Chaos Women's 1630

FIT: I bought the small/medium. I'm an average size adult female. It fits well with hair down, however with a ponytail or bun, it causes the front to be uncomfortably tight against my nose. I should say that I have what we will call a prominent nose. Not big, but not a little button one either, and it fits comfortably.FUNCTION: This is what I wear when the weather is at its coldest. Where I live, that means wind chills often at -20F, and occasionally at -40F, usually with accompanying snow (we got about 340" this winter). In my experience it holds up against the coldest wind and keeps me perfectly warm. However, I will also wear it in conditions much warmer than that, if I'm going to be outdoors for an extended period of time. This is where the convertible factor becomes very handy. I walk in the winter, about 4 miles per day, and even if it feels warmer, I'll usually wear this, since I know I can leave the face portion down but quickly and easily put it up if need be. Where I live the wind is typically quite strong, and it changes direction throughout the day. I also walk across a bridge every day, and the wind is much colder during that portion of the walk. These unpredictable and changing conditions make the convertible aspect of this balaclava very convenient. It's much nicer than messing with a scarf multiple times during a walk.GOGGLES/GLASSES: It will definitely fog up your eyewear, unless you wear full-seal goggles.BREATHABILITY: Not the best. When walking extremely fast and really huffing and puffing, it's borderline uncomfortabe. If worn biking, I think it would also be uncomfortable. However, the moisture level is minimal. It's more a feeling of not getting enough air, and wanting to pull the face part down to get some fresh air. However, this is a trade-off with the performance you get with this at very low temps/wind chills.COVERAGE: I am very happy with the amount of coverage. I wanted something where I could achieve a truly minimal amount of exposed skin if desired, and this delivers. You can see in the curvature of the front - it curves up on the nose, and up towards the outer portion of the eyes, and the upper (forehead) portion curves down around the outer portion of the eyes. I can pull that portion down over my eyebrows, and the lower portion up to the very bottom of my eyes. The NECK COVERAGE with this is also great - it goes down further than any other balaclava I've seen. I never feel like there's a chance my neck will be exposed, even with the face portion pulled all the way up. With my other balaclava, it always felt like a tug of war between my nose/cheeks being covered and my neck being covered. If I pulled it up over my face, I'd have to either have a scarf around my neck or have my jacked zipped up all the way to my chin.One thing that irritates me is that with the convertible aspect to this, you end up with a "hinge" between the two portions of fabrics right near the ear. This ends up making it feel like my ears aren't covered; I would prefer one smooth area of fabric that felt flush against the skin in front of my ears. However, they are apparently covered, as I don't actually end up suffering from cold ears or pain. It's just more of a nagging feeling that gives me the urge to adjust it when I don't actually need to. Perhaps this is an inevitable part of a convertible balaclava, or perhaps they could move the "hinge" area up or down to alleviate this. In any case, it's a relatively minor annoyance, and certainly not worth sending it back.Overall, I would definitely recommend this for someone who wants versatile coverage and something that will hold up in extremely cold and windy conditions.

I've always used a Buff for a makeshift facemask for winter hikes or runs, but when my friends and I planned a winter ascent of Algonquin I knew I needed a real balaclava. I did a lot of research before settling on this one, and I am very pleased with this purchase.I've broken my nose several times, and had surgery to repair it, so I'm very sensitive about pressure on my face and nose. I was worried that this balaclava doesn't have the nostril 'cutout' the way a lot of other masks do, and that it would be too tight. When I first put it on it was pretty snug, and I found it to be uncomfortable,. However, after a very short time (a matter of minutes) the pressure on my nose loosened up and I was very comfortable. I think the material just had to stretch a little bit. This mask should work fine for you even if you dislike having something tight on your nose or face.The 'hinged' design is excellent. I was able to wear this as a neck-warmer when we were starting our hike. When it started snowing I pulled the hood up and left my face completely free. When we got above treeline I pulled the mask part up over my face. The howler was equally comfortable in all three configurations. Changing it from one to the other didn't make it tight or restrictive, it is designed to work equally well in all of those setups.Temperatures started at -8 and dropped from there. The rangers later told us that with wind chill we were at -20 to -30 on top of the mountain. This mask did an excellent job of keeping out the wind and the cold. The top of my head was a bit chilly when we were at the summit, but I'm bald so I had no additional insulation. I ended up putting on a very thin hat (which easily fit on under this mask) and was perfectly fine. Someone with hair would probably not need any additional layer, even at those temperatures. My face, ears, and nose were perfectly warm, no issues at all. My friends were very impressed with how well I was dealing with the wind, and complemented how well my mask was working. They all had masks of their own but were still cold. At least one commented that he was going to buy one of these himself.I do have two minor complaints. First, when the mask was up I found that my breath went right up into my goggles causing them to fog up. I have not found ANY mask that does not have this problem, however. All my friends had exactly the same issue with their own setups, and every mask I can find online has at least 1 review stating the same thing, so I am not going to knock off a star. With a good set of anti-fog goggles this problem would hopefully be lessened.Secondly, the mask kept me warm, but it did freeze while we were at the summit. After our descent I pulled it down to take a drink of water, and I wasn't able to get the mask portion back up for the rest of the hike. My breath had caused the mouth and nose portion to freeze solid. Again, I don't believe this would be different with any other mask when you're dealing with -20 degree temperatures, so I'm not going to knock off a star.I highly recommend this balaclava. It kept me warm in extreme conditions, it was comfortable, it can be worn in several configurations, and it is reasonably priced. You really can't go wrong here.

Presented with a number of options for balaclaves, I contacted the folks at Chaos-CTR. Being a Canadian company, they were familiar with my destination, and its extreme wind and weather. It turned out that the ones I saw in the store were only rated to -15, not nearly enough for the -32c I woke up to this morning.

Fits a little snug, but that's probably a good thing. Definitely a well made item.I wore this the other day when I was outside in some -25 (-30 windchill) Winnipeg weather, and it was prefect. I highly recommend this to other Canadians who are looking for something to get them through a Prairie winter.

Tuve un error al elegir la talla, francamente no la he utilizado, sin embargo le doy las 4 estrellas,la calidad es buena así que por un error mio no hay que demeritar al producto

Review from husband: I work outdoor construction in Calgary and needed something to protect from the wind and cold weather over the winter. I have been extremely impressed with this balaclava and have put it to the test in -30 weather.

Very tight and fabric quite rough. Other companies offer much more value form same price (i own 3 others, all way better)