❄ Anon MFI® Hooded Balaclava Review.


❄ Brand: Anon,
❄ Model: MFI® Hooded Balaclava,
❄ YOM: 2023,
❄ Size: Unisex OSFA 56-58cm,
❄ Colour: "Warm Grey", "True Black",
❄ Material: Bonded Polar Fleece/Lycra,
❄ Fabric Density: Heavyweight,
❄ Compatibility: M2, M3, M4, M5, Deringer, Insight, Tracker 2.0 and Relapse,
❄ Price: $Au109.99 ($US74.95) RRP @2025,
❄ Rider: 192cm (6'4") 95kg (210lbs),
❄ Rider Outerwear: Giro Range helmet/OT Chips 2.0, Anon M4 goggles, Burton [ak] Swash Jacket, [ak] Cyclic pants, [ak] Freebird Bibs, [ak] Powergrid base layer, [ak] Guide gloves, Gondy Gore Mitts, [ak] Endurance socks, Burton SLX boots, Quiksilver TR Platinum 24L riders backpack,
❄ Snowboard: Burton Straight Chuter 162, Burton Vapor 155,
❄ Bindings: Burton Genesis X EST (large),
❄ Location: Perisher, NSW,
❄ Camera: GoPro Hero 11 Black/Smatree SC2 carbon pole/Samsung S21+.



So I've been a big fan of the Anon M4/M4S and WM1 for a number of years and personally found them to be the up there as the best Snowboarding goggles on the market. The higher end Anon goggle range come fitted with a dual range of VLT lenses (high and low light), MAGNA-TECH® Quick Change Lens system and a superb MFI® (Magnetic Facemask Integration) facemask which magnetically clips to the goggles to give a superb interfaced protection from all the elements.



Now Anon also manufacture a number of different types of face masks, balaclavas and hoods that incorporate their MFI® technology which allows you to develop the additional level of flexibility within their system.


Riding in colder climates does require additional protection from the elements and in the past I have been using a micro fleece skull cap under my helmet in addition to the MFI® face mask for protection from the elements. This however leaves some open areas unprotected to the sides of the face. Anon's MFI® Hooded Balaclava breaches this gap giving you full protection from the cold.

The Anon MFI® Hooded Balaclava is not overly cheap and comes now with a $Au109.99 ($US74.95) RRP @2025. I'm pretty sure my son paid $Au55 RRP for his True Black Hooded Balaclava a few years ago and I was fortunate to recently find the Warm Grey colourways on Ebay BNWT for $Au30 delivered. Like most higher end Burton outwear/accessories the MFI® Hooded Balaclava has some nice technical features that justifies the higher outlay.

A funny thing I discovered was that Anon jumps between 2 product names with the MFI® Hooded Balaclava with the name "Hood Clava" on its retail packaging but lists the model "Hooded Balaclava" on the Anon website. Retail outlets also list it under either of these different names so there may be some unnecessary created confusion here. Maybe Anon has basically evolved a name transformation over time with this product?

So anyway, let's have a little closer look at the Anon MFI® Hooded Balaclava.

Unlike the past, my Anon Tech Balaclava only came fitted with the single black carrier which is suited for M2/M3/Relapse/Tracker 2.0 requiring you to reach out to Burton/Anon to send a grey carrier (M4/M4S/M5/M5S/Sync) or purple carrier (WM1/WM3/Deringer/Insight) to match the size and polarity for your specific Anon Goggles. Burton does this for you for free or alternately you could buy the part in the retail outlets. Anon has now addressed this cumbersome self inflicted issue with the MFI® Hooded Balaclava now coming fitted with the Black, Purple and Grey MFI® carriers which works sweetly across their entire range of goggles. Anon also has been doing this for a while with their selective individual face masks having of recent the 3 coloured carrier sets included.


The Anon MFI® Hooded Balaclava is made of Bonded Polar Fleece with a Lycra MFI® goggle connection sleeve. The bonded fleece is listed with a heavyweight fabric density and 100%, when thrown on, it's pretty damn warm.


All the internal stitches are overlocked and the Anon MFI® Hooded Balaclava looks and feels pretty premium in construction as is to be expected from Burton. In "Warm Grey" the colourway with the contrasting shades looks pretty nice.


Let's have a look at how the Anon Hooded Balaclava fits. Now as you can see, the Anon MFI® Hooded Balaclava is far from being overly large in size. It's listed as a OSFA but confusingly also spec'd as a 56cm to 58cm head size range which seems a bit weird to me. The Hooded Balaclava feels pretty tailored in its cut not having any shaped scalloping at all in the side profile. The front and rear of the Anon Hooded Balaclava does have a dropped front and tail shape allowing greater coverage area below the shoulders. The bonded fleece has some movement but its not as overly stretchy compared with the standard light and midweight MFI® face masks.


The hood in the Anon MFI® Hooded Balaclava has the ability to tighten snugly around the goggles by adjusting the right and left shock cords which pulls down the top area of the hood.


You can feel when worn that the Anon MFI® Hooded Balaclava sits nicely over the neck without any areas of uncomfortable looseness compared with the more relaxed fit from the standard face mask.

The rear of the Anon MFI® Hooded Balaclava sits nicely over the neck and comes to rest slightly below the shoulder line. You can see that the sizing length is pretty spot on and there is no excess fabric to contend on the rear here.

Dropping the hood with the Anon MFI® Hooded Balaclava creates a pretty super snug fit around the neck line and you'd have absolutely zero problems from any billowing when cranking it hard down the fall line.

❄ CONS.
So let's talk about some of the issues I've found with the Anon MFI® Hooded Balaclava.
Firstly..., for my larger 95kg (210lb) frame (59cm head circumference) I definitely would of liked it to be a fair bit bigger in size. The OSFA label from Anon is a bit of a bold claim and I feel Anon is really stretching reality here a bit. The bonded fleece is slightly stretchy but due to its heavyweight density it doesn't move that well compared with the light and midweight MFI® face masks.
Secondly..., and folks this is the pretty big one here. As there is no designated meshed breathing vent, getting air through the heavyweight bonded fleece is really not that easy of a task. You sort of get this slightly uneasy restriction with your breath with the in and out airflow which isn't moving that freely, basically giving you this deficient sense of wanting more O2 than what's provided.
Thirdly..., I feel you can forget about wearing Anon MFI® Hooded Balaclava under a helmet unless you have the ability to adjust the circumference up a fair bit in size to get the thick hooded fleece underneath. Wearing the Anon MFI® Hooded Balaclava over the top of the Helmet would be a bit of a big ask as well as it would be uncomfortably super tight.

In my mind the Anon MFI® Hooded Balaclava is really perfectly suited to wearing just by itself without any head protection which isn't that wise for most riders in 2025. The midweight Anon MFI® Tech Balaclava is definitely the best pick for total comfort and under helmet protection from the cold.


The Anon MFI® Hooded Balaclava is a pretty good system to use in conjunction with your Anon Googles to protect you from the elements. It does have some really nice features however its plagued by a fair few shortfalls you'll have to contend with. The Anon MFI® Hooded Balaclava is best suited as a no helmet heavyweight Balaclava to connect with your MFI® Goggles.


Back in the Hood ⭐⭐⭐🌛