just the right-side lens so that I could test one lens with and one lens without anti-fog. I then realized that was a waste of time to treat so many pairs of glasses at one time because the product claims to last for 8 hours. So, after that I treated the lenses that I would be wearing for the day in the morning before the outing or on the way to the trailhead.

My next task was to find a good carrying pouch for the two dispensers of Sven product and the lens cloth. I knew that without one I would be constantly trying to find either the lens cloth or one of the anti-fog dispensers. I found just the right thing in a lightweight soft lens case made for holding small eyeglasses. The fabric doubles as a lens cloth which is always useful even though I always carried and used the Sven-supplied lens cloth. I used this pouch for the rest of the test period which made it easy to find and carry what I needed.

Anti-Frost XC Spray blob

Anti-Fog Spray

I used the Anti-Frost XC Spray in colder conditions typically for snowshoeing. It dispenses in a smaller blob than the Anti-Fog Spray since it is thicker. I would spray the outside of one lens and then spread the dispensed amount among the front and back of both lenses. There was enough product from one spray to easily cover all surfaces of the lenses. When spreading the XC Spray around, it feels more viscous than water but is easy to apply evenly. When the XC Spray dries it turns translucent almost like a car wax. Once it is in the dried state it takes some elbow grease to buff it well similar to buffing out wax on a car. It might take me a few passes but I never had any problem with getting the XC Spray buffed out and ready to go. Generally, I would apply the XC Spray while in the truck on the way to the trailhead and use the product on both my sunglasses and my husband's sunglasses. Since the trip was usually over an hour, I would give at least thirty minutes of wait time after application before buffing the lenses with the supplied lens cloth.

Right side treated

The first trip was a snowshoe day hike so I only treated one lens so that I could easily tell how the XC Spray performed versus no treatment at all. Although both lenses fogged up the treated side immediately cleared while the untreated side remained fogged and damp looking.

Once on the trail my husband's sunglasses and my sunglasses had slightly different results. I could easily fog up my lenses by forcing my hot breath into my glasses but they would very quickly clear. So, I never had any issue with my lenses fogging and causing any problem seeing. On the other hand, my husband's lenses WOULD NOT even fog up! There was a visible rainbow prism effect that could be seen (not through the lens but from outside) which was the only evidence of purposely trying to fog them. It was just amazing! I confirmed that our lenses are both made from the same polarized polycarbonate material but he had much better results than I did. We repeated this many times over the test period so there is just something different about his lenses.

In warmer weather, I used the Anti-Fog Spray. It worked very much the same as the XC Spray in terms of dispensing a small amount with one spray. However, since it is less viscous it sprays out in a larger spray pattern than the XC Spray. Again, one spray easily covered both sides of both lenses. The only difference was in how long I let it sit before using the lens cloth to wipe it off. At times, I let it dry for several minutes before buffing and other times I wiped it off right away while it was still wet. When I let it dry completely it didn't get as translucent or waxy-looking as the XC Spray. Since I never had any issue with my glasses fogging up, I couldn't discern any difference between the two methods of wiping right away or allowing it to dry. So, I started to just wipe it off right away.

Overall both the Sven Anti-Fog and Anti-Frost gels worked well to clear my fogged lenses quickly and in the case of my husband's sunglasses to even prevent fogging completely. I have to say that I'm impressed with the products.

SUMMARY

The Sven Can See Anti-Fog and Anti-Frost gels work well to keep my glasses fog-free during strenuous outdoor activity in a wide range of temperatures.

Couldn't be Better:
Kept my lenses fog-free
Easy to apply
One squirt is enough for both lenses
Lens cloth is included

Could be Better:
Anti-Frost is a little hard to buff out
Would be nice to include a carrying pouch

This concludes my Long-Term Test Report and this test series. Thanks to Cross Research and Development and BackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to test this product.

Reviews > Eye Protection and Binoculars > Cleaning and Defogging Products > Sven Can See Xtreme > Test Report by Nancy Griffith