ErgodyneErgodyne N-Ferno 6970 Balaclava with Detachable Heat Exchanger Face Mask, Winter Ski Mask, Black

I bought this to wear while riding my bike in the winter. If the temperature is 20 F or above I wear a regular balaclava but when the temperature drops below 20 F, I wanted something warmer. The heat exchanger works wonders. I used this today when the air temperature was -9 F (-28 F with the wind chill index). I wore ski goggles over the top of the N-Ferno 6970 and I tucked the neck of the balaclava into my ski jacket. With this combination of gear, I did not have any exposed skin and I could both see and breath just fine.While riding my bike I was exerting a lot of energy and breathing heavy at times (going up inclines). The heat exchanger warmed and humidified the air so my lungs never felt like they were getting blasted with cold air (the weather advisory on the radio was warning people to not breath deeply and to minimize talking if they had to be outside today). The ONLY thing I didn't like was that some of the moisture from my breath was condensing and dripping from the mask. That is a really minor problem and I don't think there is any way to avoid it. I would HIGHLY recommend this mask to anyone who rides or works outside in extreme cold.

I had my first Ergodyne N-Ferno 6970 Balaclava for several years now. I bought this second mask of this type 2.5 years ago (now it is 07/08/23).Keeps your face toasty in even the coldest and windiest conditions. Been outside in -15ºF w/windchill down to -30ºF (and lower) for 30 minutes or more. Face kept warm. The breather filter keeps your breath warmed up on inhale so your lungs are not hit with a blast of freezing temps. My only minor issue is that the mask tends to fit a bit tight in certain areas around the nose. It's not much of a problem (a little tightness). Aside from that, it is well worth the extra cost of not freezing your face/nose. And if it is a bit warmer out, you can remove the breath filter for when you don't need so much protection from less frigid temps. Must have for cold temps!!

I bought this for hunting, as the other one I own really crushes my nose. This one with a molded nose looked like it might work better.PROS:- Is long enough at the neck to reach shirt/coat. Some I have had are pretty short and leave a gap when I don't want any skin exposed.- Material is quite warm and feels good on the head/neck- I can hear well through the material. This is often an issue with these for me. I am color blind and really try to hear things to help me pick them up visually in the woods.CONS:- As others have noted, glasses fog up, regardless of how much you tweak it. I found the only good way to use both was to slide the face piece off of my nose. Big trade off, as the nose gets cold, but at least I could see.- The nose piece is still not super comfortable. Maybe there is no perfect mask or maybe I have a sensitive nose. Different for each person, I suppose, but it does help that it is adjustable to fit your nose.The mild CONS are the only reason I did not rate it at five stars. I will continue to use it, knowing nothing is perfect, but its the best I have used for this purpose thus far

A little tight on my adult male 3.5%-neanderthal head. The nose-pincher at the top of the mask is weak, similar to the cheap metal strip used in disposable dust masks. This part is needed to keep breath from escaping up to the eyes, so glasses usually fog up within 15 minutes unless there's a good wind. With ski goggles that drops to 5 minutes. Frustrating. The vent in the front has what resembles a plastic brillo pad. After a half hour or more it gets pretty wet and should be aired out well. It doesn't get smelly. Thermally it's great: -10F in a steady wind for an hour with a hood and second hat and goggles, didn't even feel like I was outside, no problems other than going fog-blind. The build quality is so-so. One of the stitches around the face popped when I took it off on the 4th use. Dabbed it with hot glue so it is not unraveling. I was in need of serious heavy-use face protection and this is great in concept but it's too cheap for heavy-use.

I live in Chicagoland and work on Cell Phone Towers in areas from Minnesota down to Missouri. This is a review from someone who works outdoors everyday in the FREEZING cold at heights where the wind chill is at least 10 degrees colder than on the ground. The biggest problem with every other Balaclava is you cannot cover your mouth and nose for long periods of time because the moisture from your breath makes the material wet. So you wind up pulling the face part up and down all day trying to protect yourself from the elements but when moisture builds up it just makes it worst. I have been looking for this Balaclava for 15 years and I can now finally keep my face warm all day in the winter. Now a couple things to note to make this work perfectly. If you have a physical job like I do the insert in the mouth portion will obstruct your breathing. So if you are planning to use this while doing something like running or climbing like me you will have to make an adjustment. You just can't get enough air if your breathing hard so i removed the foam insert (that does stop you from breathing cold air very well) and cut a dime size hole in the center and the problem was solved. Second, the hood that the mask is connected to does not stop the wind so i still use my old Balaclava on top of this one.

First things first. VERY LOW QUALITY.it's a great idea, and it worked for a week. It's warm and I was able to wear ski goggles without fogging them up in -40 here in the artic with 35-40mph winds. However! It's falling apart already and it's been used a handful of times.Not only that, the velcro ends are folding and won't stay in their intended shape.Great idea, but awful execution.