Cotopaxi Teca Cotton Facemask

Austen Beason

2020 has been a year of extenuating circumstances and our daily lives have changed in many ways, however I still find it hard to move past the awkwardness of feeling like I’m robbing a bank every time I go to the grocery store. Thankfully, the folks at Cotopaxi understood that feeling too and designed the Teca Facemask to help keep us safe and stylish.

The Cotopaxi Teca Cotton Facemask is made from 100% repurposed cotton with a double-layer, tight weave cotton to meet CDC guidelines for everyday use, though is not medical grade nor compatible with a filter insert, and for every mask purchased, one is donated through Cotopaxi’s non-profit partner, Mercy Corps. The masks are machine washable and reversable.

For me, using the Teca Facemask has made wearing a mask so much more comfortable and simplified. For starters, the mask is quick and easy to put on and take off attaching via elastic ear-loops with quick-adjust sliders for snugging up and the top of the mask has an internal wire that can be pinched easily to form to your nose and cheeks, which usually keeps my sunglasses from fogging as well.

The fabric is light and soft which has made wearing the Teca for long timeframes and even modest exercise much more bearable than past mask experiences. The Teca comes in one size and I would imagine fits most face size/shapes save perhaps very large faces, but even then, something is better than no mask. I would say I have a medium-large adult male face size and I feel the mask coverage is great. Last but not least for me, is that the Teca felt casual for everyday wearing, running errands, etc – I no longer felt like Billy the Kid every time I went out.