Snorkel Goggle Anti-Fogging Plant

If you're an avid snorkeler like my wife and I, we all know that the snorkeling experience can differ vastly by how well you can keep your snorkel goggles defogged.  Basically, your enjoyable snorkeling time will end when your goggle fog up.  

So, beware when you buy a snorkel goggle defogger because not all anti-fogs are created equal.  The best store bought anti-fog I have come across is Spit.  

Just spray this on your goggles, rub them in to the lens with your fingers, then rinse with ocean water.  Be careful not to rub the lens after you rinse, as this will decrease the anti-fog ability.  Do not get the Neptune brand anti-fog spray.  Although it's cheap, it works for a couple of minutes, and then your goggles fog up, and your snorkeling experience is ruined after that.  See, I thought I was being smart possessing this anti-fogging knowledge and all.  Wrong!

After going through obtaining knowledge of all of that, I learned that you don't need all of this stuff to anti-fog your goggles.  This picture below is of the naupaka plant.  These plants are usually plentiful on Hawaiian beaches.  

Notice the oval shaped leaves, and more importantly, the uniqueness of the flowers.  The most unique feature about this plant is that the flowers look like they have been cut in half.  

To anti-fog your goggles, you can take a couple of the leaves of the naupaka plant, crush them with your hands, and then rub the leaf juice into your goggles.  This works wonders to keep your goggles defogged.  My friend Tim taught me about this and I was dumb founded because all this time, I was paying like $15 for a tiny bottle of Spit.  Looking back, I'm thinking that all of the locals were probably thinking "Dumb tourists!" when I was spraying my goggles with expensive Spit, while I was thinking "I'm such an experienced snorkeler!"  Lesson learned.  Seriously though, the locals are all very friendly, and they were probably too polite to tell me that I was being an idiot and wasting my money.  

Having said that, it's always good to keep a bottle of Spit around because you will occasionally come across a beach park without the naupaka plant growing on the side.

Happy snorkeling!