Sharp IG-CH2Y Plasmacluster Ion Generator

We all know the feeling of arriving home from a long ride with a sense of satisfaction, with good memories, perhaps a few stories to tell, oh… and a stinky, stale, sweat-smelling helmet.

But now Sharp has come up with a nifty device that promises to keep your lid smelling fresh, even if the wearer can’t always promise to do likewise.

Sharp’s Plasmacluster Ion Generator is already available in Indonesia, where the climate lends itself to sweaty headwear. It’s just one of a range of Plasmacluster products that promises to purify the air, kill viruses, reduce odours and prevent mold formation, even in extremely humid conditions.

But how to test it in a Melbourne winter, where a sweat-soaked helmet is not such a common occurrence?

Well, sometimes testers have to go to extremes in pursuit of an accurate review and such was the case with this product, so in the absence of the genuine article (even after a good three-hour ride) a radical approach was needed.

At great risk to my future comfort, I subjected my favourite helmet to the ultimate test – filling it with wet, stinky, just-used sport socks for several hours until the odour was well and truly absorbed.

Exactly how this compact device, about half the size of a helmet, does its work is invisible to the eye, as it looks like nothing more than a simple fan that blows air at room temperature into the helmet from below – all a 32db.

Sharp’s explanation is that it produces large amounts of positive (hydrogen) and negative (oxygen) ions, which latch onto the surface of the molecules that form mold and odours, breaking them down and turning the waste into simple water vapour.

The result? After the recommended eight hours on the ion generator the helmet emerged smelling as-new and as fresh as a daisy.  No matter how hard I tried I could not detect a hint of odour, much to my surprise and relief.

For those in the tropics or even southerners who spend hours each day inside a helmet, such as couriers for example, this handy device might be just what you’ve been looking for.

So if you live in warmer climes or you’re simply prone to perspiration, now is the time to start lobbying Sharp to bring its Plasmacluster technology down under.

The Plasmacluster Ion Generator costs 629,000 Rupiah in Indonesia, which is about $A69.