Keeping the Glare Off

GlareStomper 322 on a GPSWe receive a lot of questions about glare especially on GPS units and tablets.  For GPS units, glare can be a real problem when used on the car windshield or motorcycle.  While we aren’t aware of any GPS units that use an anti glare surface, we wonder why they don’t.  For some reason it seems like the glare on TomTom GPS units are the worst.  At least, that’s what our readers tell us.  Garmin also has a similar issue but not as bad as TomTom.  We get a lot of inquiries from iPad users.  That glossy touchscreen doesn’t help at all when using your tablet at the beach.

There has been a lot more progress at preventing glare on GPS units versus tablets.  A good entrepreneur should invent something for tablets.  They would clean up.  The problem, as you will see, is that a good glare shield needs to extend far out enough to block the sun.  When using a tablet, that often equates to building a tunnel between the tablet and your head.  Like the Amazon Kindle, you would think Apple and Samsung might borrow the anti-glare technology.  But sadly, to date, they have not.

So we’ll talk about preventing glare on a GPS.  There are two different types of GPS anti glare shields.  One clips on the unit.  It surrounds the display (not the entire GPS, just the display).  The second uses hook and loop fastening tape to attach to your GPS and a fabric hood surrounds the entire GPS.

You can find plenty of the plastic shields online for a cheap price.  We aren’t fans.  The glare shields, while lower priced, do not hold up well.  Do not even try to use them on a motorcycle.  They will blow away the first time you hit the highway.  If you absolutely want these, we recommend the glare shield that looks like a clipboard.  These seems to attach more securely than the ones with the plastic clips.

The fabric glare shields are better made and adhere using hook and loop fastening tape strips that tape to the top of your GPS.  Very motorcycle friendly and competitively priced.  Sounds like a lot, but they work tremendously.  These are made by a company called GlareStomper in California.  We wrote a detailed review of these which you can read here.  They are available for all size GPS.  The Glarestomper 322 will fit GPS sizes up to a 5 inch diagonal screen.  The largest model will fit marine electronics which is the GlareStomper 324.  We also know of customers that have used the GlareStompers for factory installed GPS systems.  Just adhere it to the dashboard just above the GPS.  When it comes time to sell the car, you can always remove the hook and loop fastening tape and get rid of the remaining glue with some Goo Gone which you purchase in any hardware store for a few dollars.  For some reason, these are popular with Prius users as the glare on the dash must be pretty horrific.

Another nice part about the fabric variety is they are pliable meaning if you are using a custom cradle for your GPS, these can either attach to the top of the cradle, or in some cases, adhere to the GPS and lock into the custom cradle.