lofty

in case you're not familiar with mask tech, here's the quick rundown on what exists as I know about it. Consider this folk knowledge, as I'm not like, professionally trained in masks or anything

• cloth masks
  • these don't do much
• surgical masks
  • these also don't do much
• your average disposable n95
  • these can do stuff. they filter out a lot of particles.
  • BUT it's hard to get a sealing fit with most of them. and if you don't have a seal, you're getting a mix of filtered and unfiltered air. not great. much less effective than its supposed to be
    • If your glasses/sunglasses are getting fogged, you dont have a sealing fit. (EDIT: not necessarily)
    • if you can feel air coming out of the edges of it across your face, you don't have a sealing fit.
    • It's hard to know when you have a good fit
  • These can be ok, but I don't like them because they're all scratchy on my face and hard for me to use right
• n95 reusable respirators
  • these combine an n95 filter with a reusable frame. the frame is able to make a much better seal on your face
    • the two I know are "FloMask" which has a rubber lining and "EnvoMask" which has a gel lining.
      • (EDIT: pls read this excellent comment in the replies about flomask from somepony who has used it a ton, it taught me a lot! Apparently they have filters that are better than n95 too)
  • much easier to be heard by others when you're talking than a p100 respirator
    • personally, this fact is why i often use n95 for quick trips to shops around the neighborhood where I need to talk to someone, even tho the risk factor is a higher than p100. I go out of my way to not be indoors for a long time this way.
  • While it's easier to get a sealing fit, its harder to fit-test to know for sure
• p100 respirators
  • the chonky bois. makes you look like a badass. filters out even more particles than n95
  • the easiest out of all masks to fit test. You basically cover the filters up with your hands and if you can't breathe in or out you've got a seal
  • i go to the rave in these and it rules
  • usually these come in two varieties. I dont personally know of any that have both of these at the same time:
    • (EDIT: I have been told the 3M HF-800SD has both of these. gonna go take a look for myself later)
    • exhalation valve
      • allows for air to exit the mask through a one-way valve.
      • does not protect others from you
      • prevents humidity buildup
      • you will be extremely hard to hear
    • speaking diaphragm (e.g. MSA Advantage 900 )
      • instead of a valve, there is a vibrating bit that makes it easier for people to hear you. In a noisy environment, you will still be hard to hear and have to talk loud/enunciate clearly, but its much better than the exhalation valve variant
      • air exits thru filter, so you get two-way protection
      • more humidity buildup. I've heard of people using small desiccant packets in their respirator to help deal with this but havent tried it myself yet.
        • I just go outside and empty out collected water periodically
  • ime: heavier/less comfortable than n95 for short periods of time, but more comfortable over long periods of time. especially after breaking one in.
  • more maintenance as disassembling it for occasional cleaning is more effort

truthfully, i dunno whether p100 is paranoia and n95 is fine, or not. i go for the p100 when i feel im in a risky situation (or it's smokey out) cause I feel like my body gives me reason to fear being wrong about it. but really, i dont know a lot about the lived experiences of people who do the flomask/envomask life exclusively, nor am i caught up with any studies comparing them. So take that as it is, eh? Mostly I wanna tell people about what stuff exists.

We re-use p100 filters / n95 filters for awhile, until they start getting kinda stanky or hard to breathe through. We also sit our masks/filters in front of a fan after we're done using them to dry them out faster.

Also, these things are great for more than just not getting sick. As somepony with asthma, I fucking love having my mask with me at all times because it means I can proactively prevent getting an asthma attack from people smoking or vaping, or fireplace smoke hanging low to the ground, or whatever. It sometimes won't filter out the smell, because these don't filter out gases (there are filters you can get that do filter gases, but we dont use them), but the particulate is really what activates our asthma the most so it's fine. Good for wildfire season too

The p100 was frustrating at times when i went to a local convention, because cons are loud, so I had to talk loudly and put a lot of effort into clear enunciation to be heard. My voice was a bit tired at the end of it. On the other paw, the added humidity meant my throat didn't get dried out, and the p100 filters are the only reason I felt ok going in the first place. So, worth it for me. I wouldn't have felt comfortable going in an n95.

If you eat food and then put a mask on without clearing your mouth out, and the food was particularly pungent, the odor can get trapped in the mask for a bit. It'll clear out after some breathing, but lemme tell you it is an experience smelling the flavor of ketchup chip with each breath you take