Polartec® Thermal Pro™
Coldest days · −10 to −25°C
Shearling-style sherpa fleece with a deep pile, light and breathable.
- Deep curly pile
- Embroidered mouth
- One piece, no side seams
- Styles
- Airtube · Balaclava
- Mouth
- Embroidered
Airhole · Technology
One hole.
Everything else follows.
Every Airhole starts with the hole. Your breath goes out through the mouth instead of up into your goggles, and everything else, from the fabric to the hinge, is built around that one idea. Here is what goes into them.
01 · The mouth
The Original Airhole
Breathe through a mask with no opening and the warm, wet air has nowhere to go but up, into the goggle, where it fogs the lens and freezes the fabric at your mouth. The Airhole gives it a way out. Warm breath leaves through the mouth opening instead of rising into your goggles, so the lens stays clearer and the mask doesn't turn clammy.
Fed up with wet, frozen masks in the backcountry, Canadian pro snowboarders Chris Brown and Kale Stephens took to Kale's grandma's old sewing machine and cut up worn-out jackets until the fit was right. The result was the patented Airhole Breath Hole. Today it's worn by our global team, from Terje Haakonsen and Roope Rautiainen to Yuto Miyamura.
- Patented Airhole Breath Hole
- Built by riders since 2006
Three ways to finish the hole
Each fabric gets the edge that suits it.
Silicone
A moulded silicone ring keeps the hole open and its edge soft, so it holds its shape against the wind and doesn’t fray.
Polar Fleece · Milk Fleece · Waffle Fleece · Polartec® 100Welded
The edge is bonded flat instead of sewn. It’s light and thin, which suits a light fabric.
DrytechEmbroidered
A thick, padded satin stitch rings the hole. It’s soft against the skin, so it suits fabrics you wear right on the face.
Merino · Microfleece · Polartec® Thermal Pro™02 · The mouth, rethought
Laser micro-airholes
Laser-cut holes across the face panel let warm breath out instead of up into your goggles. Maximum breathability without giving up warmth.
Instead of one opening, the breath spreads across a field of small holes cut by laser through the face panel. There's no ring at the mouth, and the face panel keeps its full coverage.
| Original Airhole | Laser micro-airholes | |
|---|---|---|
| Mouth | One silicone, welded or embroidered Airhole | Laser micro-airholes across the face panel |
| Sizes | S/M (50–55 cm) and M/L (55–60 cm) | One size (50–60 cm) |
| Coverage | An open breath hole at the mouth | Full face panel, breath spread across the holes |
| Fabrics | Polar, Milk, Waffle, Drytech, Merino, Microfleece, Polartec®, Softshell | Polar, Drytech, Polartec® Power Dry™, Hyper Hole |
No mask keeps a lens clear in every case. If the top edge is tucked up under the goggle foam while you're breathing hard, some breath will still find the lens. Wear the mask with its top edge under the goggle frame, not inside it.
03 · Fabric
POLARTEC®Polartec® fabrics
Polartec® invented synthetic fleece in 1981, and its fabrics are still the reference that every other fleece is measured against. Three of them are in the Airhole line.
1981Polartec invents synthetic fleece
3Polartec® fabrics in the Airhole line
4Fleece weights: Micro, 100, 200, 300
2Yarns in one Power Dry™ knit
POLARTEC® POWER DRY™
Pulls sweat off your face
Polartec® Power Dry™ is a base-layer fabric built to move sweat. Polartec describes it as an “all-weather base layer, built to quickly wick moisture away from skin to outer layers during activity.”
It is a bi-component knit: two different yarns in one fabric. The yarns on the outside have more surface area, which gives the water somewhere to go, so the outer face acts as a siphon and pulls moisture off your skin. Once it's there it spreads out across the surface and evaporates quickly.
That matters on a face. You breathe into the mask all day and sweat under it on the hike, and in the cold a damp mask is what chills you. Polartec says it “efficiently wicks away sweat to prevent chills” in cold conditions.
- Bi-component knit
- Pulls sweat off the skin
- Spreads it out to dry fast
- Highly breathable
POLARTEC® 100 SERIES
Light warmth that breathes
Polartec's fleece comes in four weights: Micro, 100, 200 and 300. 100 Series is the light one. Polartec calls it “lightweight warmth” and “a breathable mid-layer.”
Fleece is knitted, then brushed up into a soft pile. In Polartec's words, “the raised pile entraps body warmth in its air spaces.” Still air is what keeps you warm, and the pile holds it without much weight. It also breathes, letting excess heat and moisture out, and it dries fast.
- Warmth without weight
- Highly breathable
- Fast drying
- Soft and durable
POLARTEC® THERMAL PRO™
The warmest we make
Our warmest fabric is Polartec® Thermal Pro™, which Polartec calls “the original synthetic, sherpa-style fleece.” Its deep, curly pile holds far more still air than a flat fleece. The Airhole version is built in one piece with no side seams and an embroidered mouth.
Polartec®, Power Dry™ and Thermal Pro™ are trademarks of Milliken & Company, used with permission.
04 · Every fabric
Twelve fabrics, four kinds of day
Most brands make a facemask in one or two fabrics. We make twelve, so there is one for every kind of day. They sit on the same four-step warmth scale you see on every Airhole page.
Coldest days
−10 to −25°C10K Softshell
Coldest days · −10 to −25°C
Water-repellent and wind-resistant. Sheds snow and moisture.
- Wind resistant
- Water repellent
- Low-profile fit
- Styles
- Facemask · Balaclava
- Mouth
- Original Airhole
Cold days
−5 to −15°CPolar Fleece
Cold days · −5 to −15°C
Breathable polar fleece that wicks moisture and dries fast.
- Breathable
- Moisture wicking
- Quick dry
- Styles
- Balaclava · Airtube · Airhood
- Mouth
- Silicone or Laser
- Fabric
- 92% polyester · 8% spandex
Milk Fleece
Cold days · −5 to −15°C
Double-brushed fleece, made to sit soft against your skin.
- Double brushed
- Next-to-skin comfort
- Styles
- Balaclava · Airtube · Kids
- Mouth
- Silicone
Polartec® Power Dry™
Cold days · −5 to −15°C
A bi-component knit that pulls sweat off your skin and dries fast.
- Breathable
- Moisture wicking
- Quick dry
- Styles
- Laser Balaclava · Airtube
- Mouth
- Original or Laser
- Fabric
- 100% polyester
Everyday
0 to −10°CMicrofleece
Everyday · 0 to −10°C
Soft, lightweight microfleece. On the balaclava it’s a double layer on the face, with Drytech on the head.
- Soft
- Lightweight
- Moisture wicking
- Styles
- Balaclava · Airtube · Kids
- Mouth
- Embroidered
Drytech
Everyday · 0 to −10°C
A lightweight fabric that wicks moisture away from your face and dries fast.
- Lightweight
- Moisture wicking
- Quick dry
- Styles
- Balaclava · Airtube
- Mouth
- Welded or Laser
- Fabric
- 85% polyester · 15% spandex
Waffle Fleece
Everyday · 0 to −10°C
Breathable grid fleece that wicks moisture and dries fast.
- Breathable grid
- Moisture wicking
- Quick dry
- Styles
- Balaclava · Airtube
- Mouth
- Silicone
- Fabric
- 94% polyester · 6% spandex
Polartec® 100 Series
Everyday · 0 to −10°C
Lightweight fleece whose raised pile holds warm air.
- Warmth without weight
- Highly breathable
- Fast drying
- Styles
- Full Hinge Balaclava · Airtube
- Mouth
- Silicone
Merino
Everyday · 0 to −10°C
A merino wool blend that breathes, wicks moisture, stays warm when wet and resists odour.
- Warm when wet
- Moisture wicking
- Odour resistant
- Styles
- Balaclava · Airtube
- Mouth
- Embroidered
- Fabric
- 35% merino wool · 65% polyester
Warmer days
+5 to −5°CDrylite
Warmer days · +5 to −5°C
A lightweight neck gaiter fabric for spring.
- Lightweight
- Moisture wicking
- Styles
- Airtube
- Mouth
- Original Airhole
Hyper Hole
Warmer days · +5 to −5°C
Warm breath and body heat shift the fabric’s colour. It changes back as it cools.
- Heat-activated colour change
- Highly breathable
- Moisture wicking
- Styles
- Laser Balaclava
- Mouth
- Laser
- Fabric
- 92% polyester · 8% spandex
05 · Fit
Built to sit under a helmet
HINGE
Full hinge balaclava
An anatomically shaped face panel sits flat under a helmet without bunching, and folds down when you need to eat, drink or breathe.
- Ergonomic face panel
- Hinged head construction
- Sits flat under a helmet
AIRTUBE
Ergonomic Airtube
Pre-curved to conform to your face, the Airtube seals out wind and stays put with no seam across the nose. Pull it up, or wear it down.
- Pre-curved to your face
- No seam across the nose
- Stays put under a helmet and goggles
| S/M | M/L | One size | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mouth | Silicone | Silicone | Laser |
| Head size | 50–55 cm | 55–60 cm | 50–60 cm |
| Nose to mouth | 5.5 cm | 6 cm | — |
| Recommended for | Women and kids | Men | Everyone |
Head size: measure around the fullest part of your head. Nose to mouth: from the middle of the bridge of your nose to the middle of your mouth.
Questions
How cold can I ride an Airhole?
It depends on the fabric. Coldest days, −10 to −25°C (14 to −13°F): Polartec® Thermal Pro™ (our Shearling) and 10K Softshell. Cold days, −5 to −15°C (23 to 5°F): Polar Fleece, Milk Fleece and Polartec® Power Dry™. Everyday, 0 to −10°C (32 to 14°F): Microfleece, Drytech, Waffle Fleece, Polartec® 100 and Merino. Warmer days and hiking, +5 to −5°C (41 to 23°F): Drylite and Hyper Hole. Riding at −20°C and below, or in big wind? Go Shearling or Softshell.
Will my goggles fog?
That's what the Airhole is for. Warm breath goes out through the mouth opening instead of up into your goggles, so your lenses stay clearer and the mask doesn't turn clammy. The Laser styles do the same job through laser-cut micro-airholes.
Original hole or laser holes?
The original Airhole is one opening at the mouth, in S/M and M/L. Laser styles spread the breath across small laser-cut holes in the face panel and come in one size, 50–60 cm.
What is Polartec® Power Dry™?
A bi-component knit base-layer fabric from Polartec. Two yarns in one fabric pull sweat off your skin to the outer face, where it spreads out and evaporates quickly. We use it in our laser balaclava and Airtube.
What is Polartec® 100?
The light weight in Polartec's fleece range (Micro, 100, 200, 300). Its raised pile holds warm air, it breathes, and it dries fast. We use it in the Full Hinge Balaclava and Airtube.
Does it fit under a helmet?
Yes. The hinged balaclavas have a shaped face panel that sits flat under a helmet without bunching, and folds down when you need to eat, drink or breathe. Airtubes pull up over your face and stay put under a helmet and goggles. Riding an Airhood with a helmet? Pick the Helmet Fit version.
How do I wash it?
Follow the care label on your mask. For the Polartec® fabrics, Polartec recommends a cold wash with a mild detergent and no fabric softener.
SourcesPolartec: Power Dry™Polartec: Fleece Series (100)Polartec: Thermal Pro™Airhole fabric and warmth guide (product FAQ)Last verified 3 October 2026.