Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Since California is on fire once again, and earlier in the year than I think any of us expected, I hastily went looking for N95 masks for my house to replace the ones we all donated to local hospitals back in March. After far too long wading through too many questionable Amazon sellers and the CDC's emergency use authorization list, I settled on these. Pros: - A reputable Chinese manufacturer (Guangzhou Powecom Labor Insurance Supplies) - On the CDC emergency use authorization list (*) - Being sold by the same seller the listing mentions (Innovate Tech) - Not sold out or earmarked for medical and first responders - Reasonably priced (~$3/mask) (*): From the looks of it, the CDC tested 5 Powecom samples, four of which filtered >95% of particles and one of which filtered 93-94% of particles, which is why it's on both the "good" list (four times) and the "bad" list (once). This is confusing on the CDC's part, but I believe it's what is happening. While these results suggests some potential quality control issues on Powecom's side or counterfeiting issues on the importing and distribution side (e.g. Amazon), and I wouldn't buy these masks as a hospital stockroom administrator unless I was out of better options, for wildfire smoke as a private citizen, the choice between a mask that doesn't quite filter 95% of particles and no filtration at all is an easy one. Cons: - A KN95 mask, not an N95 mask (**) - An earloop design rather than a headband design (but see **) ** Apparently the big difference between the Chinese KN95 standard and the US N95 standard *is* that earloop designs are allowed under the former but not under the latter. The article I read on the difference said it's because the US believes it's harder to achieve an appropriately airtight fit with the earloop designs. I've struggled with mask fitting my face in the past, and especially with masks fogging up my glasses, so I was worried about this. The masks arrived today and tl;dr I'm very happy with them. They arrived from Innovate Tech, sealed in the official packaging as depicted, and the Anti-Fake Label verified correctly on Powecom's site. The masks themselves feel good---the nose piece is solid but easy to shape, the material is soft and thick without being heavy, and pinching and pulling at the masks makes it obvious there are three layers of material (front and back shell layers and the filter layer). As mentioned by other reviewers, the "holes" in the mask where light shines through are solid. They're not actually air holes the places where the mask material has been sintered together---a quick fit test demonstrated that the masks can achieve an airtight fit. I'm pleasantly surprised by how well the earloop design fits me. The test for a KN95 or N95 mask is if you can achieve an airtight fit with it, and the way you check is by putting it on and then inhaling quickly. If you feel the mask press against your face when you do, and you don't feel or hear air escaping out the sides, then you've got a good fit and will get the full protection of the mask. Despite the earloop design and a day's growth of stubble, I still got an airtight seal with these masks. I would absolutely buy these again, highly recommended if you're in California or another state dealing with fires and smoke right now.