This balaclava was packed up and ready to be shipped back to Amazon. Some white stuff outside made me change my mind, thankfully. I inadvertently took up a new sport this winter: Extreme Snow Removal. Yes, I live outside Boston, where we’ve had a several 2-foot snow dumps within the last month. I usually don’t need to help out with snow removal, as my plow-, snowblower-, and shovel-equipped husband usually handles it all in a couple of hours. This winter, the process has taken him up to 6 hours, so I’ve started lending a hand, along with my arms, legs, and face. Which brings me to my review of this particular product. I’ve never thought about my face while shoveling, until the snow drifts relentlessly smacked me in it. During the last big storm, I could no longer feel my nose, lips, and chin after only ten minutes of shoveling. I dreamt of a balaclava, researched my options, and decided on this one for the wind-stopper fabric. I also wanted actual openings for breathing. Truly, the thought of a balaclava scared me, as I can’t even breathe underneath a sheet; I feel like I’m suffocating. Breathing through fleece or lightly perforated fabric was not an option for me. The face mask attachment of this balaclava has a hole below the nose and mesh fabric over the mouth. This is not a fashion item; it is purely functional. After it arrived, I tried it on with all the packaging still attached, and it was not comfortable. All the velcro, all the fabric… I didn’t get how it was supposed to fit. It choked my neck and threatened to slide over my eyes. No, I decided that a balaclava was not for me, so back into the shipping bag it went. It sat there for a week until today. We just got two fresh feet of snow, the temps are in the teens, and the wind is ripping. Snow drifts are swirling, creating temporary white-outs. I decided that extreme times called for extreme measures, and took the tags off this crazy, puzzling face-protecting hat. Let me tell you: I’m a convert. I just spent an hour outside and can still feel my face! It was not comfortable when I first put it on, but once I was outside in the elements, believe me, I didn’t feel any discomfort. My face was warm and dry. The snow blew on me but did not make me cold. Breathing through the nasal cutout and the mesh mouth fabric was just fine. My nose runs like crazy in the cold, so I did have to slide it down to blow my nose every once in a while, but I didn’t undo the velcro. As the other reviews say, you’d need a mirror to get everything back into place properly. I could’ve stayed out there another hour or longer if there was more for me to do. This balaclava is a great choice for clearing snow, especially if it’s windy. This was actually the easiest time I've ever had shoveling, and I pretty much owe it to this balaclava.
