Ever suffered from a misted-up visor? Of course, we all have in colder weather, though mitigated by the growing use of visor inserts such as the Pinlock. Now a British firm has gone one step further with a heated insert powered by an external rechargeable battery pack.

There’s nothing new about heated visors, which up until now have used fine elements to provide the heat. The ‘VISIN’ has been designed by West Midlands-based Diamond Coatings, which supplies aerospace, medical, military and automotive sectors with specialist coating technology.

In this case, the transparent insert coating can conduct electricity and thus heating across the entire area, working down to -20 degrees C, according to the manufacturer. It was developed by Jason Elite of Diamond Coatings and is now on sale at £179.95. The BMF is hoping to test the VISIN in Motorcycle Rider magazine soon – at first glance, the drawback seems to be that the insert cannot be reused on a different visor.

Jim Freeman, Chair of the BMF, liked the look of the VISIN: “As someone who’s always had to wear specs while riding, I’m interested in anything that helps with fogging up. This sounds intriguing, particularly if it its durable. Inserts are great, but be careful of scratching, modern visors are incredibly scratch resistant, which leads to bad habits, like stuffing gloves into helmets, when off the bike. The price sounds off-putting, but if it works as advertised, I’d certainly consider buying, especially for winter riding.”

Written by Peter Henshaw

All images courtesy of Diamond Coatings