CrystalXtreme Windscreen & Visor Protection Review

What We Say

What is it:

Taken from the Crystal Xtreme website; CrystalXtreme® Windscreen & Visor Protection System is a nano-coating designed to protect your windscreens and visors to make them easy to clean and enhance visibility. The superphobic CrystalXtreme® layer makes the surface extremely slippery and water just shoots off when driving at higher speeds. It is especially great for people who spend a lot of time on the road driving or riding.

How we tested it:

To observe the glass coating in a range of environments and circumstances, we applied Crystal Xtreme to our work vehicle front windscreen. We looked at the kit as whole and its ease of use, the effectiveness of the sealant and how this was effected by speed and heaviness of rain.

We Liked:

• Easy to apply kit using several stages of wipes to prepare and coat the glass surface with.
• At high speeds, the rain repellency is good and very much aids visibility and safety while driving.

We Didn't Like:

• We only had enough to coat the windscreen and no other glass. Whilst the product is aimed this way, there are far greater value alternatives that will coat the whole of the car.
• Frustrating that you cannot fully buff off the coating for 12 hours.
• Caused wipers to judder over the surface.
• Not as effective at low speed. Only really comes into its own at higher speeds and with heavier rain.

Overall:

As experienced applicators of long term vehicle coatings, we have used a wide range of glass sealants from off the shelf quick applications through to ceramic coatings for glass. As such the idea of a simple wipe on kit appealed greatly for convenience and ease of application. Unfortunately for us, it wasn't quite as we hoped. At £25 for a product that only contains enough to do the windscreen, it comes in as one of the most expensive on the market. Rival glass ceramic coats which offer similar or greater durability can offer enough to do several vehicles entire glass for the same price or less. At the price point it also becomes difficult to justify against cheaper rain repellents such as H2Go and Rain X, especially when some offer effective repellency at lower speeds even if not the durability. As a rain repellent, it is effective at speeds about 40mph and claimed durability is strong. We just can't look past that price tag and overall value offered.