If your visor mists up the moment you stop at lights, an anti-fog insert is the fix that actually works. It is a second lens that sits inside your visor and creates a sealed air gap — the same principle as double glazing. Warm, damp air from your breath hits the inner lens, but that lens stays close to your face temperature, so there is nothing cold for condensation to form on.
What we sell: aftermarket anti-fog inserts that fit Pinlock-ready visors — visors with the two adjustable pins. They are ClearLine products, not Pinlock-brand lenses. If you want a lens made by Pinlock themselves, buy it from Pinlock or an authorised dealer. What we offer is a compatible alternative that fits the same pin system.
Is my visor Pinlock-ready?
Look at the inside face of your visor, near the left and right edges at roughly eye level. If you can see two small pins — usually black, sometimes with a slotted head you can turn — your visor is designed to take an insert. Most mid-range and premium helmets made in the last decade have them.
If there are no pins, an insert cannot be fitted. Your options are a visor that has them, or an anti-fog coating, which is less effective but better than nothing.
Not sure what your helmet takes? Our visor finder matches by brand and model.
What the numbers mean
You will see “70”, “120” and sometimes “30” attached to Pinlock’s own product range. Those are the manufacturer’s grades, and it is worth understanding them even if you buy a compatible insert, because they describe how the lens behaves rather than how it fits:
- 30 — the original specification. Effective, but the least resistant to scratching and the shortest-lived of the three.
- 70 — the mainstream grade. Better anti-fog performance and better durability. This is what most riders end up with.
- 120 — the highest anti-fog rating, aimed at cold, wet, high-humidity riding. If you commute year-round in northern Europe, this is the category to look at.
Fit is determined by your visor model, not by the grade. A lens made for one visor will not fit another just because the numbers match. Always match by helmet and visor model first.
How an insert actually works
Two parts do the work. The lens itself is made from a moisture-absorbing material that draws in condensation before it can form droplets. Around its edge runs a silicone bead that seals against the visor, trapping a thin layer of still air between the two surfaces.
That trapped air is the important bit. It insulates the inner lens from the cold outer visor, so the inner surface never drops below the dew point of your breath. Break the seal — by fitting it loosely, or by damaging the bead — and the effect largely disappears.
Fitting one properly
- Take the visor off the helmet. You need to flex it, and you cannot do that safely while it is mounted.
- Clean the inside. Any dust trapped under the seal becomes a permanent smudge in your eyeline. Warm water and a microfibre cloth only.
- Check the pin rotation. The pins are eccentric — turning them moves them slightly in or out, which is how you set the tension.
- Seat one side, then flex. Locate the insert on one pin, then bow the visor gently outward and drop the other side onto its pin. The visor flexes; the insert does not.
- Check the seal. Released, the visor should hold the insert under light tension with the silicone bead in contact all the way round. If you can see a gap, adjust the pins.
- Peel the film. Most inserts ship with a protective film on one or both faces. Riders forget this and conclude the insert is faulty.
Tension is the thing people get wrong. Too loose and it fogs anyway. Too tight and the insert distorts, which shows up as a faint ripple in your vision at night.
Looking after it
The anti-fog side is a coating, and coatings are fragile. Water and a light touch only — no solvents, no glass cleaner, no dry wiping. Household glass cleaners contain ammonia or alcohol, which strips the coating and hazes polycarbonate at the same time.
If it gets dirty, take it out and rinse it. Let it air-dry rather than polishing it. Our guide to clear visors covers cleaning technique in more detail, and the same rules apply here.
Expect to replace an insert periodically. The absorbent layer has a finite capacity and its performance tails off over a couple of seasons of regular wet-weather use. That is normal wear, not a defect.
Insert or photochromic?
These solve different problems and are often confused. An anti-fog insert deals with condensation. A photochromic visor deals with changing light levels, darkening in sunlight and clearing indoors or at night.
They are not alternatives. Plenty of riders run a photochromic visor with an insert fitted inside it — that combination handles both problems at once, provided the photochromic visor has the pins.
Fitment by helmet brand
We stock inserts across the major brands — AGV, Shoei, Arai, HJC, LS2, Shark, Scorpion, KYT, MT, Nolan and others. Fitment is by specific visor model, because a single brand often uses several different visor systems across its range.
- AGV visors and inserts
- Arai visors and inserts
- HJC visors and inserts
- KYT visors and inserts
- Browse everything
If your model is not listed, use the finder — it covers considerably more than the brand pages above.
Common questions
Will an insert fit any visor?
No. It needs the two pins. A visor without them cannot take one.
Does an insert affect how legal my visor is?
The insert is clear and does not change the tint of the visor it sits inside. In the UK the legal test is the marking on the visor itself, not its colour or what is fitted behind it. Dark smoke, mirrored and iridium finishes transmit too little light to be legal for road use whatever is fitted inside them. This is general guidance, not legal advice.
Can I fit one to a tinted visor?
Yes, provided the tinted visor has the pins. The insert does not change what that visor is approved for.
Why is mine still fogging?
Almost always the seal. Check the bead is in contact all the way round and adjust the pin tension. After that, check you removed the protective film, and that the insert is the right way round — the anti-fog face goes towards you.
How long do they last?
A season or two of regular use in wet weather. Light summer use, considerably longer.
Delivery
Shipping is free to the UK, the United States and the EU, with no charge added at checkout. Delivery takes 7–12 days and the estimate for your address is shown at checkout before you pay. We do not offer a next-day or express service.