Advice on goggles with built-in fan or fan kit

[Jedi_Master]

Being short-sighted I wear prescription glasses under my Bolle X1000 goggles and have corrective lens fitted in my ESS V12 goggles. However, I tend to fog up badly and having two surfaces find it difficult to keep my vision clear. So I am now looking at either getting another pair of goggles with a built-in fan or attaching a fan kit to my existing Bolle goggles. I do not want to buy poor quality cheap Chinese crap but need something that is reliable and will work.

 

I prefer goggles due to playing CQB, and though ballistic glasses may fog less I want to have protection from any angle of shot.

 

I would like some advice from those of you who already have goggles with fans or have attached a fan kit to their goggles. And any recommendations of brands and/or shops.

[BrightCandle]

Revision locusts with a turbofan, then import their thermal lens as well. It is much better than the ess solution because it doesn't block the vertical vision so you can look down at your gear. Best turbofan solution I know of. But keep in mind I could not get glasses to work, I glazed the insert with polycarbonate with anti fog coating and I still had problems with the inner glass fogging with the fan going on max. So while I rated the locusts very highly I have personally gone for contacts as the glasses insert has not worked for me at all.

[Dannn]

Have you tried Bob Heath anti fog before spending fortunes on fans etc? Most motorbike shops sell it at about £4, I've used it for years and it's fantabulous

[Jedi_Master]

Saw the reference to Bob Heath on another thread but have not yet looked for any to try. Yes, it would be a much cheaper method that I should give a go but I also want to scope out all the options.

[jcheeseright]

ESS turbofans with lens inserts and fogtech DX wipes. Works for me.

[jcheeseright]

Should clarify that with 'works for me in 50C heat while I'm sweating like a blind lesbian in a fish shop'

[MrPondlife]

I've got a full face mask with fans and lights I'm going to be selling after the weekend (only been used once).

 

Its Green/olive and branded as 'Pro goggle'. Happy to send you a picture if you're interested?

 

Worked a treat for me when I used it, instant 'demisting' once I put the fans on. Didn't need them on all the time either.

 

Let me know if you're interested

[BrightCandle]

I have bought some of this magic Bob heath anti fog so I will test it within my revision locusts like I have all the others I reviewed. I suspect it'll probably come somewhere in the middle, I am not expecting miracles but for £8 I'll try almost anything as the revision anti fog wipes get expensive rapidly (as do the fogtech ones) and I would very much like a cheaper and comparable solution.

[Jedi_Master]

Are safety glasses, i.e. Bolle, that conform to EN166F safe to use? EN166 is rated as Mechanical risk - Low energy impact - F, 6mm ball of 0.86g at 45m/s (150 fps).

[Lozart]

Are safety glasses, i.e. Bolle, that conform to EN166F safe to use? EN166 is rated as Mechanical risk - Low energy impact - F, 6mm ball of 0.86g at 45m/s (150 fps).

 

No.

 

Or to be more helpful - no you want EN166B medium impact. Which only really applies to goggles unless you get ballistic glasses which are rated to higher impacts.

[Jedi_Master]

No.

 

Or to be more helpful - no you want EN166B medium impact. Which only really applies to goggles unless you get ballistic glasses which are rated to higher impacts.

Cheers. Was not sure of the mathmatical conversion, if a 0.86g at 150fps would mean a 0.20g bb would be 350fps. I shall look at the more expensive glasses then, pity as EN166F are sold for under £10 and replaceable (unlike my eyes).

[Lozart]

Cheers. Was not sure of the mathmatical conversion, if a 0.86g at 150fps would mean a 0.20g bb would be 350fps. I shall look at the more expensive glasses then, pity as EN166F are sold for under £10 and replaceable (unlike my eyes).

 

Actually - sorry. The FPS is irrelevant it's the Joules (energy) you need to worry about.

0.86g @ 150FPS = 0.89 Joules

0.2g @ 320FPS = 1 Joule

 

Then you get shot in the face by a bolt action sniper running at 450FPS which would give you 1.87 Joules and no eyes.

[Jedi_Master]

So scoping another idea. How good are paintball full face masks for not fogging? Although costing around £100 the Dye i4 pro paintball looks promising. As well as having ventilation, do they offer good airsoft face protection?

[Colonel Kurtz]

Might as well buy a Tokyo Marui fan mask if you're willing to spent close to 3 figures. I've got one the fans clear the fog well, and aren't too noisy.

[Jedi_Master]

Aesthetically the TM face masks look ugly compared to the Dye i4, even if the TM are half the price on eBay (or just £25 for a nasty Chinese copy). The advantage of full face mask (non respirator type) is the added protection and in the case of Dye i4 no batteries required but not sure how good non fan masks are for anti-fogging. I like the idea of the Fanz twin fan setup for added air flow and increased power, just not sure if they will fit or work well with my existing Bolle goggles. Would rather pay more for the right set-up once than keep spending lesser amounts which are not ideal and over time cost more. Decisions, decisions.

[Jedi_Master]

Still was not sure what was best so I ordered a Dye Precision I4 thermal paintball goggles from Amazon. £75, free P&P, and arrived the next day.

 

Used the mask today at The Mall and had no problems with the lens fogging up, clear vision all day. Good field of view. It did get damp inside the mask with sweat but no condensation or mist on the lens. Although I could wear my glasses under the mask, they fogged up immediately so I took them off again.

[Jedi_Master]

To update on fitting fans to the Dye i4 mask to solve fogging indoors when wearing a Fast helmet.

I installed my FANZ quick disconnect kit, which was not too difficult. I went for the simpler top mounting on the fans and lead using the supplied clips and cable ties (as opposed to fitting them inside the mask). The 9 volt battery box is velcroed onto the side of the fast helmet and power lead connected to the fan lead from the mask. Simple on / off swith on battery box. The 9v fans push the air around inside the mask and kept it clear all day at The Mall on Sunday, so a sucessful result. The fan whine was audible when stealthfully moving around the basement and waiting motionless in the shadows but was not too loud or annoying, and I did not really notice the noise.

[simonh]

I know it has been a while but how are you getting on with the Dye I4? seems to be around £100 everywhere I look now.

[Jedi_Master]

They are very good and worth the cost. The full face protection suits me for playing CQB.

Quick look on Amazon and the version I purchased are now about £95 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dye-Precision-Thermal-Paintball-Goggle/dp/B00FY5NB0C/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1454513587&sr=8-16&keywords=Dye+i4.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dye-Paintball-Goggles/dp/B019XPFMC8/ref=pd_sim_sbs_200_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=51%2BBe-lkkOL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=070KMQSZ60W34PWJG8PF

 

Edit: I do get some moisture inside the mask from sweating, so some droplets/beads of water (not fogging) appear on the thermal lens which I shake out and dry between games.

[simonh]

Thanks for the feedback, I might pick up a set the fogging I am getting in ballistic glasses drives me nuts.

[Jedi_Master]

Thanks for the feedback, I might pick up a set the fogging I am getting in ballistic glasses drives me nuts.

 

Yes, the fogging I had with goggles just ruined the day, at times could hardly see anything and it made playing very difficult without return trips to the safe zone to clear them. Paying £100 for a better game experience is worth it, and the protection is good.

[simonh]

What I find odd is that the first time I used the goggles - in the middle of summer - they were brilliant all day. No fogging, no issues at all. The next time I played it was cooler and eventually just reverted back to mesh which in CQB isn't great.

[Jedi_Master]

What I find odd is that the first time I used the goggles - in the middle of summer - they were brilliant all day. No fogging, no issues at all. The next time I played it was cooler and eventually just reverted back to mesh which in CQB isn't great.

 

Cannot remember the science but I think fogging is caused due to a temperature difference between the inside of the goggles and outside and the lens. Getting hot and sweating heats up the inside of goggles / mask causing condendsation due to lower lens and outside temperature. I know I get worse fogging when the ambient temperature is cooler, i.e. playing CQB in The Bunker at 10 degrees. A hotter day could also help with evaperation of sweat and moisture. Not sure how much humidity plays its part.

 

[someone from the forum should be able to clarify the causes, I have not searched other threads]

[Sacarathe]

Like in cars. It has been my experience that my goggles are obscured worse the higher the ambient temp is. But i am not distinguishing between fog and rain out. I certainly prefer the latter though as it can be remedied through air flow by the vents on my goggles.

[jcheeseright]

Fog is caused by moisture condensing on the lens, for this to happen the lens needs to be colder than the ambient temperature (which is not the OUTSIDE temperature, it's the temperature inside your goggles), which it pretty much always will be since your face heats the air up. Fan goggles work because they force the air inside the goggles to be constantly replaced with fresh cool/dry air which doubles up on the effect; less moisture in the goggles and the ambient temperature should be largely the same as the lenses.

The 100% fog proof solution would be a heated lens, even 1 degree would be enough to completely eliminate fog but it'd be power hungry and you'd have to deal with looking at filaments in the lens!