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artemis
@artemis

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


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in reply to @artemis's post:

The 3M HF-800SD series has both a speaking diaphragm and an exhalation valve. It takes Secure Click filters which are way easier to breathe through than old-style bayonet filters because they have a lot more surface area and intake on both sides. It also has a fit test button (hold it to block incoming air, inhale, and see if the mask suctions to your face).

Most people are probably going to have to order the respirator and filters because it's 3M's "next generation respirator" and I've never seen one in a hardware store. They also make a full facepiece version for people who are hardcore

I've been wearing one at work and in public for three years and it hasn't worn out and still fits perfectly.

yeah the MSA advantage line has those too, I just don't use 'em cause they're bulkier. if the 3M ones arent too big i might be into that, cause the mild smoke smell kinda sucks in wildfire season

so fogged glasses aren't nec. a bad seal, insofar as inhaling causes the mask to seal better against the face, and exhales are positive pressure.

it's not better than a passive seal, I just don't want ppl to panic if they can't find any that "seal"

yeah u are right about that. i write from the experience of the window between "glasses are fogging but active seal still happens" and "active seal isnt happening" always felt very slim to me. but i can edit if thats not universal

really been rocking the flomask for over a year now and i cannot go back to big beefy p100 boys. really only fit for wildfires- the caveat here is i know one person (out of many users) who does not fit the flomask.

it rocks though, super robust, and imho not that hard to fit test either. they literally make one for kids, its a no brainer

ive put it through its paces: eating, gdc, drinking coffees etc in public, you name it. the worst part is having to clean it once in a while and being mindful of moisture levels (same as p100 elastos, just jam some napkins in there, dump the napkins and call it good)

also, they offer higher grade filters which I use, they've held up even in giant raves full of 3400+ PPM co2 levels. my whole house rocks em, they're very good

not a fan that they use polyurethane foams (sort of now known to break down under heat / humidity, see: CPAP machine crisis atm) but those are optional (probably fine for an Event, a show etc but id ditch after 72hrs of active use personally)

unless your face shape cannot fit them- I highly recommend this. it also doesn't have the weird sweaty-mask-line problem envos did for me. they're cheap- and their design is so foolproof that even if you couldnt find filters for it anymore, you could 3d print replacement parts + find n95 material to slap in there. It's such a SMART design of Faceplate, Faceplate Part 2 with Rubber that sandwiches between them, it was literally a winner of a contest to make a next-gen mask for the govt

the best part is people can understand you good and no one is offput or intimidated by it. absurd protection with few trade offs, love 'em, hoping one day you can just find them in stores.

downsides: not in europe (YET, they're working on it, im having to ship one to my friend in prep for GDC)

oh, one more thing:

when i eat, drink, etc, i just hold my breath / exhale into the mask once i put it back on. it helps with the seal + purges any particles that might've snuck in that brief period.

it works great, lets me be 'normal' and do all my usual life stuff without worry. ive REALLY put these fuckers through their paces (sans plane, but nickelpin has done that extensively + global travel to concerts, raves, museums and more)

plus you can get them via amazon now (ew) but it's like practically overnight shipping so in a pinch you can get them sent to a locker or whatever.

honestly, now and then i top off on pro filters in a box, maybe some extra head straps and i'm good. they even have the halo style strap found on many 3m elastos.

I have heard great things from a friends experience with the kid mask for their kiddo going to conventions. apparently it kept them from licking everything too PLUS they apparently LOVED wearing it?? made them feel like an astronaut or whatever. amazing.

ooooooo ty for the flomask infodump!!!! i did not even know they had like different filter types, i have the envomask so i dont rly know anything about it. i have a friend with one and i think i didnt like the feel or fit or something on my face as much as the envo (i kinda dont remember tbh). but i am curious about giving it a second look

the big turn off coming from a 'heavier' mask is it does not keep on your face with tension (that's part of it) but moreso pressure/humidity difference

you gotta give it like, a minute solid before it feels intuitive. once you learn though it's simple, and i check the pressurization by going puff-phew-puff in a mirror and see the filter bounce front-to-back

Thanks! I have some follow-ups, if you don't mind.

  1. How hard is cleaning? I work foodservice, and the main reason I use disposable N95s instead of a Flomask right now is because I'm worried it will be a hassle to clean sauce off it every day.

  2. You mentioned heat / moisture being an "optional" problem-- is constant exposure to heat (e.g. working in front of an oven) enough of a reason to use a different kind of mask?

for #1 not hard at all, unless you get sauce on the filters. the front face plate is easy to wipe down

for #2 - this is only regarding the optional polyurethane foam insert which holds moisture but is hard to dry later. personally, i’ve stopped using it and when i have buildup i just stuff a few napkins in to absorb moisture then throw them
away.

I've been an envomask user for almost two years now and I swear by em but I never got the desiccant thing to work. Tried two different packet sizes, but it's just untenable if you need to speak at all, which I do because I work in food service. I've just learned to accept the humidity as an indicator that it's working as intended.

ooooo yeah that makes sense. the desiccant packet is i think a lot more viable with the p100 respirators than the n95 ones cause the p100s are bigger and have a much deeper trench at the bottom of them than the envomask does so u can fit a thing there without it gettin in the way of yr mouth

If you wanna try a p100 that transmits your voice better (without a diaphragm) check out the GVS Elipse with source control. It's not the comfiest, but I wear it for medical appointments so I can hopefully be heard more easily.

This video compares speech intelligibility with a bunch of different masks, which I found helpful (although I imagine the effect might be different for people like me with higher pitched voices than him): https://youtu.be/KgPs2aoKZbk

i have been using the breathe99 b2 mask, another elastomeric ~n95/~n99 mask. it doesn't have niosh certification but it's worked flawlessly for me and it's got a very nice frame, the frame folds and has replaceable strap stuff, etc. Currently they're available from armbrust, which seems to have acquired them.