How to keep Paintball Mask from fogging up? 👓🐱‍🚀🕶

Playing in the Paintball arena, all geared up, ready to pounce upon the opponents and in the heat of the moment, you get your Paintball mask all fogged up. What will happen now??  Roles will reverse, the hunter will soon become the hunted. Despite maintaining an advantage throughout the game, you are on the verge of losing just because of a foggy paintball mask.

Being a Paintball player; Pro or beginner, no matter what, you never want the fog to amass right in front of your eyes leaving you literally blind. Therefore, your main endeavor should be to buy a mask that does not fog during the game.

You have chosen an expensive hobby so I recommend you to spend wisely. Else, soon your pockets will be thinning out. So, you will always try to buy the Best Paintball mask in the market which means more burdens on your credit card. But, remember, the costly mask does not always mean the best. You have to choose as per your own requirements.

While playing Paintball, all of us had been the victim of maleficent fog at one time or another. I know it’s a pretty frustrating feeling to cop up with this menace right in the middle of the game. It makes you lose all the focus and keep you on the edge in the critical moments of the game.

So, what I will do in this article is that I will enlighten you a little about fog, how it happens and then I will explain to you in detail how to keep your paintball mask from fogging up. So, buckle up

What is Fog?

I will not throw upon you the scientific definitions. Simple, jog your memory towards a cold early morning of winter when you have to come out of your cozy house. You try to talk with your friend and you can witness visible smoke coming out of your mouth. That right there is Fog, my friend.

Why Fog happens?

Remember that same cold morning with your friend; warm air, full of vapors (water) coming out of your mouth is touching the cold outside air. The vapors will immediately try to liquify and will become visible. This beautiful process of nature is called Condensation and this is how fog is made.

Why does your Paintball mask become foggy?

Nothing new, same old school Science plays with you while you are playing Paintball game. While running and panting during the game, you are a sweat machine. Your face and forehead are all sweaty; you are trying to shout out to your friends so a lot of moisture is coming out of your mouth as well.

So now, your face is enclosed inside a Paintball mask along with an ample amount of moisture. This warm air with a lot of moisture tries to move away and the first cold thing it gets hold of is your clean and cold paintball lens. What will happen next? You already have the answer. You will see fog jumbling upon your paintball lens. This is the same fog that you want to avoid in any case.

Now, you know that how your paintball mask becomes foggy so it will be a little easier for you to fight against it.

How to Prevent Paintball mask from fogging up?

You will find different hacks to prevent your mask from fogging up. However, I will recommend you the best solution first. If you are serious about the fogging and you really want to get rid of it for good then no second thought. You can choose from the couple of options which we will discuss in detail.

Firstly, your paintball mask should be a perfect fit for your face. Before buying the paintball mask, wear it and judge it correctly so that you are sure that it is not loose. If your paintball mask is fit to your face and still it is fogging up then you can choose either of these techniques.

1. Thermal Paintball Mask

A bit pricey but the best, my personal tested and recommended method to end fogging once and for all. This method works best for pro-level players. They always try to opt for a Thermal Paintball mask with a Dual-Pane lens so that they can remain focused during the game. If you want to step down a little bit then you may choose a single pane lens as well but keep in mind that a Dual-Pane lens is far better than a single pane lens.

The major feature of a Dual-Pane lens is that it uses two separate lenses as the name suggests. These lenses are separated by a thin film of air which becomes insulating in nature. So that, both lenses can’t share each other’s temperature.

Now, warm air from your mouth gets in touch with only the inner lens which is also warm, unlike the outer lens which is cold. Therefore, there is no change in temperature and no more fogging, easy peasy.  

Out of the two lenses, the inner lens is very clear and is made up of thin glass however the outer one is a tougher one to resist the high-intensity paintball shots.

Unlike cheap solutions, the thermal lens doesn’t use coatings which may fade away over time. However, these lenses are very high quality and thermally treated to be proven as Best Anti-fog Paintball Mask.

Although, these are not 100% effective this is by far the best technique available out there.

2. Paintball Mask Fan for Air Ventilation

As you already know that temperature variation is the major cause for paintball mask fogging. What if you take this variable out of the equation? You get a paintball mask where you somehow manage that the temperature inside the mask is the same as that outside the mask.

This can be ensured using a high ventilation feature where the air will easily circulate inside the mask thus reducing the chance of fogging. Normally, it is difficult to achieve but if you use a Paintball mask fan then you are good to go.

It is a viable solution for fogging as it answers the root cause of it. It will circulate air around the mask in a manner that warm air will be pulled out while cold air will be pushed in. Thus, minimizing the temperature difference will ensure lesser fogging.

Honestly speaking, I don’t prefer a small fan buzzing around my face for obvious reasons. Firstly, I tried Paintball mask fan only once and I did not really like the feeling. Secondly, they are easy targets to Paintball shots. Thirdly, the quality of the fans available in the market is just OK. If you want a good mask with a good fan, it will be pretty heavy on your pocket.

3. Anti-Fog Coating

This is the feature that you can’t get on-demand. Rather, it is a built-in feature of a lens just like a Thermal Lens or Dual Pane lens. However, it is a grade lower than the other two options.

If you can’t afford a high-end mask then at least get a mask with a Fog-Resistant coating. This will help you a lot to prevent your paintball mask from fogging. It is just a thin film of anti-fogging material which ensures the reduction of fogging.

Although this is not a very effective way still, it is better to have something than to have nothing.

4. Anti-Fog Spray

If you do not want to upgrade your mask for the time being then another alternative is using an Anti-Fog Spray. It is cheap, easy and a temporary solution to your problem of fogging.

You may be amazed to listen that even many pro-level players carry an Anti-Fog spray handy besides having a high-end Thermal lens. Whenever they get a chance, they use it to make the lens cleaner.

So, what does it do basically? Once you use an Anti-Fog spray on your Paintball lens, it just makes a temporary thin layer of anti-Fog coating on your lens. Now, you will be able to play with more confidence during the game. If you have used a good quality Anti-Fog spray, then you can easily play a complete game without the fogging issue.

How to use an Anti-Fog spray? Simple, just spray it on your Paintball Lens and then use a smooth and clean microfibre cloth to rub it across the lens. Do it gently and there is the magic. You will have a clean, shiny, and fog-free paintball lens at your disposal.

 I would advise you to choose a proper Anti-Fog spray, not just any lens cleaner. As you are unaware of the components of the liquid so you are not sure what it will do with your lens. For the time being, it may shine but after a while, you may be holding a lens full of scratches and blur vision. Moreover, the rubbing cloth must be a micro-fiber else you will end up with a lot of scratches on your mask.

5. Other Cheaper DIY Techniques

If you do not want to spend any fortune to address the fog problem then you can use any of the following products from your home: Soap, Vaseline, Shaving Cream, or Baby Oil.

You may be wondering that what they can do. Here is the answer to the big mystery. They work exactly in the same fashion as that any Anti-Fog spray, only cheaper and lighter. They just make a small Anti-Fog coating on your lens that results in lesser fog on your paintball mask

This is not a much-recommended technique but still, some people use it, mostly beginners.

Take any of these products in a small quantity, apply them on the inner side of your lens and then gently rub them across. In this fashion, a thin Anti-Fog coating is prepared for your lens.

However, keep in mind to make a very thin coating of the applied product. Otherwise, you may outlast fogging but you may not be able to see because of the thick layer of these products. Furthermore, be ready to smell the aroma of these products for quite a long period of time. So, think twice before doing any such thing.

Conclusion

You have to make sure that your Paintball mask does not fog up during the game. Use any of the above-discussed techniques. It will ease your problems of fogging.

Although none of these techniques is 100% guaranteed, my personal recommendation is to use a Thermal Paintball Mask. It solves the fogging problem up to a larger extent.

Remember, fogging is a serious problem for Paintball. It may force you to remove the Paintball mask right in the middle of the game. I insist that do not do such a mistake. If you think that you can remove the mask, clean it, and then re-wear it without anyone noticing then you are highly mistaken. Rest assured, there will be someone waiting for this shot of opportunity. He will definitely take this shot and you will regret your decision of removing the mask.

It is better to avoid fogging than to remove the mask and have a shot right on the face. Follow these techniques and enjoy the game.