Paintball x3

Save Phace is a new face in the paintball world, but the Texas-based company has been around for some time, making protective masks for competitive fishing and recreational uses, like dirt biking and ATV riding. .  Their SUM (Sport Utility Mask) masks are also serving on the front lines in the War on Terror, protecting our troops from sandstorms in Afghanistan and Iraq. The Coast Guard is also using Save Phace masks to protect them during rough sea duty.  Various law enforcement agencies use Save Phace masks in their duties as well.  The Tactical Series masks are specially engineered for paintball and airsoft.   The masks used for paintball are ASTM certified for use in paintball.  The lenses are manufactured to ANSI standards for optical clarity.

For this review, we got the “Boo” pattern mask.  There are several designs available for Save Phace masks, from flag designs to the “Dictator” and “Warlord” designs along with camo designs like “Digi”.  Save Phace can also airbrush and seal your own design on a mask, or you can do it yourself, so long as you have the correct paint.   

Included in the So Phat series mask packages are the mask itself, a protective bag, and an amber tinted lens.  The mask itself is made out of a rigid ABS material, which Save Phace claims can give 'skips' off of the angular surfaces of the mask.   The So Phat series features removable foam to ease cleaning and replacement.  Forehead protection comes on the mask from the factory, but it's easily removed to minimize profile via 3 screws that hold it on.  The lens and strap are held in using snap buckles that offer a combination of security and ease of removal for cleaning.

We tested the mask on a variety of faces and heads, from large men to small women’s heads and we noted that people with smaller heads felt better protected than those of us (including this writer) with heads more like watermelons than grapes.  All noticed some echo effect from their voices in the mask. 

To test the mask and lens for anti-fog ability, we torture tested the mask at Old River Paintball in Ocklawaha, Florida during the late spring.  Situated near the Ocala National Forest, Old River is one of the densest and most challenging scenario fields in Florida.   Temperatures in the high eighties to low nineties with near-100% humidity levels make for ideal fogging conditions.  We used other masks on-field to get an idea of how quickly the mask would fog.  So long as a player was moving, fogging could be kept to manageable levels.  However, if you stopped in the dense palmetto plants towards the back of the field, most paintball masks will quickly and completely fog over. 

Even with the forehead protection in place, which blocks off key ventilation points right above the lens, the Save Phace mask did partially fog, but never to the point where vision was seriously impaired.  The lenses provided with the test mask were Save Phace's single pane lens using military grade anti-fogging treatments on the lens.  Save Phace also sells a dual pane thermal lens to maximize anti-fogging. 

The newcomer to the paintball party looks to be an up-and-coming contender on the market. With the multitude of designs and the ability to design your own mask as well as configure the mask to your needs and preferences, the Save Phace masks are going to be a winner for a long time.  The MSRP for the Save Phace So Phat Series mask is a reasonable $74.99.  For more information, check out www.savephace.com