Balaclava Face Cover Ski Mask - Windproof, Dustproof, Breathable Winter Bandana Face Mask

I ride in the cold. My recreational riding group rides in temps as low as 35 degrees. And, I use a bicycle for my shopping and other transportation needs, as well.I am writing this review after having used this balaclava about 10 times, including several rides in temps between 36 and 43 degrees F. And, my head is slightly large. It is about 61 cm, which is in the large helmet fitting range. I can rarely get my head inside a medium helmet.I have had what I consider good balaclavas in the past. One of their limitations is that they limit the amount of air you can breathe when the covering is pulled up over the tip of the nose. Any riding that elevates the heart rate would require the balaclava to be taken down from the nose and placed on the chin just below the mouth in order for the rider to get enough air.This balaclava is made from material that has a more open weave, and has allowed me to keep the material pulled up over my nose at exertion rates that my previous units did not allow. I have not yet had to pull it down below my nose, and don't anticipate having to do so in the future.I read other reviews before purchasing, and want to address negative comments about its warmth. Although this balaclava lets more air through than did any of my previous units, it still blocks enough wind that my face stays very comfortable in 37-43 degree temps. I have sweated in other balaclavas. In this one, I have not. So, for me, it regulates the temperature of my facial skin very well. It blocks most of the wind, and, when pulled up over the nose, passes your outgoing warm breath over your cheeks, nose, and lips, which seems to compensate for the slightly more porous nature of the material.I have not used this balaclava with sunglasses, yet. i assume that some of the escaping breath will pass under the glasses and cause fogging problems when the balaclava is pulled up over the tip of my nose. However, since more of the outgoing breath will pass directly through the material, I suspect the fogging will not be as bad as it would be with more dense or solid materials. And, with this balaclava, pulling the front down onto the upper lip seems a viable option for getting more air while staying warm and not overly fogging glasses.I bought this two pack because I wanted the hi visibility green for cycling, and the black for when I am out in the cold refereeing. Per the attached pictures, you can see that the black one is smaller than the green one. I've worn the black one once, yesterday, to officiate a match. When pulled over the nose, it put enough pressure on my nose tip to be uncomfortable. Today, i compared the black and green balaclavas across the horizontal dimension at the nose level. The green one was 19 inches (9.5 inches x 2 = 19 inches), but the black one was 18 inches (9 inches x 2 = 18 inches). The difference is not attributable to stretch, as, the green one never did fit as tightly as the black one, even when brand new. These units are not consistently sized.The construction seems flawless. I've attached a picture that shows representative seams from the inside. All seams are flat sewn, and anywhere there is an edge to the material, appropriate tape has been used. There are no uncomfortable edges exposed anywhere. And, there are no visible irregularities in the sewing and stitching. It seems well constructed.All in all, this is a good unit. I intend to contact the seller about getting a black one that is sized the same as the green one. If that resolves well, I will consider this a very, very successful transaction.

Cool stuff

I was expecting thicker fabric since it is marketed as “winter” appropriate. I live in MN and used it on a single digit windy afternoon. It is very thin and you must wear additional hats/headbands etc to stay warm. With that said, the thin fabric is light and easy to breathe thru. I’m a runner and it did provide decent protection from the wind, was loose from my mouth and didn’t get wet with sweat or moisture of any sort. This won’t be single digit winter gear, but will come in handy for sure. And the options of wear is nice.

We snowmobile and purchase lots of these. This particular one is by far my favorites. Not too heavy. You can breathe though it and not fog up your glasses. And you can pull down the bottom part to talk or get a drink and it doesn't pull it down over your eyes.

This review is based on my first use of the face mask. I use this mask for cold weather cycling. Temperature was 40-42 degrees with wind from the north about 6-15 mph. For this area that's getting fairly cold. The mask fits well. I have a larger size head and it fit fine and went on without a problem and was easy to adjust. My helmet fit normally over the mask. Started out with the face mask under my chin face fully exposed and it stayed in place until I adjusted it later. My helmet is a normal bike helmet with open slots and I did not feel any cold air on the top of my head once I got going. I was able to easily adjust the mask during the ride, pulled the forehead part a little lower, raised the part under my chin up over my mouth, and pulled the sides in a little at various times. My ears never got cold and I could hear as normally as I could with nothing over them. Still heard cars approaching from behind with plenty of warning, heard all the dogs I normally hear, etc. With the mask over my mouth I worried it would get pretty soggy from my breath but it was barely damp when I got home. There was no restriction in breathing at all. I did not pull the mask over my nose because I was plenty warm. It will be 10 degrees colder tomorrow so I'll probably pull it all the way up then. The neck part tucked in to my shirt without problem. Neck was warm all ride.At this point the mask is all I hoped it would be. Excellent performance so far and based on what I saw this morning I expect it to perform as well down another 10-15 degrees colder as well.Package arrived when expected. Had some brief correspondence with the company via email that was pleasant. I have no customer service interactions so far.Well worth the price asked.Will update this later if more use reveals anything different.

I wore this mask to Upstate NY to snowboard once, and personally it’s not my favorite. This mask was a bit tight and not elastic at all so it was hard to leave my face open when I want to take deeper breathes. It cut into my nose a bit too and wasn’t sitting on my face comfortably. Everytime I tried to speak, the mask would basically be in my mouth which I did not like either.This is a personal preference, but I don’t like how the mask itself gets very wet after an hour of wearing it from my breath. It feels wet, gross and cold when it touches my face. So I’d prefer something that leaves my nostrils exposed.

This Balaclava was recommended from an online article about running. I bought it to protect my face while running in the extreme cold which for me is anything lower than 23 degrees F. This Balaclava worked just "ok", but after 20 minutes or so the moisture from my breath froze on the outside enough block efficient movement of air. I had to push it down away from mys nose and mouth to breath, defeating the purpose. I went to the local sporting goods store and bought one of theirs, which has a stiffer perforated area around the mouth and nose and I prefer that one over this one.