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I ride year-round, no matter the temps, as long as the roads aren't covered in ice. Unfortunately, this means that winter daylight tends to disappear before my commute home from work. I absolutely hate having to carry an extra face shield around, and changing it out just for my trip home, then changing it back for my trip back to work the next day. Not that changing the shield on my helmet is all that difficult, it's just annoying. Leaving the shield open just freezes my face, even behind my tall Windjammer. So, I decided to invest in a photochromatic face shield! This thing changes from clear to tinted when exposed to UV light. I purchased it from http://www.kneedraggers.com.
The photochromatic shield has a coating that was obviously liquid at the point of application. You can see some "dribbles" around the edges, and especially on the little finger lip. Mine has at least one dot of dust that got caught under the liquid, and I can see it from the outside when looking at it. However, when up against my face on the helmet, it's too close to see.
The inside of the shield has a permanent anti-fog coating that is impressive! I can't fog the shield by breating directly on it, while the same test fogs the stock shield instantly, to the point that I could not see through it.
At first, I wasn't impressed. It really seemed that the new shield did not get nearly as dark as my stock smoke shield, and I was worried about the potential need to wear sunglasses under it. For $80, I wasn't sure it was worth the price. A not-treated shield is only $20. After comparing the two shields, I'm liking it a little more, but I still think it's priced way too high.
This picture shows the stock smoke shield on the right, and the photochromatic shield on the left. I put them on this table in indirect sunlight, at 9ºF (yeah, it's cold today) for an hour to compare them. You can see that the uper area is not as dark as the bottom, but the bottom is as dark or darker than the stock smoke shield.
According to the mfg, the tinting ability fades over time, and is supposed to last for up to "24,000 miles of riding in sunlight". They say that is 4X the length of time for most other photochromatic shields. They tell you to clean the outside regularly (windex is fine for inside and out), but avoid getting the inside wet for prolonged periods, to reduce the risk of damaging the anti-fog coating.
One thing I think is rather strange is that they say the tinting will not go back to clear while it's cold outside (under 45ºF), so you have to warm it up a bit by going inside. Also, the tinting NEVER goes away 100%. However, the tinting that remains is really not enough to make a difference.
Here's a few more pictures I took for comparison:
Regular smoke shield:
Tint of Photochromatic shield:
The photochromatic shield has a coating that was obviously liquid at the point of application. You can see some "dribbles" around the edges, and especially on the little finger lip. Mine has at least one dot of dust that got caught under the liquid, and I can see it from the outside when looking at it. However, when up against my face on the helmet, it's too close to see.
The inside of the shield has a permanent anti-fog coating that is impressive! I can't fog the shield by breating directly on it, while the same test fogs the stock shield instantly, to the point that I could not see through it.
At first, I wasn't impressed. It really seemed that the new shield did not get nearly as dark as my stock smoke shield, and I was worried about the potential need to wear sunglasses under it. For $80, I wasn't sure it was worth the price. A not-treated shield is only $20. After comparing the two shields, I'm liking it a little more, but I still think it's priced way too high.
This picture shows the stock smoke shield on the right, and the photochromatic shield on the left. I put them on this table in indirect sunlight, at 9ºF (yeah, it's cold today) for an hour to compare them. You can see that the uper area is not as dark as the bottom, but the bottom is as dark or darker than the stock smoke shield.
According to the mfg, the tinting ability fades over time, and is supposed to last for up to "24,000 miles of riding in sunlight". They say that is 4X the length of time for most other photochromatic shields. They tell you to clean the outside regularly (windex is fine for inside and out), but avoid getting the inside wet for prolonged periods, to reduce the risk of damaging the anti-fog coating.
One thing I think is rather strange is that they say the tinting will not go back to clear while it's cold outside (under 45ºF), so you have to warm it up a bit by going inside. Also, the tinting NEVER goes away 100%. However, the tinting that remains is really not enough to make a difference.
Here's a few more pictures I took for comparison:
Regular smoke shield:
Tint of Photochromatic shield:
Not sure I understand what you mean that you "couldn't pull them up". Do you mean you can't lift the shield on the helmet so you're not looking through it? That's NOT a good thing! They should have a little tab so you can just lift up on it and flip it up when you need to. If you can't flip the shield up, you need to get a different helmet/shield.
I misunderstood your post...
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