Heated windscreen and night vision

After some advice from the LZ members please.

I've been on the fence for some time trying to decide whether to take the plunge on a heated windscreen for my defender.

My concern is, my vision is impaired especially in darkness due to an eye condition. I suffer badly from glare from lights, and with a slightly scratched windscreen is very difficult. Same goes for dirty windows too.

So, those of you who have one. How do you find it driving at night in the dark, oncoming traffic and poor land rover lights etc?

And finally, has it been a worthwhile modification to your vehicle and worth the effort and expense?

Cheers guys

Once you've used a HFS for 5 minutes, you don't see the zig zag stripes. I only buy a car that has a HFS, so don't notice them, even going between vehicles with and without.
A dirty or scratched screen is more distracting IMO.

I think it depends on you.
Sometimes i notice it, sometimes i don't. I do notice it when it's on though, i don't know about anyone else?

Does it solve a problem you have or is it a "nice to have"? Heated screens are great in arctic conditions but in the UK starting the engine a minuite early works OK. Flushng the heater and getting that to work as it should helped. If you get glare then there is no substitute for a new screen. I got a smashed screen and was cursing it until I drove with the replacement, it was like having new glasses, I'd no idea the old one was so bad.

My eyesight has gotten worse over the years, and I dont notice the HFS elements at all, even at night, I do quite a bit of late evening/night driving.
HFS is one of the best mods/fitments on any car

I have no experience with Land Rover heated screens, but I have found the ones fitted to Fords irritating in the dark, I definitely noticed them.

Hire a car with one fitted for a couple of days & see how you get on.

Rougharse Racing said:

I have no experience with Land Rover heated screens, but I have found the ones fitted to Fords irritating in the dark, I definitely noticed them.

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yeah me to, although they were handy at demisting etc. I definitely found them distracting, I wear glasses and I hate driving at night due to the dazzle and glare.

particularly from led and HID type lights tbh

flat said:

yeah me to, although they were handy at demisting etc. I definitely found them distracting, I wear glasses and I hate driving at night due to the dazzle and glare.

particularly from led and HID type lights tbh

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Not forgetting the idiots on bicycles with mega bright torches aimed right into oncoming drivers faces!

Possibly the best purchase I ever made. You don't even see them.

flat said:

I hate driving at night due to the dazzle and glare.

particularly from led and HID type lights tbh

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That's bugger all to do with glasses or age, most modern headlights are rubbish

kermit_rr said:

That's bugger all to do with glasses or age, most modern headlights are rubbish

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agreed. I find it ‘easier’ driving at night with the Land Rover filament bulbs because the light fall off at the edges of the beam spread is ‘softer’ and more graduated.

My Toyota with led headlights the light fall off is very sudden and far less graduated at the edges. This makes the difference between bright and dark areas very noticeable, where as the landrover it’s less ‘harsh’

does that make sense?

flat said:

agreed. I find it ‘easier’ driving at night with the Land Rover filament bulbs because the light fall off at the edges of the beam spread is ‘softer’ and more graduated.

may Toyota with led headlights the light fall off is very sudden and far less graduated at the edges. This makes the difference between bright and dark areas very noticeable, where as the landrover it’s less ‘harsh’

does that make sense?

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Makes perfect sense, but also for oncoming traffic too, filaments are shielded so you don't look directly at it, LEDs are not. HID and LED emit a lot of blue light which affects how your eyes focus which gives you eye strain. I don't know if they still do it on new cars, but certainly older HID setups used a single light source with a shutter that came down to 'dip' the light, that's why when a car goes over a bump etc they appear to flash you, it also means you're looking directly at the arc, which dazzles you

Rant over

I think there are 2 problems (or 3 if you count getting older...) - the regs for headlights go back years and are in watts which makes no sense with LEDs and HIDS and there are loads of aftermarket LED kits that are not only not approved or safe, worse, most are for LHD but still sold for UK use.

Thanks guys. Seems like its a split again really and only I can decide by driving one. Even more awkward because I bet different makes differ in quality.

Thanks again

ONE LIFE LIVE IT. D90 said:

Thanks guys. Seems like its a split again really and only I can decide by driving one. Even more awkward because I bet different makes differ in quality.

Thanks again

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There are several variables here. The angle of the screen being one. The shallower the rake, the more visible the elements are. The more vertical the screen, the less visible the elements should be.
The speciation of the heated screen being another variable. The newer design of heating elements are harder to see. The elements in my FL2 screen aren't really visible to me, although I've been driving with these heated screens for over a decade.
Another variable is the driver's eyesight, and how good it is at blocking out near field distractions. From my own experience, I find a scratched or dirty windscreen far more distracting than the heated elements.

Please describe your eye condition in detail, you may have something others have.

To some mine is impared, to others, I have super vision.*

* I can't switch instantly between day and night vision. No lights around I could drive safely with no lights on a full moon. But I suffer badly with dazzle, so find it difficulty to get NV while night driving.

I go to loo, no lights, no problem. Rest of family put lights on, they would blind me.

If you have similar, scratches are the enemy, window elements are only noticable in fog.