Dye i4 Lenses

[sonofsammo]

Hi all, 
I've got a dye i4 Woody and for the first time the other day it fogged up - to the point I could see virtually nothing.
Until I got out of the arena, I was basically just using the force. thankfully endex wasn't too far away.
It got me thinking about a couple of things.
1) Should I get a fan kit and if so what - and what's easy to fit for someone that can break nearly anything?
2) The lens isn't great for CQB, as it's a little dark and yet not very good at cutting out the spot lights - it's like the worst of both worlds. Can anyone recommend a good i4 lens for dark CQB, crossed with spotlights?
TIA 

😄 

 

[Jedi_Master]

My Dye i4 clear lens has a small leak of seal in between the thermal barrier so will get fogged.  I swapped it out for my outdoor yellow tinted lens for the recent forum private game at The Mall.  It was fine indoors, cut down glare form florescent lights, and I could still see well enough in the corridors and basement (pretty much as is possible).  Still need to get a new clear lens but the yellow one works.

[Prisce]

Clear or yellow. I have the mirror finish one like you, it’s great in the heat of summer in a well lit place, but otherwise it’s shocking. Replacing it is easy. And they are fairly cheap from bzpaintball.

[Tommikka]

23 hours ago, sonofsammo said:

Hi all, 
I've got a dye i4 Woody and for the first time the other day it fogged up - to the point I could see virtually nothing.
Until I got out of the arena, I was basically just using the force. thankfully endex wasn't too far away.
It got me thinking about a couple of things.
1) Should I get a fan kit and if so what - and what's easy to fit for someone that can break nearly anything?
2) The lens isn't great for CQB, as it's a little dark and yet not very good at cutting out the spot lights - it's like the worst of both worlds. Can anyone recommend a good i4 lens for dark CQB, crossed with spotlights?
TIA 

😄 

 

Was it the weekend just gone in the wet weather?

 

I was photographing a tournament and the two problems I didn’t have were a fogged goggle lens, and camera lens.  I couldn’t see my focus points in the viewfinder all day

I mostly wear the VForce Grillz

i4s dont fit my head but I do have i3s

 

Sometimes the best of lenses will fog.

The best antifog is to never touch the lens with anything but a damp microfibre

 

Results with fans are variable

Air circulation is the key there, with a fan just assisting it. The i4s are a small goggle covering the head area and are well vented.  It does matter about how it matches your head shape and if the venting is kept clear (or sheltered from the rain particularly with goggles that don’t have a peak, I balanced a baseball cap forwards all this weekend so the rain didn’t pour in)

 

 

 

For lens types/colours clear is the best all rounder, but suffers in direct sunshine

Amber / yellow for giving some clairity

Mirrored and dark shades don’t do well inside and in the woods

(mirrored also scratches to he’ll for photographers)

[sonofsammo]

Just now, Tommikka said:

Was it the weekend just gone in the wet weather?

 

I was photographing a tournament and the two problems I didn’t have were a fogged goggle lens, and camera lens.  I couldn’t see my focus points in the viewfinder all day

I mostly wear the VForce Grillz

i4s dont fit my head but I do have i3s

 

Sometimes the best of lenses will fog.

The best antifog is to never touch the lens with anything but a damp microfibre

 

Results with fans are variable

Air circulation is the key there, with a fan just assisting it. The i4s are a small goggle covering the head area and are well vented.  It does matter about how it matches your head shape and if the venting is kept clear (or sheltered from the rain particularly with goggles that don’t have a peak, I balanced a baseball cap forwards all this weekend so the rain didn’t pour in)

 

 

 

For lens types/colours clear is the best all rounder, but suffers in direct sunshine

Amber / yellow for giving some clairity

Mirrored and dark shades don’t do well inside and in the woods

(mirrored also scratches to he’ll for photographers)

It was indoors in CQB.
I've since removed the lens and the internal pane seems a little warped.
I've ordered another mask ( I need a spare!) and a clear lens. Fingers crossed it's better.

[Tommikka]

1 minute ago, sonofsammo said:

It was indoors in CQB.
I've since removed the lens and the internal pane seems a little warped.
I've ordered another mask ( I need a spare!) and a clear lens. Fingers crossed it's better.

Clears the right choice

and the inner pane will be your culprit

[sonofsammo]

Just now, Tommikka said:

Clears the right choice

and the inner pane will be your culprit

Any idea how that happens?
I haven't had it that long (May 28th). Have played in it once/twice a week since then....

[Tommikka]

12 minutes ago, sonofsammo said:

Any idea how that happens?
I haven't had it that long (May 28th). Have played in it once/twice a week since then....

Depends on how ‘warped’

Im assuming that it’s gone over the edge and has broken the seal

If the goggles have been bumped or compressed in a bag or being carried etc then that may be it

 

If it’s just the way it looks / it doesnt go to the seal then that may not be the case

[sonofsammo]

Wowsers - I hadn't realised just how fucked my old lens was!!!

The new ones are absolutely amazing! I might actually be able to hit stuff now 😄 

[Tommikka]

3 hours ago, sonofsammo said:

Wowsers - I hadn't realised just how fucked my old lens was!!!

The new ones are absolutely amazing! I might actually be able to hit stuff now 😄 

What have you done to your goggles in a matter of months? Or were they second hand?

 

Do you have a goggle bag, I’d recommend a giant microfibre cloth from Poundland etc.

fold it in half and sew up the sides, I have so many goggles that I keep them in microfibres like that rather than anything special.  It also gives the bonus benefit that they have their own cloth to wipe when required

I have tonnes of microfibres in all my pockets.

[klein]

I have just bought a i4 in Tiger stripe for my son, On special offer at bzpaintball £70

 

If any good I shall get a 2nd one and post my thoughts after a couple of games

 

 

[sonofsammo]

39 minutes ago, Tommikka said:

What have you done to your goggles in a matter of months? Or were they second hand?

 

Do you have a goggle bag, I’d recommend a giant microfibre cloth from Poundland etc.

fold it in half and sew up the sides, I have so many goggles that I keep them in microfibres like that rather than anything special.  It also gives the bonus benefit that they have their own cloth to wipe when required

I have tonnes of microfibres in all my pockets.

I'm guessing it was aTRMR in the face that did it....

[Tommikka]

1 hour ago, sonofsammo said:

I'm guessing it was aTRMR in the face that did it....

Could be!

[Shizbazki]

So i have been running Dye i4 masks now for nearly 2 years for airsoft both in CQB and woodland, i have two masks, 1 for woodland in a sort of faux Multicam pattern for woodland and the other was a Dye i4 in Onyx Black and Dyetanium gold lenses for CQB.

 

The first mask i wore was the Woodland one at Dragons Lair Airsoft when i first got it and within the first 30 to 45 minutes its fogged on me, the marshall himself was puzzled saying that that should not happen, i was wearing a hat covering the upper vent holes.

The Second mask i wore was the Onyx Black one at The Mall in reading and it fogged on me, again i was wearing a FAST helmet covering the vent holes, i also had to rip out alot of material from the helmet to get the Dye i4 mask to fit seemlessly.

 

I though that this should not be happening on what i considered to be expensive masks that were touted as fog proof, also the ball ache of trying to fit a Z-Tac BOWMAN 3 headset, then Dye i4 Mask, then helmet was also becoming too much.

 

I looked around for fan solutions but they all proved to be bulky messes such as needing a large battery pack strapped to the back strap which would foul the FAST helmet adjustment strap.

 

In the end i knew that the only thing possible would be a custom built (jury rigged) system done by myself so now i have the following:

 

Each of my Dye i4s have

1 x small 15x15x4mm SEPA fan mounted above the vent holes in the centre, with an on/off switch powered by one small 300mAh 3.7v LiPo battery. I initially built the fan assembly, then stitched in the fan to hold it in place before using a hot glue gun to permanantly hold it in place, the battery is tucked into the head strap on the right side of the image where the red battery connector is.

1 x disassembled Z-Tac Bowman 3 headset fitted into the mask and its straps. I hot glued the mic in about the centre of the mask and tucked the headset ear piece in the strap, it does not line up with my ear 100% but i can still hear team mates and the world around me.

1 x Wide-i Echo magnetic lens cleaner, this is a small magnetic attachment and works very similar to a magnetic aquarium cleaner. Works pretty well and i have never seen it drop of by itself. It is my last line of defence against fogging.

 

I also carry a small battery powered fan to force fresh air into the mask during down times to combat fogging, it helps cool you down, although the wife stole one of mine to use on her daily commute during hot weather.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B017HHX7US/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Also i tried to wear the masks with a black helmet that i had with a multicam cover and a helmet with Kryptek Typhon printed on it, i found that the black helmet would not fit with the Dye i4 and the Kryptek Typhon did without removing any padding, no issues. Could not figure it out initially but then i saw it.

The front lip of the black helmet was about 5mm or more thick yet the Kryptek Typhon only had a front lip material thickness of 2.55mm hence why it was fitting well, i eventually found a multicam printed helmet with a front material thickness of 2.55mm  and now that fits perfectly, there is still a tiny gap but its small:

 

Also i have not experienced fogging for such a long time that i have forgotten about fogging, it only cropped up recently again a few weeks ago one weekend when it was exceptionally rainy (humid) and the mask fogged only at the end of a hard and long game day.