If you have started shopping for an anti-fog insert, you have probably run into a number you were not expecting. Pinlock 70 vs 120 is the comparison most riders end up making, usually because one lens costs more than the other and nothing on the packet explains why. The numbers are not sizes, they are not thicknesses, and they are not minutes of protection.
The short answer: the number is a fog-resistance rating on Pinlock’s own scale, and 120 sits above 70 on it. Pinlock lists four levels — 30, 70, 120 and 200 — and states plainly that “the number symbolizes the fog resistance level of the lens”. A higher level means more moisture-absorbing capacity, not a different fitting system. In practice the choice is often made for you, because only certain lenses are produced for any given visor.
What the numbers on a Pinlock lens actually mean
Pinlock’s own product documentation is unusually direct about this. It describes the range as four different anti-fog performance levels — 30, 70, 120 and 200 — running from the weekend rider to the racing professional, and says the number symbolises the fog resistance level of the lens.
The clue to what separates them is in how Pinlock describes its entry-level lens. The 30 is presented as the same core technology, “only smaller in size and moisture absorbing capacity”, aimed at city riding. So the levels are a ladder of absorption capacity rather than four different products.
Worth noting: the maker’s current catalogue lists the 120 under the name 120XLT, so a listing that says 120 and a listing that says 120XLT are describing the same rung of that ladder. Our own range of Pinlock-compatible anti-fog inserts uses the same pin-and-bead principle without being a Pinlock-brand product.
Pinlock 70 vs 120 compared side by side
Here is what can honestly be put in a table, and what cannot. Nobody publishes a fog-free duration in minutes for either lens, so any article that gives you one has made it up.
| Pinlock 70 | Pinlock 120 (120XLT) | |
|---|---|---|
| Position on the maker’s scale | Third of four levels | Second of four levels, above the 70 |
| What the number describes | Fog resistance rating | Fog resistance rating, higher |
| Mechanism | Moisture-absorbing inner lens sealed to the visor by a silicone bead | Identical mechanism, greater absorbing capacity |
| Fitting system | Pins in the visor, no adhesive | Pins in the visor, no adhesive |
| Typical framing by the maker | Everyday and touring use | Harder, colder, wetter conditions |
| Published fog-free time | None published | None published |
| Availability for your visor | Depends entirely on the visor model | Depends entirely on the visor model |
Read that last row twice. It is the one that decides most purchases, and it is the row every other comparison leaves out.
Why a visor fogs, and what an insert does about it
Fog is condensation. Warm, humid air from your breath meets the cold inner face of the visor, and water leaves the air as thousands of tiny droplets that scatter light in every direction. The visor is still transparent; the droplet layer on it is not.
An anti-fog insert attacks the problem twice. The silicone bead around its edge traps a thin sealed pocket of air between insert and visor, so the inner surface you breathe against never gets as cold as the outer one. The insert material itself then absorbs the moisture that does condense.
That second job is the one the rating describes. More absorbing capacity means the lens takes longer to saturate in conditions that keep loading it with moisture — stop-start traffic in the rain, or a cold morning with your chin curtain in.
Which level suits the riding you actually do
Pinlock frames the range as running from the weekend rider up to the racing professional, and that framing is a reasonable guide. Short dry commutes ask very little of an insert. A long wet ride in low temperatures asks a great deal, continuously.
If most of your riding is town work in mild weather, the 70 is unlikely to be the weak link in your setup. If you ride through winter, tour in the rain, or spend long stretches at low speed where airflow through the visor is poor, the extra capacity of the 120 is doing something real.
What the higher level does not do is change the fitting system, the optical clarity, or your legal position. It is the same technology with more of one property.
The catch: your visor decides before you do
Pinlock lenses are not universal. Each one is cut for a specific visor shape and relies on two pins set at a specific spacing in that visor. A lens made for one helmet will not seal correctly on another even when it looks close.
This means the honest answer to “70 or 120” is frequently “whichever one is made for your visor”. For a great many visor models only one level is produced. Working out what fits comes before choosing a rating, which is what our visor finder for your helmet model exists to do.
It also means a listing that promises any level for any helmet is worth treating with suspicion. Pin spacing is a physical constraint, not a marketing choice.
How to check whether your visor can take an insert
Take the visor off the helmet and look at its inner face. You are checking three things, in this order:
- Pins. Two small posts, one near each side of the aperture, usually adjustable by a quarter turn. No pins means no insert, unless the visor has moulded recesses that accept a pin kit.
- Model marking. Most visors carry a moulded code on an edge or tab. That code, not the helmet name on the outside, is what an insert is matched to.
- Condition of the sealing face. The silicone bead needs a smooth, unscratched surface to seal against. Deep scratches in the seal path will let air and moisture in whatever level you buy.
Rule 83 of the Highway Code puts it in the simplest terms: before each journey check that your helmet visor is clean and in good condition. Rule 84 adds that scratched or poorly fitting eye protectors can limit your view, particularly in bright sunshine and in the hours of darkness. If the visor is past that point, a new insert is treating the wrong problem — and our guide to cleaning a visor without scratching it covers keeping the next one serviceable.
Two mistakes that make a good insert fog anyway
The first is under-tensioning. The pins are adjustable so the bead can be pressed firmly against the visor, and a lens that is merely resting on the surface will let humid air into the gap. Fitted correctly, the insert flexes slightly and the bead compresses all the way round.
The second is cleaning the wrong side with the wrong thing. The inner face of an insert is an absorbing layer, not a hard coating, and solvents or abrasive cloths ruin it quickly. Water and a soft cloth, then air dry.
Both mistakes look identical from the saddle: a lens that fogs when it should not. Neither is fixed by moving up a rating.
Tinted and smoked inserts: the UK legal position
Smoked versions of these inserts exist, so it is worth being precise about the law. In Great Britain the test is the marking on the individual eye protector, not its colour and not the name of its tint.
The Motor Cycles (Eye Protectors) Regulations 1999 prescribe eye protectors conforming to Grade X, XA, YA or ZA in British Standard BS 4110:1979, marked with that grade and standard number, and in each case marked with an approved certification mark of an approved body. BS 4110 is the visor standard. BS 6658 is a helmet standard and tells you nothing about a visor, so a listing that cites it for an insert or a visor is citing the wrong document.
Selling an eye protector as authorised for use when it is not a prescribed type is an offence by the seller under section 18 of the Road Traffic Act 1988, carrying a level 3 fine of up to £1,000. The offence is non-endorsable, so claims about points on a licence for a tinted visor are simply wrong. For the detail, see our guide on whether tinted motorcycle visors are legal in the UK.
Mirrored and iridium finishes are a separate matter again: they transmit too little light to be legal for road use in the UK, day or night, which our guide to iridium and mirrored visors and road use sets out. Because we do not inspect the markings on individual items, we make no road-legal claim about anything we sell — that is a statement about our process, not a hint.
If no insert is made for your visor
Plenty of visors, particularly on older or less common helmets, never had a lens produced for them. That is where a Pinlock-compatible aftermarket insert matched to the visor’s own pin spacing is the practical route, and it is most of what we stock.
The other route is to change the visor rather than add to it. A photochromic visor that darkens in sunlight removes the swap-over problem entirely, and a fresh clear replacement visor often solves more than an insert bolted to a scratched one. Shipping is free on every order.
Frequently asked questions
Is Pinlock 120 always better than Pinlock 70?
It carries a higher fog-resistance rating on Pinlock’s four-level scale, so in demanding conditions it has more capacity to work with. In mild, short, dry riding you are unlikely to reach the limit of a 70 in the first place. The better lens is the one made for your visor.
Can I fit a Pinlock 120 to a visor that came with a 70?
Only if a 120 is actually produced for that visor model. The lens has to match the visor’s shape and pin spacing, so an upgrade in level is possible only where the maker has cut that level for your visor.
What does the number on a Pinlock lens measure?
Fog resistance, expressed as a level rather than a unit. Pinlock states that the number symbolises the fog resistance level of the lens, and describes the difference between levels in terms of moisture-absorbing capacity. No fog-free duration is published for any level.
Do anti-fog inserts affect whether a visor is road legal?
Legality turns on the marking carried by the eye protector, under the Motor Cycles (Eye Protectors) Regulations 1999 and section 18 of the Road Traffic Act 1988. A clear insert does not change a visor’s marking. A smoked insert changes how much light reaches your eyes, which is exactly why the marking, and not the appearance, is what the law looks at.
How long does an anti-fog insert last?
There is no published lifespan, because it depends on how much moisture the lens has absorbed and how well its absorbing face has been looked after. The practical signal is a lens that begins to fog in conditions it used to handle, or a bead that no longer seals cleanly all the way round.
Not sure which level is even available for your helmet? Start with the visor finder and work from your visor model outwards.