Razer’s Zephyr mask is a wearable air purifier straight from your sci-fi nightmares
Breathe like a Batman villain
Masks might save you from social anxiety, but Razer’s latest facewear will give you new kinds of nightmares. Styled like something Bane would wear to a steampunk disco, the Zephyr (£100) features Razer’s trademark RGB lighting around its filter portals. Freakier still, it also illuminates your chin with a neon glow that’s visible to others through the transparent, anti-fog front panel. Or it would be, were your conversation partner not fleeing in fear.
While it’s sure to terrify shop assistants and elderly locals alike, the Zephyr will at least help you breathe cleaner. Razer calls the rainbow veil a ‘wearable air purifier’. It’s not technically PPE (and it hasn’t been specifically tested against The Virus), but its N95 filters have a bacterial filtration efficiency of 99% – plus they’ll stop 95% of tiny particles. Together with a secure silicone face seal, that means wearers shouldn’t inhale any airborne nasties. The Zephyr’s vented discs also harbour a pair of high-speed fans. These circulate air through exchange chambers inside the mask, ensuring you’re always filling your lungs with the fresh stuff.
Want to party like it’s the apocalypse? Connect to the smartphone app via Bluetooth to pick from 16.8 million colours for the external Razer Chroma RGB rings, as well as individual hues for those lip-lighting LEDs. And thanks to that see-through plastic shield, passersby will be able to lip-read as you try to explain that, no, you’re not in town to deal with a toxic zombie hazard and, in fact, you’d just like to buy tinned goods. Which are definitely not because you’re hoarding.
Switch the lighting off and the fan speed to low and it’ll last for up to 8 hours. Not the most efficient, then, but at least it produces 80% less material waste than a standard disposable mask.
Chris Rowlands
Freelance contributor