Razer Zephyr

It pains me to put on this list a device whose purpose is to protect people from a contagious disease, but Razer’s Zephyr face mask is ambitious to a fault. Revealed at CES 2021 as Project Hazel, the Zephyr is being marketed as a “wearable air purifier,” though it looks more like something a PC enthusiast made as a prop for a dystopian TV series.

Where a cloth mask passively filters air, the Zephyr uses a pair of two-speed fans to cycle air through N95-grade filters housed within the mask. Razer makes some compelling claims about the mask’s effectiveness and solved some of the annoyances with today’s ubiquitous blue-and-white cloths by adding clever features like a translucent mouthpiece, interior lights that highlight the wearer’s mouth, and a flexible silicone seal.

However, when it comes down to it, a mask you’re too embarrassed to wear won’t provide any protection against airborne droplets. The Zephyr is clunky, the lighting is gimmicky, and replacing the filters adds cost on top of the $99 sticker price. It doesn’t help that many reviewers have complained about comfort, annoying fan noise, and poor visibility, not to mention the not-so-friendly looks they received while wearing the Zephyr. We encourage companies to come up with solutions to today’s problems and hope Razer gives this another shot, but the Zephyr, in its current form, isn’t something any of us would willingly wear out in public. —Phillip Tracy