The Benefit of Wearing a Motorcycle Face Mask or Balaclava

I love riding motorcycles. And I’m not embarrassed to admit that a big part of the reason why I love riding motorcycles is that, well, motorcycles are just cool. Many will give you other reasons like it’s convenient or economical, and those are perfectly valid reasons to be sure, but trust me, a lot of them ride because they think motorcycles are cool.

Of course, there are a few things that riding a motorcycle entails that can spoil the fun. I used to have some anxiety about riding my motorcycle to work because I was embarrassed to enter the office with helmet hair. Those days are long gone, but another thing that happened a few years ago that made me decide to ride my bike less than I wanted to was the pollution and weather.

See, a few years ago, I moved to New Jersey for a while because my work needed me to, and my daily commute required me to traverse a particularly polluted metro. Not just that, my work was such that I needed to be in New Jersey regularly from April to November, the time in NJ when the temperature drops. 

Riding a motorcycle in these horrid conditions was taking a toll on me. That is until I discovered the utility of motorcycle face masks. It wasn’t like I’ve never heard about them before, but it’s just that I never felt I needed one until that point. 

Needless to say, motorcycle face masks or balaclavas solved much of my Jersey-riding problems, and I was able to ride more often than I used to—well, actually, I was able to ride every day to work feeling much less stressed than before.

I found myself often using my motorcycle face mask when I was back in California, where the weather was warmer and more, how shall we say the Mediterranean? Back in California, one problem I often had to contend with when riding was that my helmet can end up drenched in sweat after a hot day of riding. Again, my motorcycle face mask mitigated much of this problem and made riding an overall, more pleasant experience.

It is for these reasons that I’m glad I discovered motorcycle face masks, which I previously thought I wouldn’t have much use for. Indeed, suppose you’re someone like I was a few years ago. In that case, I’d definitely recommend you don the mask—it’s a great accessory that will protect against the dust and grit that will blow against your face and against the cold temperatures if you often find yourself riding in such conditions.

There are many motorcycle face masks available in the market today, however, that it can be confusing which one to purchase. Most people think that any piece of cloth that provides a good amount of face and neck coverage will do. But trust me—as someone who’s been around the block, so to speak—those considerations won’t do. You’ll need something with good coverage, to be sure, but also something that is made from good material. Something that is thick but provides a good amount of breathability. 

From all the motorcycle face masks I’ve purchased, one brand that I found to be of exceptional quality is MotoFlavour.com. If the name sounds familiar, that’s because they’re a company that manufactures motorcycle accessories, from helmets to gloves, to even keychains. While I’ve owned a lot of their motorcycle accessories and can tell you that the quality of each is exceptional, I am particularly impressed with their face masks.

For one, the 3D effect of the image that’s printed on the mask looks insane. They look so real from a distance. I have the face mask with the shark mouth, and my buddies said they needed a double-take to realize it was a mask. Another is that Moto Flavour face masks are made of this permeable microfiber that dries up water real quickly—ride under heavy rain if you must, and you won’t feel like you’re being waterboarded! 

I really dig Moto Flavour motorcycle face masks, and they have a huge selection of designs that offer a good amount of neck and facial coverage. You can check out their website and see for yourself!