Customer Reviews Outdoor Research Essential Face Mask Kit

Good mask, really comfy but I wish it had 2 changes: 1. make the filter pocket bigger - wish I could use other filters, first of all, but also make it so more of the filter touches the pocket. As it stands the filter moves around and slips out and gets annoying. 2. This thing holds bad breath/smell of spit really bad. IDK how to change that, but man if you haven't brushed the smell will stay in the cloth forever. Thanks, Bobby

Love the fit and feel of these masks. Two have broken straps, even when washed in a delicates bag.

I loved the face mask at first glance. Fit well and is very comfortable. The problem comes when you put the filter in. The filter doesn't fit well. It doesn't stay put. And it make the mask super uncomfortable. The filter just clings to your month and face. I have just gotten to the point of not including the filter which defeats the purpose of the extra cost. Love OR produces, just not this one.

I love the face mask. Fit well and is very comfortable. The problem come when you put the filter in. It doesn't fit well. It doesn't stay put. And it make the mask super uncomfortable. The filter just clings to your month and face. I have just gotten to the point of not including the filter which defeats the purpose of the extra cost. Love OR produces, just not this one.

Sustain: - combines with disposable filter insert for more effective function - wire over bridge of nose, ergonomic shape and adjustable ear loops allow good fit Improve: - side pockets to retain filter are too small, filter falls out easily when taking mask on and off, requiring additional unwanted handling to re-insert

I heard really good things and it's rated so highly, and I asked questions of OR before purchasing, but when I got it, I was disappointed. OR said you can wear the mask without the filter, but the fabric is so porous I can see through it, which will not be much protection for incoming air or outgoing breath. It's more see-through than my homemade cotton mask. I had hoped I could wear just the mask without the filters and only use the filters when I feel like I really need one, but I guess you just need to wear the filter too all the time -- which really sucks because you have to replace them. Although it fits great, I'm unhappy with the fabric. Doesn't feel like a good value for the high cost and I'm wishing I'd spent the money elsewhere.

I bought this mask because of the rants and raves from just about everyone. I have very sensitive skin (probably more than most), and for me, both the mask and filter material irritate my skin after long periods of use, and the ear loops become uncomfortable. Specifically, the bridge and tip of my nose, and cheeks were very irritated after a full day of use. I have to wear a mask all day for work and had to make some modifications to it yesterday: I made some elastic loops that go around the back of my head, and placed some additional soft material inside to alleviate the itchiness of the filter. Too bad- I really wanted to jump on the bandwagon. If I didn't have sensitive skin, I could see this being a 5-star mask. It ticks all the boxes otherwise: breathable but protective, adjustable, looks cool.

Good concept, but the lining does not stay in place well. Without the lining, this mask doesn’t offer much in terms of protective qualities.

Wish the plain black mask was still available as it's discrete and suitable in any environment

I have a few of these masks and all but one of them are pretty big for my face. I love the way they feel but wish they made a medium size (b/w kids and adult). I tried emailing customer service about 2 months ago but they never got back with me. I love OR hear but these masks are just average for me.

We ordered 2 masks the first time one black and one gray. They were both washed and air dried. The gray one was fine the black one shrunk for some unknown reason. Since these masks are comfortable and with the inserts good protection I ordered 2 more in black hoping the shrinkage in the first one was a one time issue.

This mask looks so cool, stylish, love the material and it is so comfy. The ear straps don't hurt like other masks and it fits my face perfectly. BUT.. the mask only has two flaps on either side to secure the filter to the mask, it's open in the middle and it is not secure at all. 80% of the time my filter is floating around, getting bunched up and falling out. I have to constantly adjust it, touching the mask and filter throughout the day, which seems counter-intuitive. Wish I could love this mask, but the filter is a major issue

The material is soft, breathable. It didn't work for my husband because his job entails bending and lifting for 8 hours. The filter did not stay in place. He felt adjusting it was difficult and may expose him to viral infection. Would probably work better for a desk job. It fit well.

Overall these are darn good masks. However, of the three I ordered, the grey one was quite larger than the others. It's a little disappointing that this color fits loose and looks sloppy.

The cloth exterior of the mask is well made but the inside filter does not stay in place. Have seen other brands with a better fit for the inner filter.

Great fit, high quality, but need a better design for holding the filter. Filter tends to distort or slip out over time. Need to enclose the filter more.

Overall these masks are fantastic. And yet... they drive me nuts. I have two and initially loved everything about them. In the cold weather there was the extra bonus of keeping my face warm! And the dreaded glasses fog stopped happening, which was a dream come true in this masked era we're stuck in for some time still. But here's the design flaw, in my experience: the filters slide out of their pockets too easily. So I am constantly adjusting them, taking the mask off to push them back into place, and some times just taking them out which I know makes the mask less effective so I only do that in outdoor situations. What about some tiny velcro patches perhaps to keep them fixed? Or change the design so the filter has a cloth layer on top so the filter does not touch your skin? This problem is no doubt worsened quite a bit by the fact that I am a man with a beard. I keep it trimmed quite short, but the fuzz of the filter constantly is catching on my beard which is irritating. And painful, in the tiny way that something plucking hairs in your face every five minutes can be. Obviously my beard contributes to tugging the mask out of place. Nonetheless, the filters, particularly as you wash them a few times, get even fuzzier and the whole issue gets worse. If this design can be improved I think this could be the perfect mask.

Product is great, filter fits well. However the filter slides during use and after extended wearing moves out of position. All filter masks seem to have the same problem, this mask less than most.

This make would have been perfect if the filter pocket were designed differently. The filter bunches up a lot. And the mask fabric is a lot more comfortable on skin than the filter, so the pocket should be designed from the center outward, rather than from the margins inward. It's a bummer.

this mask is too small to fit my face

I really like the fit and design of the mask, but the filter doesn't stay in place. There are slits on the side to hold it in, but nothing at the top or bottom, so it moves around and bunches & I'm constantly having to fix it. With the filter it's definitely not as breathable as other cloth masks I own used with a PM 2.5 filter. I was really excited about these masks, ordered two plus a replacement filter pack, so dropped some cash but now they're just sitting in the mask reject pile.

I ordered the blue "Cascade" color mask, which appears a pretty gray blue online. The actual color is more greenish blue (sea blue). So the photo online is not accurate.

mask is comfortable without the filter. prefer not to support communism.

I like the coverage and works well most of the time, but could use clips or something to keep the filter in place. I used some safety pins.

The face masks themselves seem well designed well made, and the materials seem like they'll hold up. Unfortunately, I had to take a couple of stars for the filters. As other commenters have pointed out, there is nothing to secure the wings of the filters into the pockets on the mask. The filter shifts during wear, and often, one or both sides disengage from the mask when the mask removed. Additionally, the filter material itself catches on facial hair stubble, and isn't especially comfortable next to the the skin. Hopefully, OR will address this in the next design iteration, perhaps with an inner layer of fabric to form a sleeve to contain the filter.