Good mask for running with glasses?

Does such a thing exist? I'm just using a surgical mask and it doesn't work well at all, I usually just hold it in my hand and put it on (and try to see through the fog) if anyone's around. 

in general, the convenience and efficacy of masks are inversely correlated...

It would help if you explained what your goal was-- to prevent transmission in case you are asymptomatically infected? To prevent infection? To comply with local law? To virtue signal? Etc... Depending on your goal you will get a different answer.

Edit-- downthread you say it is to " run mostly in a place (the Mohonk Preserve) where masks are required outside when 6' distance can't be maintained." Seems like mask use is not required, as it is pretty easy to maintain distance while running.  

best
matt

d1 distance runner here. The easiest solution will be to run somewhere where there aren't people. Short of fog-proofing your glasses, every type of mask for the most part just tries to redirect air into a gentle, contained cloud in all directions (especially up towards your eyes since the seal around your nose is terrible) rather than send it out in a powerful directed exhalation. Your glasses are always gonna get fogged. It is pretty easy to find places where there aren't people ever running, unless you live in some crazy populated area.

and I know this isn't the answer you're looking for- but me and my ~ 40 teammates have been running twice a day, outside in populated areas around lots of people, for the last few months and not a single one of us have tested positive for covid or had a positive antibody test (which our local hospitals have been providing periodically). Just something to think about. 

Whisk3rzz 1 wrote: d1 distance runner here. The easiest solution will be to run somewhere where there aren't people. Short of fog-proofing your glasses, every type of mask for the most part just tries to redirect air into a gentle, contained cloud in all directions (especially up towards your eyes since the seal around your nose is terrible) rather than send it out in a powerful directed exhalation. Your glasses are always gonna get fogged. It is pretty easy to find places where there aren't people ever running, unless you live in some crazy populated area.

and I know this isn't the answer you're looking for- but me and my ~ 40 teammates have been running twice a day, outside in populated areas around lots of people, for the last few months and not a single one of us have tested positive for covid or had a positive antibody test (which our local hospitals have been providing periodically). Just something to think about. 

That (the unicorn like nature of the no-fog mask) was pretty much what I figured but was just hopin'. Not at all concerned with contracting covid-19 outside, but I run mostly in a place (the Mohonk Preserve) where masks are required outside when 6' distance can't be maintained. And since I live fairly close to New York City, people are pretty sensitive to the mask issue so I don't want to stress them out (or be stressed out by them having a freak out on me for not wearing a mask). So I just put it on for the few seconds I'm near them and then off again. 

I wear a buff around my neck and if I must run or pass someone at close distance I just pull it up until I pass them.    Unless you are in a really crowded area masks really aren’t needed outside, it’s more just a common courtesy thing.

Wash your glasses with liquid or bar hand soap in warm water prior to your run, towel dry, for me this reduces the fogging quite a bit, and coupled with a focused directed exhalation straight out of my mouth takes care of about 99% of the fogging.When they do fog , they clear very quickly, seems to be the benefit of the soapy wash. I use a buff on the trails as it is easiest to pull up and push down

The only thing I've found to not fog up my glasses during exercise is a true respirator with a N95/P100 filter cartridge, but do you want to look like Bane during your runs?

Soap can help with antifog, but the majority of the problem comes from a poor fit around the nose. when the mask doesn't fit tight against your face, most of your breath escapes from the gap, directing it right across your lenses. (This is why a properly-fit N95 doesn't have nearly as much of a fog problem.)

I've heard that folding up some tissue and placing it under the mask in the nose area can help. This supposedly seals the gap and prevents or reduces fogging. (It also makes the mask more effective.)

What the hell is with the first response?

***LIKE-FLAG-119045040***"   What is this?

F Loyd wrote: What the hell is with the first response?

***LIKE-FLAG-119045040***"   What is this?

No idea. I don't even see SinRopa's comment.

Kevin Mokracek wrote: I wear a buff around my neck and if I must run or pass someone at close distance I just pull it up until I pass them.    Unless you are in a really crowded area masks really aren’t needed outside, it’s more just a common courtesy thing.

me as well.

I use a half-length buff (thin type).  I find if I tuck it under the nose piece of my glasses, they don't fog.  I think because the seal is good enough that the exhaust tends to go elsewhere.

ShuShu Y wrote: The only thing I've found to not fog up my glasses during exercise is a true respirator with a N95/P100 filter cartridge, but do you want to look like Bane during your runs?

I had to look up who Bane was. I definitely do not want to look like Bane during my runs or at any other time.

Andrew Krajnik wrote:
I've heard that folding up some tissue and placing it under the mask in the nose area can help. This supposedly seals the gap and prevents or reduces fogging. (It also makes the mask more effective.)

It doesn't help at all

Fail Falling wrote:

It doesn't help at all

Well, that's unfortunate... not sure what to say, then. I haven't had too many issues with my glasses fogging up, though I do my exercising at home, so no need for a mask. For normal outings (store, work, etc.), it hasn't really been a problem. (But I can usually get a pretty good fit between my mask and face.)

Optimistic wrote:

Not at all concerned with contracting covid-19 outside, but I run mostly in a place (the Mohonk Preserve) where masks are required outside when 6' distance can't be maintained. And since I live fairly close to New York City, people are pretty sensitive to the mask issue so I don't want to stress them out (or be stressed out by them having a freak out on me for not wearing a mask).

It's the same here in the Boulder area. After getting yelled at a couple of time for not wearing a mask while running, my solution is a home-made "fakemask" improvised from a highly porous, lightweight synthetic mesh fabric that I cut from an old running singlet. It's breathable enough to be usable even when running at a tempo pace. I also improvised a nose bridge using a plastic-covered wire tie from a coffee bag, which helps prevent breath from escaping up the sides of my nose. I doubt that the mask filters anything, so I only use it when I'm running outdoors and able to maintain a 6' distance.

Martin le Roux wrote:

It's the same here in the Boulder area. After getting yelled at a couple of time for not wearing a mask while running, my solution is a home-made "fakemask" improvised from a highly porous, lightweight synthetic mesh fabric that I cut from an old running singlet. It's breathable enough to be usable even when running at a tempo pace. I also improvised a nose bridge using a plastic-covered wire tie from a coffee bag, which helps prevent breath from escaping up the sides of my nose. I doubt that the mask filters anything, so I only use it when I'm running outdoors and able to maintain a 6' distance.

That's awesome.

":Make sure you have a facemask!"
"Yep, I have my fakemask"
"... um, I said 'facemask'"
"Yes, I heard you. I have my fakemask"
"Say it with me: facemask"
"Fakemask. I get it."
"No, your saying 'fakemask', and it's pronounced 'facemask'"
"I don't hear a difference. Anyway, gotta go!"

Get a medical "procedure mask." Those are the lightweight ones like a dentist would wear in normal times. Make sure to fit the top wire insert to your nose well. Let the bottom ride up on your chin enough that your exhalation goes that way and not UP. The desired effect is to prevent warm, moist air from hitting the inside of your glasses. Works for me 95% of the time on a bike. But we've got more moving air there. Seems like it'd help with running. 

I don’t run, unless I’m really scared or really mad, but I wear and have worn masks and respirators at work (often vigorous labor) for years. Respirators are best for not fogging, and disposable masks with a check valve vent work pretty well, but those will only protect you, not others, as your “exhaust” is unfiltered.

I have been using homemade (but not by me) cloth masks. I find that modifying them by removing whatever flimsy nose-wire is in there, and replacing it with a longer, stiffer, piece of tie wire (used for tying rebar) then carefully shaping it to my funny-shaped nose, eliminates the fogging problem. 

An N95 will seal on your nose and should not fog your glasses unless the seal is compromised. I wear them all day at work with safety glasses and have no fogging issues. 

Kevin Cottle wrote: An N95 will seal on your nose and should not fog your glasses unless the seal is compromised. I wear them all day at work with safety glasses and have no fogging issues. 

Agree and so do I, but based on my experiences sprinting up 4 flights of stairs at work in an N95, I would have a very hard time running in one.