Breathable Balaclava Full Face Mask

Keeps grit, sweat and helmet rub off your head.

A full day under a helmet and it is not the heat that gets you, it is the grit. Dust off the track goes straight down your collar, sweat runs out from under the shell and into your eyes, and by smoko the inside of the lid smells like something died in it.

Then there is the rub. A helmet sitting straight on a shaved head or a sunburnt neck wears a hot spot in about an hour, and you spend the rest of the day shifting the strap instead of watching where you are going. Take your eyes off the track to wipe them and that is how a bike ends up in a berm.

This is a plain lightweight knit balaclava that goes on under the lid. One piece, no seam running down the side of your face, honeycomb vent panels through the mouth, both cheeks and both ears so you are not breathing through a solid wall of fabric, and a long front bib that tucks inside your collar to keep the dust out.

It is a liner and a dust-and-sun cover, not a winter mask. Those vent panels are open holes right through the knit — that is what makes it bearable in heat, and it is exactly why it will not stop a cold wind. If warmth is the job, the thermal beanies are the right shelf.

What It Does

• Sits under a helmet: thin seamless knit with no side seam, so a bike, motorbike or hard hat shell sits on fabric instead of on your scalp.
• Lets you breathe: the honeycomb panels over the mouth and cheeks are open holes through the fabric, not a printed pattern.
• Keeps grit off: covers head, ears, face and neck in one piece, with an extended front bib that tucks into your collar.
• Covers the neck: the strip between collar and helmet is the bit that always burns, and it stays covered without a brim to blow off.
• Stays where you put it: the gathered ribbed neck holds shape when you turn your head instead of dragging the whole thing round with it.
• Washes and goes back on: hand wash at 30 °C in the sink, and a thin synthetic knit dries fast enough to be back on the hook by morning.

Key Features

• Single eye opening: one hole, with the face, ears and neck all covered.
• Honeycomb vent panels: over the mouth, both cheeks and both ears, visible as open holes in the supplier's close-up shot.
• Seamless knit body: single layer, no side seams to sit under a helmet strap.
• Flat crown seam: the supplier calls it a four-needle six-thread stitch, which is the flat sort that does not ridge up under a shell.
• Extended front bib: longer at the front than the back, so it tucks inside a collar or a jacket.
• Ribbed gathered neck: holds its shape around the throat rather than slumping down.
• Four plain colours: green, black, grey and dark blue. No pattern on any of them.
• One size, pull-on: no zips, no drawcords, no adjusters, nothing to break.

Limits

The honest list. Better you read it now than find out on the bike.

• It is not windproof: the mouth, cheek and ear panels are holes. Air goes straight through them, which is the whole point of them. No wind rating is published for this fabric and we are not going to invent one.
• It is not thermal: single-layer knit. No fleece, no lining, no wool. It takes the edge off a cool morning and that is all.
• It filters nothing: this is knitted fabric with ventilation holes in it. It is not a respirator, not a dust mask and not a medical device, and it makes no claim about germs, viruses or bacteria of any kind.
• It is not head protection: it goes under a helmet, it does not replace one. There is no impact protection in it whatsoever.
• No UPF number: fabric over skin beats bare skin, but no UPF rating is printed on the garment or published by the supplier. Treat it as cover, not as a sun rating.
• No certification: no standard is printed on the garment and none is claimed. Nothing here is tested or marked to any flame, cut or impact standard, so do not put it on as workwear where one is required.
• One size only: the supplier publishes no head circumference and no size chart. There is a lot of stretch in the knit, but we cannot give you a range, and on a big or a very small head that is a real risk.
• Fibre content unconfirmed: the supplier states 90% nylon and 10% elastane. The care label in the photographs is too small to read the fibre content off, so that figure is published as the supplier's, not as ours.

Q & A

Will it keep a cold wind off my face?

No. Look at the close-up of the mouth panel in the photos — those are real holes through the knit, so wind goes straight through. This one is built for heat, dust and sun. For a cold ride you want something solid across the face or fleece-lined.

Does it fit under a full-face motorbike helmet?

That is what it is shaped for. Thin single-layer knit, no side seam and a flat crown seam, so there is nothing to ridge up under the shell. It will still add a fraction to a helmet that is already snug.

What size is it, and will it fit me?

One size, pull on over the head. The supplier publishes no head circumference and no size chart, so we cannot quote you a range. The knit stretches a long way in both directions, which is why there is no size to choose on this page.

Is it camouflage, or a tactical mask?

No. All four colours are plain — green, black, grey and dark blue. There is no pattern printed or knitted into it, and nothing about it is military.

Can I wear it as a dust mask?

It will keep road grit and blown dust off your skin, which is worth having. It will not filter what you breathe. It is knitted fabric with vent holes in it, so it is not respiratory protection and it is not protective equipment.

How do I wash it?

By hand. The care panel printed on the bag it ships in reads hand wash at 30 °C, not machine wash, not tumble dry, and no exposure to direct sunlight while it dries. So it is the sink, cool water, no bleach, and hang it in the shade.

How long will it take to get here?

Delivery is free to Australia and New Zealand. Allow 10 to 14 days from the day you place the order, and up to three weeks if you are regional or remote.

Specs