Sykes Airsoft Masks Review

[Utty]

 

I bought the two masks from www.jamatik.fi - the Army of Two mask was €59, the Human face was €48. Shipping was €25, and the package arrived after a couple of days in pristine condition.

 

 

Initial impressions

 

 

The Army of Two mask, in this case the Rios model, looks very impressive. It's made of fiberglass with with a layer of some texture-molded material on the outside. The finish and quality seems very good, and it has a padded fabric lining glued to the inside. The eye sockets are covered with tough-looking perforated sheet steel.

 

The damage in the left eye socket and on the left cheek is from my endurance testing, more on that later.

 

 

The six-point harness is fully adjustable, with another padded fabric pad connecting the straps.

 

 

The Human face mask looks and feels more basic, in comparison.

 

 

It's a much simpler fiberglass shell with holes cut for the eyes, nostrils and mouth. The finish of the painted outer layer is good. Don't mind the messed up left cheek, it's from the endurance test.

 

 

The mask is held in place with a single adjustable head strap, and the inside surface of the mask is covered with simple foam.

 

Unlike the Rios mask, the Human face mask comes with a number of accesories.

 

 

A simple pair of goggles, a thin balaclava, and a thick, knitted one.

 

As you can see, the lens in the goggles is shattered, more on that in part 2 below.

 

 

-End of part 1-

[Utty]

-Part 2-

 

 

Field testing

 

A day of skirmishing at my local site gave me the opportunity to try out the masks.

 

Both masks are surprisingly comfortable. The Human face mask more so because of the form-fitting shape and the breathing holes. The Rios mask has no breathing holes, but the lower half of the mask has considerable clearance from your face so you won't suffocate.

 

Satisfied that both masks are comfortable enough for actual use, I put on my old airsoft mask, grabbed the Rios mask, Human face mask and the goggles that came with it, and my 490 FPS sniper AK, and went into the playing area to see how the test subjects would stand up to some worst-case scenario abuse.

Ammo used was G&G .28g BIOs.

 

First the Human face goggles.

 

 

Smash! These goggles did not pass the test and should not be used for airsoft skirmish use.

 

Next, the Human face mask itself.

 

 

Wack! As expected, the fiberglass survived the impact, but a good portion of the paint job peeled away around the point of impact. In any case: test passed.

 

Now the Rios mask, first the steel mesh.

 

 

Three shots: one near the left edge, and two in the middle right next to each other.

 

The mesh was considerably dented and the black paint disintegrated, but no cracks. The mesh seperated from the outer textured layer of the mask in places.

 

The black paint also came off on the inside surface of the mesh, at the center of the most severe dent.

 

In any case: no penetration. Test passed.

 

Finally, let's see how the surface of the mask itself deals with this kind of abuse.

 

 

It survived, of course, but the impact damage looks kinda cool, doesn't it? The paint doesn't peel off like the Human face mask, it only reveals the inner layer of silver paint, giving the illusion of the mask being made of metal. Pretty cool!

 

 

Skirmish testing

 

As the Human face goggles didn't survive the initial testing, only the Rios mask received skirmish testing this time. The weather was sunny with little wind, 17-20 degrees C.

 

I let my faithful guinnea pig / buddy play with the Rios mask first, here are his thoughts:

 

+ light weight, comfortable

+ surprisingly good visibility through the very small eye sockets and the mesh

- gets very hot, could use some breathing holes

- the jutting chin can get in the way when wearing a bulky scarf

 

Interesting. I put on the mask myself and went a-shootin', here are my impressions:

 

+ comfortable, indeed

+ good visibility, but I'm not sure I can get used to the mesh obstructing the view

+ low profile, iron sights can be used

- using contact lenses, the wind and dust blowing freely through the mesh is not so great

- does indeed get very hot

 

For the rest of the day, both my buddy and I used our normal airsoft masks, for him the deciding factor was the heat, for myself it was both the heat and the shortcomings of mesh eye protection.

 

 

Conclusion, Rios mask

 

A very high quality product, but is perhaps better suited for colder weather use, depending on how mobile you are during a skirmish. My buddy and I are sprinters, so a mask with good air flow is a must.

 

 

Next up: skirmish testing the Human face mask with a proper pair of goggles.

[Isamu]

That Rios Mask is pretty cool, but mesh googles ruins it completly as you said a shot stripped the paint, which could hit your eyes...

 

Maybe a little mod with policarbonate could fix the, for some people like me, issue

 

Great review, thanks Utty

[uscmCorps]

Good review. When I did my review of the Sykes mask, I noticed the biggest problem was finding a set of goggles that could get a full seal with the mask. I was never satisfied with the lack of full seal and had mesh professionally installed in them. Are there any US retailers still selling the Sykes Mask?

 

The AO2 mask is decent. Perhaps one of the better sculpts I've seen. But I still prefer the one made by the Dizon Brothers that I reviewed. Still, it's nice to see some more different masks out there.

[jond36]

What do you guys suggest for the best goggles with the skyes. ESS maybe?

[chronoswolf]

http://www.ebairsoft.com/army-skull-mask-black-p-2375.html

 

 

 

much better mask than sykesmasks

[Frontiers]

http://www.ebairsoft.com/army-skull-mask-black-p-2375.html

 

much better mask than sykesmasks

 

are you drunk or just posted this without even seeing the 2 masks? those China copies are nowhere NEAR Sykes quality or any other maker that is, ive tried both and seen the Chinese ones in person.