N95 grade mask RGB lighting on fans and internally Clear front panel

Brand: Razer Color: Black Material: Plastic, silicone Reusable: Yes, custom N95 filter discs are replaceable

Forced air from fans makes it much easier to breathe Good silicone seal can prevent glasses from fogging up

Filter replacements are expensive Not compatible with standard gas filters Muffles your voice quite a lot

Zephyr vs Project Hazel

I think we should make it clear that between the concept Project Hazel product shown at CES and the mass-manufacturable Zephyr that we’ve ended up with, there’s obviously going to be some differences.

Most notably absent is the voice amplifier. In the end, the manufacturing complexities and practicality of that feature just didn’t pan out.

Also gone from the original spec is the UV sterilizer storage box. Instead, you’re encouraged to wipe down the facial interface with an anti-septic or alcohol wipe.

What we do still have is a very sleek face mask—or technically, a “wearable air purifier”—equipped with Razer Chroma RGB LEDs on both the filters, and around your mouth. The LED lighting and a clear front panel enable listeners to see your mouth, and two fans force the air to circulate, keeping you from breathing the same stale air.

Unboxing, and Design

Inside the typically ornate Razer box, you’ll find:

The Razer Zephyr Storage pouch USB-C charging cable Three sets of N95-grade replaceable filters Anti-fogging spray

We also received a pack of ten additional replacement filters. More on those, and pricing, later.

In terms of design, RGB LEDs aside, it’s not all that far removed from industry-standard half-face masks used to work with spray paints and in other noxious environments.

The clear front panel has anti-fogging spray applied, but a spray bottle is supplied in the package to refresh when it wears off.

A medical-grade silicone gasket provides a safe seal to your face, and you use two strong elastic straps to secure it to your head (one of which can be tightened). Weighing 240g (8.5oz), the straps keep it secure enough to not fall off in general use, but probably not during vigorous activity like jogging.

N95 Filters

Unlike industrial masks, on which the two meshed protrusions would normally be replaceable 3M filter blocks, in this case, they house the fans and some LEDs, and presumably small batteries too.

The outer shell is attached using some small magnets, and can be easily pulled off to insert or replace the tiny filters. A filter set consists of two small discs, and one curved (smile?) shape that sits under your mouth. Just pull the shell off, pop in a filter, then snap the shell back on again. It’s remarkably easy to swap them out.

Each filter set is rated to last three days of normal use, and replacements can be purchased at $30 for ten sets. That works out at $3 per set, or $1 per day of use.

These filter sets aren’t a standard shape or design; they are custom-fit to the Zephyr, and can only be purchased from Raazer currently. In time, I suspect we’ll see third-party replacements if the mask proves popular enough.

It’s not clear if the packaging label of “wearable air purifier” is to skirt around legal obligations or additional testing required to call something a face mask, but Razer claims the filters are N95 grade, 99% BFE rated, and crucially, block 95% of 0.3 microns and larger particles. It also complies with mask mandates in the UK and US, so functionally, it is a mask.

Still, it’s a shame Razer didn’t integrate an industry-standard filter block design, which would have meant the mask was useable for more than just airborne diseases.

Clear Front Panel

The clear front panel and LED lit interior is a huge boon for social interactions, particularly for those who are hard of hearing and need to lip-read. It’s an unspoken tragedy of the pandemic that so many people have been left in a world of loneliness with their ability to communicate face-to-face taken away.

That said, most people I interacted with were quite put off by the internal lighting; they said they found it distracting and weird, even when it was plain white light and not a toxic green.

Fan Noise

A single button on the Zephyr controls the fan speed and power to the whole mask. Long press to power on or on. Short press to change the speed of the two fans: off, low, and high.

At low speed, the whir of the fans is audible to you, but not really to anyone else, and would be easily drowned out by any background noise. In fact, if you watch the video review, you might be able to hear it picked up by my lavalier microphone. I’d happily use it on public transport without worrying about people being disturbed by the noise.

On high speed, it’s a different story. The whir of those tiny fans is audible to anyone standing close to you, and quite annoying. Again, it would be drowned by any sort of low-level background noise, but it wouldn’t be appropriate to use during a meeting.

Compared to a passive N95 mask, I found even the lowest fan speed (in conjunction with the secure silicone seal) was great at preventing my glasses from fogging up. I only needed to turn the speed up if I was doing something strenuous, like a good power walk (which, realistically, you don’t need a mask for anyway, but that’s beside the point).

RGB Lighting

The Razer Zephyr uses Bluetooth to communicate with a smartphone app, through which you can set the lighting scheme, or disable it completely. Both the internal and fan lighting can be set independently, but the left and right fan both display the same effect.

As well as choosing a static color, a number of effects can be chosen, such as simple color cycle, breathing (alternates between two colors), or the signature Razer RGB color swirl around the fans. Your chosen effect or color is saved to the Zephyr as the default for the next time you power it on, but changing it requires use of the app. Only the fan speed can be adjusted via the mask button.

Though I admit I haven’t given it too much thought, I think this pretty much covers all the RGB functionality I want from a face mask. The only thing missing is that, unlike other Razer Chroma products, the Zephyr lighting can’t be linked to your gaming PC to dynamically adjust to match in-game action. Heaven forbid your face mask and keyboard LEDs be uncoordinated during a live stream.

Battery Life

Razer states you should get roughly three and a half hours of use with the fans on low speed and all the LEDs on. That drops to three hours for full-speed fans, or eight hours if you disable them completely. The longest I wore it in one stretch was around two and half hours for a local council meeting (not kidding), with the LEDs turned off and low fan speed. If anything, I’d say the battery life is understated. It’s not something you’ll need to worry about, anyway.

In-Use, and Comfort

The Zephyr was surprisingly comfortable to wear, even for long periods. And I say that as a glasses-wearer. My wife, who also wears glasses, found it less functional though. She has a flatter face, and couldn’t quite get a good seal, so she still ended up with foggy glasses.

I’ll also note that the facial interface felt ever so slightly too small for me. It either sat a little too low on my nose, or hugged my bottom lip.

And while it is generally comfortable to wear, I did find communication more difficult than a regular mask. My voice was muffled, and I could see people straining to understand me. One on one it wasn’t a problem, especially when they can see your mouth move too, but in a group environment, it made it very difficult to participate in discussions.

Durability

There are two potential points of failure: the straps, and the fans. You can forget about the LEDs, as they’re unlikely to break down during the product’s lifetime.

The straps are elastic, covered by fabric. In my experience, the rubber will perish and the cover material will break down, especially when it’s coming into frequent contact with body oils. However, it’s also easily replaceable. It’s just threaded through the mask at some easily accessible points, and then through the rubber guards on the back.

The fans are probably the biggest concern. I can’t see any feasible way of replacing them without permanently damaging the rest of the mask. Of course, the Zephyr will still work without one or the other fan, but it will be of less utility.

Overall, it scores reasonably well for durability then.

Do You Need a Wearable Air Purifier?

Given that you got this far in the review, I don’t think it would controversial to say I expect we’ll be wearing face masks for a long time yet. While half the world seems to think this pandemic is over, the UK government’s modeling suggests that in the worst case, COVID will be with us until 2026. At the time of writing, mask-wearing is no longer a legal requirement in most settings, but for many of us it’s been normalized. I walked around Tesco grocery shopping with the Zephyr on and no one batted an eyelid.

A reusable face-mask is certainly a better alternative to the mountains of polyester trash we’re currently flooding the oceans with. The clear front panel is a boon for those who struggle to hear, and the active air filtration definitely makes it easier to breathe and avoid fogging up glasses.

Yes, there are ongoing costs, comparable to disposable masks. $30 a month is quite a lot of money, though realistically you don’t need to change the filters as often if you’re not using the Zephyr sparingly.

The fact that it doubles up as a wicked cyberpunk cosplay mask with Bluetooth controllable RGB lighting is an added bonus.