Factory Diver Fogging

[NiteQwill 0]

The fogging is generally gone once I leave the plane but starts again under canopy... kinda has me freaked out when I want to keep an eye on the airspace. Any suggestions?

Has anyone used the anti-fog stuff available in scuba stores?

Work well? Last long?

Thanks

"Fail, fail again. Fail better."
-Samuel Beckett

[VTmotoMike08 0]

Never used the anti fog spray stuff but here's what works for me. Your results may vary and sometimes weather and outside humidity can do strange things.
-Most importantly, breathe only thru the mouth hole (no nose breaths)
-Take it completely off your head in the plane (after takeoff), don't rest it on top of your head. This lets it get some cold air flow over the inside of the visor and it won't get as much "temperature shock" when you leave.
-Don't put it on early for the same reason as above. 30 seconds before exit should be fine.
-There is some play in the visor when you install it, so leaving a small gap at the bottom helps.

Sometimes you do everything right, and the damn thing still fogs over. Then you gotta unsnap it and put on top of your head under canopy. I've done this about 4 times in almost 500 jumps with my factory diver and its never fallen off.

You could get a helmet with a visor, but that's another post. My personal feelings are that visors are more trouble than they are worth and they are just another failure point.

[half-a-greek 0]

All of the above is good stuff, and I do the same. With mine, I breath in through my nose and out through my mouth. I had to consciously think about it for a little bit, but now once the helmet hits head I just do it out of habit. I also took the visor of once to clean it and when I put it back on I accidentally left a little bit of a gap, turns out I think it kinda helps. these simple things work for me but if you find something better, let me know!!

[andema 0]

I had the same problem after replacing the lence(?).. then after about 10 jumps the problem disapered..

anyway, good luck:)

[ryoder 1,384]

Quote

Has anyone used the anti-fog stuff available in scuba stores?

Work well? Last long?

Actual conversation I had with one of the original guys from SkySystems years ago:

Me: "So what is the best thing to use on the lens?"

Him: "Water."

Me: "Just water? Anything else I could use?"

Him: "You can use anything you want on the lens. But if it is something other than water, you will be buying a new lens."

He went on to explain there is an anti-fog coating on the lens, and using anything other than water can damage/remove it.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[ianmdrennan 2]

I just got a brand new one, had the same problem.

So I removed the lens
Call SkySystems and ask though - they're a good crew over there.

Ian

Performance Designs Factory Team

[brettski74 0]

I have an Oxygen, which is similar - especially since as a general rule I try really hard to avoid opening the visor, as the mechanism on the Oxygen is a pain in the arse to close again. The best advice I can give is breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. When breathing out, try to purse your lips toward the vent so as to avoid exhaled air being deflected back into the helmet. What you're trying to do is bring dry(-ish) fresh air in past the visor and through your nose and then pass the moist exhaled air as much as possible outside the helmet. The in through the nose part is just as important as you need to keep fresh air coming into the helmet to remove the moisture that will otherwise build up from evaporation on the skin and eyes, and from the portion of exhaled air that will inevitably remain inside the helmet. I've had this work quite well for me on quite a few climbs to altitude on oxygen where the helmet was on and closed for a considerable period of time. That said, it's not perfect, and every now and then, you may experience some fogging under more adverse conditions. If you have time, breathing as described will clear it if you have some time, otherwise you're back to removal of either the visor or helmet.

I've also tried a few homebrew anti-fogging suggestions. I've tried various soaps which all seem to have zero effect, but didn't really seem any worse than the performance of a brand new visor. I also recently found this article but I've not yet tried it or given much thought to the chemistry that may be at work. I may try it once the weather warms up a little up here, but if anyone else tries it, I'd be curious to hear how effective it was or wasn't.