Initial Report: Psolar.BX Balaclava

E-mail: bpskids@charter.net
Name: Jodi Cornelius
Age: 41
Height: 5'4"/1.6 m
Weight: 160 lbs/73 kg
Gender: Female
City: Derrick City
State: PA
Country: USA
Date: December 4, 2003
My area of the country: Northwest Pennsylvania near the Allegheny Mountains

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Psolar Inc.
Website: http://www.psolar.com
Product: Psolar.BX Balaclava
MSRP: $40.00
Year of Manufacturer: 2003
From their Website:
Weight: 2.25 oz. (64 g)
Height: 11.75 in. (30 cm)
Width: (neck) 9.25 in. (23.5 cm)
Face opening diameter: 5.5" (14 cm)
Color: Black w/ white and yellow lettering. White heat exchanger.

The Psolar.BX Balaclava arrived in a Tyvek bag with an information sheet.  While I liked the Tyvek bag as I will use it backpacking, I was not impressed with the packaging of the balaclava. The heat exchanger is a hard plastic (which I describe a little bit further on) and is not cushioned in any way in the bag. It seems to me that any mishandling of the package could cause the heat exchanger to become damaged irreparably in shipping.

The main part of the balaclava is fleece. There is an opening in the front for the eye area of the face, and under the opening, there is a section of Spandex which is lined with fleece. The Spandex has a net-like compartment in the middle which holds the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is removable. It is a black curved plastic housing that is open front and back.  The housing curves to "cup" the mouth area. Inside the housing are what appear to be white plastic sheets separated by thin, clear plastic sheets that are installed vertically with the thin edge facing the front and the “sheet” side running from front to back. If looking at the heat exchanger from the front of the balaclava, the sheets look like |||||||. The clear sheets have little dimples which causes spaces to appear in between the sheets so that air can run from front to back for proper air circulation. On the top of the black housing - it has Q X TEC stamped into it. The bottom has the patent number along with the statement "others pending". While the exchanger is easy to remove, it is a lot more difficult replacing it! It took a couple of seconds to remove it, and a good minute to replace it. The plastic housing is a tad flimsy and I was afraid of crushing it while trying to replace it.

Initial Impressions

The balaclava is snug but not overly so. It covers the head and neck. There are three different wearing styles. First, the balaclava can be worn so that it covers the mouth and nose with the heat exchanger over the mouth. Another way is so the balaclava covers just the chin or completely under the chin, so that the entire face is exposed. When worn this way the heat exchanger is under the chin. The final way is to roll the bottom portion up to form a "brim" like a stocking hat (also known as a "toboggan hat"). With the heat exchanger in, it does not wear well in this manner. It is do-able but very uncomfortable. If I knew I wasn't going to need the exchanger, I would leave it off and just wear it without it.

Test Plan

I will be testing this balaclava while wearing glasses during hunting season (which I have already started field testing for), and for any other outdoor activities including but not limited to, sled ridding, ice skating, cross country skiing, snowshoeing and day hikes. I also plan on using it for some cold weather testing in my hammock to see about condensation issues.

Things I like: This fits really nice except for around the eyes when wearing glasses. It fits nicely along the forehead but is a bit "baggy" under the eyes (around the nose area). It is VERY comfortable.

Things I dislike: It didn't come with the vapor shield and so far I have found some serious fogging that occurs with my glasses when exerting myself outside in the cold. I also found the packaging for shipping to be less than satisfactory although mine arrived without damage. I would have been upset to have to return it right off the bat due to a busted exchanger.

My Background: I have been backpacking for 2 years now and before I camped quite a bit. I consider myself somewhat new to backpacking and am on my way towards becoming a lightweight packer. I have mostly been a 3 season backpacker but enjoy the winter months and am working toward doing more hiking during the cold weather.