I got most the the masks for my camp last year, so I took the opportunity to try a bunch of styles and designs out myself. I picked up two of these respro masks (a sportsta and some filter refill filters, and a bandit) as well.

I'm going to have to give them both a thumbs down for function (and by this I mean on-playa function, with playa dust being the filtrate, and heat and ease of breathing being the principle considerations), even if they do look pretty good (and they do).

The sportsta is filtration overkill for the playa, which makes it clog somewhat quickly, though even unclogged it is noticeably more difficult to inhale. The exhalation valve is to small, resulting in significant moisture accumulation on the interior of the mask. The close fit, which results in a 'cool' looking mask, also results in a large amount of material to skin contact, causing sweating (and potentially irritation if the skin is dusty). The cost of the mask, even with cheaper refills, if comparable with better designed respirators.

The Bandit was better (price for value), it was a good filter design for playa dust, but the lack of an outflow valve made it no better than a well put together dust scarf. I found that a layer high thread count cotton on each side of a layer of silk (so cotton, silk, cotton, sewn together) works just as well, and is very cheap if you make it yourself (and can look like anything you want).

For heavy dust (or the very dust sensitive), or for long period (over an hour) wear, half-mask reusable respirators, with dust (not paint/organic) filters are the way to go. Large or multiple outflow valves, and high inflow filters make breathing easy and keep heat and moisture to a minimum (much better than paper/dispo masks). This is the one everyone seemed to like the best:

www2.northerntool.com/product...9174.htm

Which I got at a local store for about 8$ each for four, and the replacement filters were about 75 cents each.

I took a dust/smoke/paint respirator like this one:

www.aonesafety.com/half-fac...-fd-8.htm

and applied oval plastic gems at the edges to bling it out. It still works great after 2 burns (which included being able to breathe confidently during total whiteouts), but the filters can be purchased separately and replaced as needed. I got lots of compliments on the playa - surprising, since it was so easy to tweak. It's the one around my neck in my profile pic.

It is a bit heavy on the nose, and took some getting used to at first, but after breaking it in a bit, it's alot more comfortable.

I could not imagine using a bandana.