Customer Reviews Outdoor Research Essential Face Mask Kit

Had to give to my dad. Too bad, love the fabric.

First I want to say that I own four of these masks as of now. 3 previously purchased ones and this 4th one. My partner owns a coupe of the smaller sized ones and in general we like these masks very much. This last mask however appears to be a dud. It looks as though the inner layer of fabric is too large to fit inside and cup to the outer layer. This causes a lot of fabric bunching and a poor fit. It also does not allow for the filter to inserted in a way where it can lay flat against to inner fabric. The mask even seems to fit a little smaller in general. It almost seems like the inner and outer layers of fabric were sewn on in reverse order or something, I'm not sure what happened with this particular mask. I like the dark blue a lot which is why I ordered it but unfortunately it's not a very good example of an otherwise great mask. Like I said this this the 4th mask from OR that I own. I really like the OR mask in general. I would return this last one if possible but understandably you can't return masks, no problem. I do believe this dud mask is an outlier. I'll order another in the future if I need an additional mask and just hope I get one that fits and wears more like my first three OR masks.

Not impressed with mask, not worth the price.

Design Issue - The design issue is the filter does not stay in place if the mask is removed for repositioning, water/snack breaks, layer adjustments, etc. The filter is not very stiff, easily wrinkles and does not stay closely aligned with nose and mouth breath patterns, reducing the effectiveness of filtering potential COVID infection droplets. After this happened to me several times on my first mountain bike ride using the OR Adrenaline Mask, I became very uncomfortable with the effectiveness of the mask and my increased risk of infection. I realized the mask design was sound especially with the adjustable ear attachments and the nose wire. A simple product modifications can eliminate the filter issue. Safety Pin Approach - Attached are some photos showing a safety pin approach to keep the filter aligned with the outer mask layer. Simple, no product design required, just add a couple safety pins. Safety pins installed on the inside were hidden and did not rub my cheek. The safety pins completely eliminated the filter movement! Once the safety pins are installed, I rate the product * * * * * (5 star) Filter Hole and Mating Snaps Approach - A more professional approach is possible at the factory using roughly inch diameter holes in the filter flaps with mating snaps attached to the outer and inner mask layers. The snaps would engage through the filter hole to hold the filter flaps in position. The snaps and filter hole would be located close to the safety pin position shown in the photos. This design change would solve the filter movement issue and increase my rating to * * * * * (5 start).

I am an outdoor preschool teacher and am outside 5+ hours a day. Here in Michigan, it is winter which means a range of cold (15-30 degree F) days. Because of Covid-19 mandates for child care settings, we wear masks all day, even outside with young children. This mask becomes wet after about 15 minutes of wear outside. Further, the ear straps are not comfortable with a winter hat over them and the whole kits is clumsy and cumbersome. We need something quick and easy that we can wear all day and breathes in cold conditions.

Not great. Mask doesn't hold filters right.

Filters are obnoxious to use in mask, side flaps don't hold them right, they rode up on nose. Mask by itself isn't multi-layers, so without filters, it's not as effective as more generic layered cloth masks. Also, shipping was incredibly slow.

Not a good design with the filter ... I excepted better.

Love these masks. Use them in my medical practice ordered black to replace two I lost and the nose wire is not comfortable and poking thru the material

I was really excited to order this mask as I had seen some good reviews (in hindsight I wonder if they were paid "reviews"). I ordered them for my entire family (4 plus additional filters). I am in now for $100 which would be fine if they product worked. Unfortunately the filters are a joke. Literally a piece of cloth that just tucks into sides of the mask. No matter what you do, they won't stay in place when you wear the mask. They shift around and bunch up, so within about 10 minutes they get super itchy and uncomfortable. My wife's actual gave her a rash. I love Outdoor Research products, but this one needs more work. Note - you can use these without the filters, but obviously that will reduce the effectiveness of the mask. One other note - the filters are not washable so after a few uses they need to be replaced. Good business model for Outdoor Research but not good for the buyer.

Disappointed that the filter pockets are only on the side of the mask and don't cover the entire filter. The filter moves around and bunches up and irritates my skin. Also, disappointed that I sent customer service an e-mail immediately upon receiving the masks and not gotten a reply.

This face mask is not well designed. The filter ends are supposed to be inserted in the pockets on the sides of the mask. The filter is exposed with no fabric between the filter and you. The filter is rough and uncomfortable and does not stay in place. I will not wear this and don't know how I can modify it to be safe enough for good protection.

Very disappointed in OR brand attitude, poor service and in product quality. 1.I ordered face mask in August 2020. After almost a week later, when delivery was due, order was canceled due to no stock. I ve been offered a discount and received 100s of "pushing emails", reminders, that made me somehow go for a 2 nd try. 2. second order, after 4 months waiting, the OR sent me used products !!!! :( :( I guess, for the same reason - OR did not have sufficient stock levels and have sent the wrong items, Most probably those - rejected and returned fromother customers. 3. I've been contacted by customer service team with apology, have been promised refund, after investigation, but never received my money back about face mask itself: - I was unable to try on face and test the product, since it was used and not safe to put on my face. - visual observation did not give me a 95% protection level feel. - fabric is super thin, it may require 2-3 pair of filters, changing for each use. - product is not made in US. even filters are labelled made in Far East. - Seems OR has no quality check capacity. - overpriced for quality you get DO NOT RECOMEND !

Very disappointed in OR brand attitude, poor service and in product quality. 1.I ordered face mask in August 2020. After almost a week later, when delivery was due, my order has been canceled due to no stock. I ve been offered a discount and 100 ds of "pushing emails", reminders, that made me somehow go for a 2 nd try. 2. For the second order, after 4 months waiting, the OR company sent me used products !!!! :( :( I guess, for the same reason - OR did not have sufficient stock levels and have sent the wrong items, Most probably those - rejected and returned fromother customers. 3. I've been contacted by customer service team with apology, have been promised refund, after investigation, but never received my money back about face mask itself: - I was unable to try on face and test the product, since it was used and not safe to put on my face. - visual observation did not give me a 95% protection level feel. - fabric is super thin, it may require 2-3 pair of filters, changing for each use. - product is not made in US. even filters are labelled made in Far East. - Seems OR has no quality check capacity. - overpriced for quality you get Masks/filters - NOT SAFE !, service - poor.

I'm very disappointed in OR offering this mask as usually OR is a brand that I trust. The problem with the mask is the flimsy so called filter will not stay in place and is basically useless. Otherwise the mask is well constructed but the filter is a fatal issue. I'm disappointed I ordered three without trying one first as I can't return them.

I'm a teacher who works with 300 students a week. I've been buying my own N95s to help protect myself during this time, but these get very expensive. I thought this mask would be a safe solution, but it is very thin. Reminds me of jersey material with tiny holes. I do not believe this would protect against airborne viruses even with the filter which does NOT go inside the two pieces of fabric, but just sits against your face and does not stay in place. I do not feel protected in this mask.

The design of just laying the filter inside the mask is a poor design. The filter does not stay In place very well. The design should be where the filter goes in between the fabric layers of the mask so it becomes part of the mask. I have seen other people wear this mask that have decided not to use the filter for convenience, which make this mask ineffective and a false idea that the mask is very breathable. It is a very comfortable and well shaped mask. I would buy many and give to my friends if the filter insert was designed better. I won't buy another one until then.

There are no washing or drying instructions anywhere on your website or in the packaging. I tried to ask a question on your website and it's blocked. Please update your site and advise.

Wish the filter for the mask fit better, it tends to move around a lot and I have to constantly fix it when putting it on.

I wanted to love this mask, and without the filter it's really comfy. I am a small adult and the regular size fits fine even though my other brand masks are small. The huge problem is the filter!! It doesn't stay in place and constantly moves around and slips out of place. I DO NOT recommend these masks because without the filter they're not really safe or protective.

filters move around and fall out - no bueno

The company does a lot to make use you know that it's made in the US, but upon closer read it's just the filter. The mask itself is from Vietnam. That should be stated on the product page. Second, the smell of the masks is absolutely awful. I washed it twice and it still smells like a factory chemical. I'm trying to air it out to hope it gets better, but my other masks (from China) don't smell anywhere near as bad. I don't want to breathe in whatever is offgassing from these things. These are Overpriced and profoundly disappointing,

The plastic/ rubber size adjuster came broken right out of the package. We had waited a while to get them so I needed the mask for my son to wear so we had to put a knot In it which isn't comfortable and a bummer on a brand new item! If we didn't need it immediately I would have returned it. We purchased others and they were ok... so hopefully a fluke, but quality control should have caught this. Also, all the seals on order were open. Since they came direct from OR, not a huge concern, but does cause concern when a seal doesn't seal especially on an item like this during Covid.

The plastic/ rubber size adjuster came broken right out of the package. We had waited a while to get them so I needed the mask for my son to wear so we had to put a knot In it which isn't comfortable and a bummer on a brand new item! If we didn't need it immediately I would have returned it. We purchased others and they were ok... so hopefully a fluke, but quality control should have caught this. Also, all the seals- on order were open. Since they came direct from OR, not a huge concern, but does cause concern when a seal doesn't seal- especially on an item like this during Covid.

Before writing this negative review, I wrote to customer service to let them know privately the mask did not hold up with normal wearing--gentle on & off. Instead of hearing back on my concern, I received a solicitation for a review.