Razer messed this up big time and I'll tell you how. First this is NOT the mask they were going to make, the original project Hazel mask was suppose to be a much smaller mask, without RGBs that came with a UV box that cleaned away all the germs. THAT was a great idea. This $100 abomination on the other hand is something sad, pathetic, and stupid.
I'm quite sure the original prototype design also had RGB lighting. That's not something they changed. As for the UV sanitizing box, that's likely something they eliminated to reduce costs. Though, it's possible they might have found it to damage or discolor some of the plastics over time, as UV lighting can be harsh on certain materials.
And wtf is with the RGBs? You were asked to make a mask for safety and you made some piece of garbage with glowing? Why? Did you ever hear anyone say "oh you know what my mask is missing? RGBs!" No you haven't, and you never will, because no one in the world thinks that they're needed above being a Halloween gag.
Honestly, that's always been the main selling point here. No one is going to pay a premium for a Razer-branded mask if it didn't have an over-the-top gamer/cyberpunk aesthetic. They were not asked to make a mask, and it's always been about bringing a flashy product to market.
The truly sad part is, if they got rid of those sad RGBs, and got rid of the little window to see the persons mouth(which by the way no one actually ever needed or will need). They could have replaced it with that mic to amplify our voice inside a plastic mask, and get rid of the noisy intake fans and make them small and spiral which there will now be room for with no RGBs, it might actually have been a decent idea.
A microphone and speakers could have probably been incorporated into the design, as they were apparently in the prototype, but I'm not so sure it would have been all that useful. It's still not likely to sound natural, like someone speaking without a mask. And it's not like the existence of RGB lighting is preventing them from doing that. I do think they could have added a lower, practically inaudible fan-speed though, even with the current design.
This mask is a complete and utter fail, not only does it not protect much of anything, it's impractical, overpriced, and the filters aren't even reusable. Shame on your Razer, for turning something that would have been amazing, into a piece of garbage.
Any N95-grade filter is not really intended to be reusable long-term, at least not while maintaining a high level of filtering. The price of the filters does seem rather high, though that goes for N95 masks in general lately. They probably should have included more than three sets with the mask though, given its price. There's also the fact that Razer isn't a respirator company, and should they decide to discontinue the product line a year or two from now, it might be hard to find replacement filters at all. That is, assuming these aren't some standard-size filters. It's possible that there might be other off-the-shelf respirator filters that could fit.
Granted that I have never try nor own this razer mask, so I do not now how clear we can see the mouth of the person who wearing it, but the idea of having windowed mask so other person can see your mouth (lips) while talking can be helpful for my friend and others like him.
That could potentially be useful if someone who were a friend or family member owned one, or maybe someone who works with the deaf on a regular basis. Realistically though, it's not going to help much with communicating with random people in public, because hardly anyone is going to own one, and it's probably not practical to have everyone wear bulky, expensive masks just for the odd chance that they might need to directly communicate with someone who can benefit from lip reading. Also, a quick search turns up a number of other clear masks, of both the disposable and reusable variety, so it's not like Razer is doing something new here in regard to that.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram