A helmet is the most essential thing for riding. It not only gives you protection and safety but can also guard you against cold and fog. With every breath, you release some form of fog that accommodates inside your helmet. The air that comes out of the nose and mouth comes into contact with the helmet visor thus creating a lot of fog inside of the helmet which can be very annoying sometimes.
This fog can be so irritating and sometimes it can be dangerous as well. It creates a damp film through which you cannot see things outside of your helmet. The only thing you can do in such a situation is to remove your helmet and make the fog go away with the outside air. But it can be very frustrating and difficult.
This problem is now a thing of the past due to the anti-fog pin-lock system. The problem of accommodation of fog inside the helmet is solved through this system. What is its solution? How is it work? How can it be fitted into your helmet? We will try to answer these questions in this article
History of pin lock
These helmets were first used by Dutch policemen. They were first invented by an Englishman named Derek Arnold. He started giving visor helmets to Dutch policemen in 1979 but the special kind of pin-lock was invented in 1994. It was first used in a motorcycle race.
How are they effective?
The physics behind the accommodation of fog inside your helmet is that the temperature of the air coming out of your mouth is warmer than outside. When it comes outside to the colder environment, due to homeostasis it becomes cold thus, creating a cold-like structure inside your helmet to maintain the environment.
This phenomenon is overcome by the special pin-lock helmet designed by Derek Arnold.
How do they work?
The pin-lock is made of special kinds of materials that are used to absorb moisture from the air. The pin-lock is inserted into the visor in such a way that it makes an air-tight chamber. The pin lock works as a sponge that attracts the air and moisturizers. It is normally placed on the sides of the helmet visor. So when the air comes to the helmet, the pin-lock attracts it to the sides.
The pin-lock is made of silicone beads which work as a double glazing effect and helps in reducing the condensation in the visor.
How to insert pin-lock into your helmet.
The insert the pin-lock into the helmet you need to have a pin-lock system in your helmet. There are two special pins for the system to be attached with. First, you need to do is to bend the visor a little bit and then attach one side of the pin-lock insert to the visor pin. Then attach the other side of the pin-lock to another pin of the visor and let the pin lock, it will snap to its position.
Types of pin lock
There are different types of pin-lock based on performance, fog resistance, field vision, and color. Following are some types of pin locks for the helmet.
Pinlock 30
These are good for a short period while the fog resistance lens is good enough to sustain.
Pinlock 70
Pinlock 70 is better than pin-lock 30. Its performance is higher, the visual field is also high and fog-resistant lenses are specially made to endure severe fog.
Pinlock 120
These are specially designed for severe and demanding conditions. They are inserted in those helmets which are used on the racetrack or adventure riding.
Color
There are different colors of pin-lock available based on the fog. There are special pin-lock like clear, light smoke, yellow smoke, dark smoke, and protecting. These pin locks have different colors designed for particular fog.
Conclusion
Pinlock is an important part of the helmet nowadays. It should be in every helmet, especially in those areas where there is colder and foggy temperature. In colder temperatures condensation is unavoidable and pin-lock is the only anti-fog system available in helmets till now. So every helmet should have this system.
