[Review] 올가드 베이직 Allguard Basic KF94 Respirator [5/5 stars] (the best mask you probably can't buy)

Overview

As I've mentioned in other reviews, Good Manner is one of my favorite KF94 respirators - great materials, super breathable, and a near perfect fit for my medium-large "average" face - and therefore I often use it as a benchmark for what constitutes a good mask. On that note, I recently bought an Allguard Basic (Korean: 올가드 베이직) KF94 that I think is as good as or even better than the Good Manner KF94 in many ways. Do read all the way through and pay attention to the Where to Buy section, however, as the Allguard Basic KF94 may be difficult or even impossible to buy (and don't confuse the Allguard Basic with the Allguard Ovalue, which is an inferior mask in every way possible).

Packaging

The Allguard Basic KF94 respirator comes in a carton of 50 individually packaged units. The packaging features a blue background with a large gray stripe across the top and shiny, metallic black text. As with Bluna, the packaging is unnecessarily large and wasteful, in my opinion.

Feel

This is a 4-layer, hardshell KF94 that is exceptionally thin and light, yet is still relatively stiff. It feels a little thinner, lighter, and harder than the Good Manner KF94, for example, but not quite as hard as the Bluna Facefit KF94. I'd say the Allguard Basic KF94 is a half-step ahead of the Good Manner KF94 and a half-step behind the Bluna Facefit KF94 in hardness.

The exterior layer is mostly smooth, with a noticeable dot texture that looks very similar to the Geonyoung KF94 respirator. The interior layer is smooth and a little soft in a way that feels quite pleasant against my skin, although it may snag if you have a beard or pronounced stubble (but then you should be clean-shaven when wearing a respirator anyway, right?). It's very similar to the Good Manner KF94 and honestly I don't know if I could differentiate the two materials in a blind test.

Where the Allguard Basic KF94 outclasses the Good Manner KF94 is the earloops: while the Good Manner KF94 uses string earloops, the Allguard Basic KF94 uses kalguksu earloops! They're of similar width to the Mask Factory MF KF94 and a little narrower than the Geonyoung KF94 earloops. That's to say the Allguard Basic KF94's kalguksu earloops are good and a step up from the typical string earloops, but they're not at the same level as those of the KleenGuard Supreme Plus KF94.

If the materials and construction of the Good Manner KF94 are an A, then the Allguard Basic KF94's materials and construction are an A+.

Fit

The nose wire is wide, strong, and holds its shape well. I'd put it on the same level as Good Manner and a half-step behind LG Airwasher in terms of nose wire strength.

The earloops are fixed without any clip included. The Allguard Basic KF94 is one of the few fixed earloop KF respirators that just fits my face without any neck clip or tying knots in the earloops (some others being Good Manner and Eco Dream). Do note, however, that the Allguard Basic KF94 is definitely on the smaller and tighter end of a size large, which is a good thing to me, but may not work for people who have truly large faces. Basically if you like the fit of Good Manner and Bluna Facefit, then the Allguard Basic will fit you well, too; if you prefer the fit of LG Airwasher instead, then the Allguard Basic is probably too small for you.

There's a decent amount of space inside the mask and my lips made minimal contact with the inner layer. I'd say the Allguard Basic KF94 has a little less interior space than the Good Manner KF94, but that didn't turn out to be a problem because I experienced very little mask collapse. With the Good Manner KF94, on the other hand, I experienced some minor-to-moderate mask collapse that caused my lips to sometimes touch the inner layer.

As with the feel, if the Good Manner KF94's fit is an A for my medium-large "average" face, then the Allguard Basic KF94's fit is an A+.

Breathability

I found the Allguard Basic KF94 respirator to have superb breathability that's on the same level with, or maybe even a little better than, the Good Manner KF94 (which is one of the most breathable KF94 respirators I've tried so far). Additionally, I noticed less moisture build up with the Allguard Basic KF94 than with the Good Manner KF94 (which itself already has low moisture build up). I know I'm repeating myself at this point, but if the Good Manner KF94's breathability is an A, then the Allguard Basic KF94's breathability is an A+.

Dimensions

The manufacturer dimensions are 205 mm wide (no height given), which is typical for a size large KF94 respirator and within ~3 mm of the Good Manner KF94 measurements.

Conformance

The Allguard Basic KF94 respirator is registered with the Korean MFDS:

• 올가드베이직미세먼지방역마스크(KF94)(흰색)(대형, 중형 ,소형)

The manufacturer is PNC Labs (Korean: 피앤씨랩스), a textile manufacturer (sometimes written as PNT or P&T).

Additionally, the Allguard Basic KF94 has an OEKO-TEX Standard 100 certification.

Rating

I give the Allguard Basic KF94 respirator 5/5 stars for excellent materials and construction, comfortable kalguksu earloops, a strong nose wire, an excellent fit that is a "small" size large, and superb breathability. To me, the Allguard Basic KF94 is much like the Good Manner KF94, just a little bit better across the board (keep in mind that the Good Manner KF94 is a truly great respirator, however, so I'm debating degrees of greatness here).

Now comes the disappointing part...

Where to Buy

Since I first bought the Allguard Basic KF94, it has become increasingly difficult to find an in-stock listing that ships internationally and it appears PNC Labs has begun replacing it with the Allguard Ovalue KF94. If you go to the official 11Street or Gmarket listings, the product descriptions have a prominent image stating that the Allguard Basic KF94 equals the Allguard Ovalue KF94. I have both respirators, however, and I can tell you they are not the same masks!

The Allguard Ovalue KF94 is about 5 mm wider, the fabric is thicker and heavier, the earloops are thinner and stiffer, and the breathability is borderline unbearable with ridiculous mask collapse. Furthermore, the manufacturers and contact informations printed on the packaging are two different PNC Labs locations. As best as I can tell, PNC Labs started up a second production line that manufactures the inferior Ovalue KF94 and and they are dishonestly trying to pass it off as being equivalent to the superior Basic KF94.

The official 11Street listing for the Allguard Basic KF94 is:

• https://global.11st.co.kr/glb/products/3843232133

And the official Gmarket listing is:

• https://global.gmarket.co.kr/item?goodscode=2270165067

The final caveat I'll add is that, if you try buying the Allguard Basic KF94 today, I'm not sure if PNC Labs will try sending you the Allguard Ovalue instead (since the product descriptions pitch them as equivalent masks). The Allguard Basic KF94 is an amazing mask, but buyer beware when it comes to dealing with PNC Labs.