REVIEW – Sleeping with a mask on may be the greatest thing I ever learned to do. I sleep longer because there’s no light to wake me up and I fall asleep faster because it kind of “triggers” sleep. I can fall asleep anywhere, and it’s so helpful that sometimes if I need a quick nap and I don’t have a mask handy, I will still put something over my eyes like a sweater or whatever I can find. I usually use a cheap sleep mask from everyone’s favorite retailer named after a river. If I spend over $20, I’ve spent too much…or so I thought! Could the Manta SOUND sleep mask really justify its hefty $143 price tag? After having tried it for a while, I’ll explain why I think it just might!
What is it?
The Manta SOUND is a padded sleep mask with the world’s thinnest Bluetooth headphones.
What’s included?
- The mask
- A carrying pouch
- An optional head strap
- A USB-C cable
- Some instructions, warranty information and sticker
Design and features
I’ve used a lot of sleep masks. I’ve used thin ones, padded ones, masks with Bluetooth speakers, masks without. My favorite mask before the Manta SOUND had padded eyecups and Bluetooth speakers, because I like to listen to podcasts as I’m drifting off and I have not found any earbuds that have been comfortable enough to sleep with. The problems I’ve run into are that you can still feel the speakers if you sleep on your side, and they are difficult to remove in order to launder the mask. Also, after I laundered the last cheap mask I had, the padding lost some of its fluff and the eye cups didn’t really “cup” anymore.
All I can say is that someone sat down and really did some thinking when they designed the Manta SOUND sleep mask. First of all, it’s bit bulkier than my usual masks because the entire inner layer can be removed for laundering. It just sticks to the outer layer (which holds the speakers and electronics) with hook and loop tape. The extra bulk didn’t pose any serious trouble for me but when my boyfriend tried to kiss me when I had it on…he sort of bumped into it. Not a big deal but you should know this mask has a bit more to it than the other ones I’ve tried.
The eye cups are adjustable and replaceable on the Manta SOUND. They are stuck on with hook and loop tape so you can move them around to find a spot that is comfortable. For side sleepers, theyhave a C shape, meaning they are tapered and open on the sides. They do a great job of blocking out light. Manta Sleep also sells eye cups that you can freeze or microwave in case you want to have a bit of a spa experience with your mask as well.
The Manta SOUND sleep mask features “razor thin” speakers and wire that I couldn’t feel at all, and they were fairly good quality. They easily move back and forth with little tabs on the side of the mask, so you can easily position them where they work for you. That was also a problem with my old masks. Sometimes I couldn’t adjust the volume low enough so I could sleep, so I’d move them away from my ears a bit. It was not super hard to do that if you take the mask off, but you’d have to keep taking it off and putting it back on to figure out when it’s in the right spot. That’s not something you want to fiddle with when you’re tired. The tabs make it easy — and you can do it while you are wearing it.
I found the mask very comfortable and I think it is very high quality. The Manta SOUND is made to breathe, which is something my other masks don’t do and I did notice the difference. The only annoying issue I found is that it turns off after a period of inactivity, so when I woke up in the night and wanted to lull myself to sleep with my podcast again, I would have to turn it on and wait for it to pair. That wasn’t an issue with my cheap masks and several times I forgot to do it when I was wearing the Manta SOUND. A couple of times I woke up my partner because I didn’t realize the mask wasn’t paired and my podcast started blaring out of my phone. The trade-off is that this mask has 20 hours of battery life, so you hardly ever have to charge it if you put your podcast on a sleep timer like I do.
The greatest part of this mask is that it doesn’t make any extra noise to disturb your sleep. Some masks start beeping when the battery is low, for instance, and that can wake you up (trust me). This mask makes a noise when you turn it on and a chime when it’s paired. Other than that, only blissful silence.
One last item that Manta SOUND includes (that I didn’t find a need for, but you might) is a support strap that goes over the top of your head to help support the mask while you’re sleeping upright. Once again, I have to hand it to Manta for thinking of everything. I wear my mask fairly snugly, so I haven’t needed that and I’ve worn it on several longer flights with no issues.
What I like about the Manta SOUND sleep mask
- Easy to launder (and it came out of the wash great, btw)
- Thin and adjustable speakers
What needs to be improved?
- I wish it stayed on until I turned it off
Final thoughts
I won’t lie. $143 seems like a lot for a sleep mask. However, if you sleep with a mask nightly like I do, you’ll easily get your money’s worth. You’ll come to appreciate the little details that make this mask much better than the budget masks you might have used in the past.
Price: $143.00
Where to buy: Manta Sleep and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided for free by Manta Sleep. Manta Sleep did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
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