Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Overall, I like these masks. The quality seems to be somewhat inconsistent, but I don't think this impacts the functionality. The material filters just as well as other masks, and the fitment is easier to adjust properly as compared to other disposable masks. See below for detailed explanations. QUALITY: There is some variance in the fabric alignment between masks. You can see in one of my photos, the side profile of about half the masks is white, and half is green. This is because the fabric alignment before the ultrasonic welding was not 100% consistent between the masks. It does not seem to be misaligned enough to cause any issues with filtration, so I don't believe this to have a functional impact. The glue on the box had already come apart by the time I received this item, but this is also easy to fix with some tape. These appear to be manufactured in China, and most of the text on the box was in Chinese. FILTRATION: I tested the filtration abilities of the fabric in this mask as compared to another disposable mask provided by a local hospital and one of the common reusable cloth masks with a PM2.5 insert. Note that I did NOT perform this test in a controlled environment (this was done in my living room), and my particle counter is a couple years out of NIST calibration. As such, these results should not be interpreted as 100% accurate, but should give a good indication of the relative filtration capabilities of the materials used in this mask compared to others -- although my counter might not be 100% accurate due to being past the calibration date, it has been quite precise over many measurements. Additionally, please keep in mind I am only testing the filtration capabilities of the fabric. In the real world, the mask fitment on your face matters a lot more than the technical filtration capabilities of the fabric! I tested this mask (the green-blue one in the photos) with a Lighthouse Particle counter, model 5016. I also tested the current air conditions (no mask), a disposable mask from a local hospital (the light blue one in the photos), and a cloth reusable mask fitted with a disposable PM2.5 pad (the black one in the photos). All masks were cinched around the input to the particle counter using a rubber band. The rubber band was wrapped around the input port three times -- this means the thicker cloth mask was attached with slightly more gripping tension than the disposable masks. The counter was run for a 30 second sample time, and the raw particle counts are shown. Looking at the results from my testing, you can see the fabric on these masks is just as effective as the other masks I tested in the range for respiratory droplets -- nothing made it through! My living room air, however, only contained 13 particles over 5um in size over the course of a 30-second sample, so I was not operating in a high contamination environment to begin with (I have a HEPA filter running all the time in my apartment). Nevertheless, using the lower particle bins as a proxy for the larger bins, this mask performed better than the other disposable mask I received from a local hospital, but worse than the generic PM2.5 reusable mask (again, please be reminded that this is a technical comparison of the fabrics -- there are more important metrics for everyday use and effectiveness). Note that my particle counter is only rated to count particles down to 0.5um. If you are purchasing these masks for SARS-COV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19, colloquially known as the "coronavirus"), you should be aware that this particular virus is on the order of 0.12um in diameter (outside the range I am able to test). However, the purpose of wearing a mask is not necessarily to filter out viral particles from the air, but rather to stop airborne droplets from entering your respiratory tract and leaving your air stream to infect others. These respiratory droplets are over 5-10um in diameter, and are one of the primary routes of transmission for SARS-COV-2. This range is easily detectable with my particle counter. FITMENT: Proper mask fitment is one of the most important factors in the performance of a mask! Make sure this mask is tight against your face and tight against your nose. One of things I like about this mask is that the nose wire holds its shape quite well. The nose piece, once formed to my nose, holds it shape much better than the other disposable mask I was comparing it to. This allows for a much tighter seal, which is a good thing. CONCLUSIONS: The fabric on this mask seems to filter just as well (or better) than comparable disposable masks. The mask fitment can be better than other disposable masks because the nose bridge holds its shape better. Overall, I prefer this mask over other disposables I have come across, and would recommend it. Just please make sure you fit the mask properly, otherwise it does not provide as much benefit as it could! Additionally, if you are concerned about contracting a respiratory illness, do not touch the mask once you have put it on -- remove the mask via the earloops and promptly throw it away, using hand sanitizer afterwards (and keep in mind the dwell time required to kill any virus or bacteria on your hands).