Budget Nov AFU clone

[Speedy Sloth]

So I was browsing and I found this

 

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005008123115196.html

 

Looks like a clone/maybe the rejects from the production line for the Nov anti fog unit.

 

£13 seems a steal, but I do wonder if it has the same issue of being made from a weak plastic that can't take a bb strike. 

 

Not a fan of having a potential re active lithium target strapped to my head.

Edited November 25, 2024 by Speedy Sloth

[GiantKiwi]

More likely, its the OEM that Novritsch used, without the novritsch branding and associated exorbitant pricing.

[The_Lord_Poncho]

I have the Nov version, and its done me rather well so far. A year or so in though, and the fan gets intermittently noisy, so if I can't resolve that when I finally get round to opening it up, i'll try out the ali version.

[Speedbird_666]

Surely it's worth a punt for less than £20 posted?

 

 

[pyromancer6]

8 hours ago, The_Lord_Poncho said:

I have the Nov version, and its done me rather well so far. A year or so in though, and the fan gets intermittently noisy, so if I can't resolve that when I finally get round to opening it up, i'll try out the ali version.

I normally just smack the back of my head where the unit is until it stops making the revving noise lmao
 

9 hours ago, Speedy Sloth said:

I do wonder if it has the same issue of being made from a weak plastic that can't take a bb strike. 

They fixed this in the V2 version by the way, it can take up to 2J before starting to deform which is a lot better than the previous 'we have a patch that covers it lol' solution they had

[The_Lord_Poncho]

6 hours ago, pyromancer6 said:

I normally just smack the back of my head where the unit is until it stops making the revving noise

I do exactly that too!

[Enid_Puceflange]

Definitely worth a “punt” at that price

Added to my basket 👍

[Speedy Sloth]

Suddenly like 10 listing have appeared so looks like it's open season on budget anti fog unit's on AliExpress. 

 

For £13-£20 doesn't matter if the fan is occasionally noisy, would be more annoyed for Nov's price though. 

 

Hopefully these aren't terrible QC rejects.

Edited November 26, 2024 by Speedy Sloth

[Speedy Sloth]

Did anyone order one in the end? 

 

Apparently the only difference to the Nov is the fan they use. 

 

Some noise complaints but than again you lot have posted the same about the branded version.

[MrTea]

Noise is the biggest turn off for me - I may take a punt on payday. For reference; my Exfog is in a pouch, velcro'd to my helmet, and my hearing protection picks up a noticeable constant vibration/low humming noise from the fan running. I can't imagine running anything that's much louder than what I use now.

For those not using active hearing protection, could be worth a chance.

Edited December 27, 2024 by MrTea

[pyromancer6]

9 minutes ago, MrTea said:

Noise is the biggest turn off for me - I may take a punt on payday. For reference; my Exfog is in a pouch, velcro'd to my helmet, and my hearing protection picks up a noticeable constant vibration/low humming noise from the fan running. I can't imagine running anything that's much louder than what I use now.

For those not using active hearing protection, could be worth a chance.

My Nov unit with my new '100% real' aliexpress M32s is pretty audible but not to the point where I can't hear anything else. Would have to directly compare to an ExFog unit to know for sure, though - and it's not like I've got the best setup regardless (it's on a exfog headband, and it was the first time running earpro ever so my setup was all over the place)

No idea about the aliexpress fog units however, but considering the price of them it might end up being a valid choice if you're not running sound amplification/reduction, exactly like you said.

Edited December 27, 2024 by pyromancer6

[Speedy Sloth]

Well I bite the bullet and bought one.

 

It cost me the grand sum of £9.06 and honestly it's worth the money at under £10 maybe worth up to £15-20 but beyond this price I would rather spend double and buy the exfog.

 

I haven't got to test it in the field and it's far from perfect but as a gateway into active de fogging tech is great.

 

It's got a good amount of air output in volume and pressure at mid to high settings. Anything less than half way and the cheap fan makes a terrible racket which I assume is due to it not being designed to run that slow. (It should be a standard easy to replace 50mm fan so this can be resolved if you do run it very slow often)

 

The plastic casing is cheap and I honestly doubt it's ability to stand up to point blank 1j shots reliably over long term. A protective patch or pouch seems wise.