So I meant to post this a while back and never got around to it. But I've been using it with what little I've had time to play and they have been working very very well. None the less backstory is that I can fog just about anything. Thermal lens etc, virtually I haven't found a goggle or glass that I can't fog in the process of playing airsoft. Been an issue from the start to varying degrees, sometimes I can get a while without issues then it crops up. Either way I got tired of band aid style fixes and decided to just build a solution. Biggest problem with most of the fan goggles is bulk, they try to slap a fan on the goggle itself rather than "piping" the air to the goggle. Some of the systems I've seen that followed that design idea were just more expensive than I wanted to pay or weren't as flexible as I wanted.
So I found a small squirrel cage style fan used for some sort of electronics on ebay, and a battery holder for two 18650's, a small switch I had laying around, and this time I mounted it to a plate of kydex and hot glued some things around in place to hold them there. Also a piece of flexible tubing I believe this is tubing from ICE makers, IE fridge stuff, but I got it at menards, most hardware stores should have it it's approx. 1/4in. diameter and clear.
So basically you've got voltage coming from the battery, negative wire going to one side of the switch, then negative from the fan connected to the other side of the switch. Then solder the positive wires together. So you're making a circuit with the switching on the negative wire completing the circuit. Layout, how ever it works or fits with your gear. I've been considering mounting it to high on the rear of my plate carrier, and running the tubing up to my goggles but I haven't tried that yet. The tubing is in a flat piece of kydex but any flat kydex will do, basically you're making a square that will cover the outlet of the fan, with a single hole that matches the tubing size so you can pass the tubing through and secure it. I again used hot glue to keep the hose in place, and hot glue to attach the plate to the fan. When in doubt I hot glued stuff down, mostly because this is a DIY project and sort of a prototype still.
So I've done two of these so far, first one I mounted to the rear of my helmet. I attached a fair sized panel of soft side velcro to the rear of my helmet. Then I glued hook velcro on the back of the battery box, fan, and switch. This allowed me to position things where I wanted and get it all laid out, not permanent but decently secure. Then I routed the tube through a hole in the rear, through the inside around the foam, and out of the front right above the goggles. I let it stick out around an inch in the middle. I put on my helmet/goggles and just route the tube through the vent hole in the top of the goggles as I'm getting things setup. Works fine and is held there fine during play since the helmet and goggles pretty much stay together.
The second one is the one pictured, I just built it today because I needed something with my ghillie hat for times I'm not wearing my helmet but rather a boonie and ghillie. Mount isn't ideal, originally I used the plate of kydex planning on mounting it on the goggle strap. Changed my mind at the last minute, and punched two small holes in the rear brim of the hat, then installed two chicago screws through the holes to secure it to the hat. Haven't determined routing of the hose yet. But currently planning on running it under the goggle strap along the right side of my head.
So simply this is a rough idea, but most people with a small amount of tools and the ability to sub in other parts and pieces as needed can build this for around $5 or less in parts. So it's cheap and it works well. Is it cool and tactical? Maybe not, but it works damn well. And you could pretty this up quite a bit, so far I was focused on function first and foremost. I haven't field tested the ghillie version yet, will be sunday. But the helmet version I've used quite a bit and never had any fogging at all. Also I used 18650 Lipo cells for batteries, mostly for capacity. Most goggles run AA or AAA cells which sucks, they last a few hours and then run dead, don't move much air etc. This puts out a breeze you can feel and I've never run the batteries dead yet despite running 8+ hours with them on. So I'd guess at least a day maybe more on a set of batteries, you could calculate it with the draw from the fan and the capacity of the cells. But I really didn't care, it lasts a full day of use without any issues which is good enough for me.
Other perks, you can run this with just about any goggle out there that you can get a 1/4in. hose through the top. I've used it on normal goggles, high profile and low profile. All with good results, though I need to test the low profile stuff more since that's my preferred eyepro but I've never had luck with them not fogging. This idea/concept I'm not planning to sell or make so feel free to modify it. Hell it's a simple idea, but I haven't seen too many guys doing it so I figured I'd help out others with the same issues. But feel free to take it where ever you want, feel free to build something like this and sell it whatever doesn't matter to me at all;)
This is the hat version I'm planning on testing. I should mention I attached the fan with a zip tie as well as some hot glue since kydex doesn't take to adhesive well at all typically. Also I mounted it upside down rather than right side up because I was afraid the burlap would get tangled in the fan. So doing it this was works without that issue. That said you could put some sort of netting or screen door material over the fan to avoid that issue as well which is my backup plan is this is an issue.
This was an early version of this one, all the stuff got moved to the rear and mounted as described above. This was just the "see if this works" version. But it works very well with it on the rear.
So any questions feel free to ask I'd be happy to help.
Luke
