Cleaning cloths might seem like an odd thing to be obsessive about, but the Optician team’s travels around the world mean that we acquire many different types and you quickly learn to recognise the best cloths. Very few stand the test of time.
When the Peeps gadget landed on our desks we were a little sceptical. Could it compare with our favourite A4-sized cloths? Doubts began to ease when we noticed that was made by Lenspen, which has been producing high quality DSLR and screen cleaning products for over 20 years.
Peeps, which is roughly the size of a lipstick, has two main cleaning features — a slide out brush and a pair of tongs with cleaning pads. The soft-bristled brush is used for removing any debris from the lens, but we found it more useful for keeping on top of build of debris around the nose pads.
The cleaning pads are Peeps’ party piece. Sliding the cover offer reveals two prongs with triangular-shaped pads at each end. The pads contain a white carbon compound which the maker said removed oils and fingerprints thanks to its absorption properties. According to Lenspen, the use of carbon can be traced back many years, to when people used newspapers to clean windows because of the carbon in the ink. The pads were also claimed to reduce the electrostatic charge on the lens surface, reducing the chances of dust adhering to the lens. They are compatible with all types of spectacle lens.
The role of any cleaning product is simple, but the Peeps works with aplomb. Unlike many cleaning cloths, the pads don’t simply move oils and fingerprints around the lens, they absorb them and lift them off with minimal streaking. We did notice a few more streaks on lenses with cheaper and less advanced AR coatings, but on branded lenses with blue light filtering AR treatments the results were very good.
Optician was impressed with the claimed longevity of 500 uses. We have been using the Peeps for two months now and have not noticed any deterioration in performance. When the cover is put back, the pads are held together allowing the carbon elements in the pads to recharge. According to Lenspen, this extends product life expectancy.