Anyone thought of buying covid hardware tech when those
face masks make your ears hurt?
I want to buy D MASK but it is not on sale maybe for 1 more year.
It looks super super cool but I bet it will be over $600.
So I am just going to settle for AO AIR. It looks nerdy cool though
Thankfully, thus far, none of my hardware has gotten sick.
But we do take social distancing and mask wearing seriously in my family.
I can see the appeal of one of those nicer masks with exchangeable filters, especially the self-cleaning UV light variety, but they’re so new that it’s hard to know which ones are snake oil distastefully cashing in on the pandemic and which ones are legit.
For now my plan is to stick to the blue tri-ply surgical masks that come in packs of 50 since those are affordable and have been proven to be on the higher end of the effectiveness spectrum by several studies now, but if one of these new fancy gadget-masks tests well, I’ll pick one up. Even after the pandemic cools down, it’d be good to keep around for those times when I have no choice but to be out and about while sick so I’m not spreading my crap around.
Have you seen any of the studies on multi-layer cloth masks that utilize multiple types of fabric? Very interesting. If accurate, they appear to indicate that by combining mechanical and electrostatic filtration, it may be possible to rival N95 masks in effectiveness with small particles. Here is one of them: https://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsnano.0c03252?ref=pdf
When we’re looking at masks we have two possible purposes: To protect me, the wearer, and/or to protect you, the person who may be exposed to my respiratory droplets (it is much easier to do the latter than the former). While most face coverings help us to protect each other, N95 masks are superior for protecting ourselves (there is also the Chinese KN95) - the *95 are more expensive than surgical masks and we have been asked to leave them for front line workers.
What I’ve done for my family is to get some multi-layer, multiple fabric cloth masks with pockets and then add N95 filters to the internal pocket. We have these and also the surgical masks that you mentioned.
Since there are proven, low-tech solutions (like N95 filtration), and as you pointed out, there is no way to know which of these are just money making gimmicks, I have no plans to use them.
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I was on a trip from Maine to Kansas yesterday and my son had a facemask with filters. American airlines wouldn’t let him use it and gave him a disposable. The filters let the wearer spew mucus and whatnot. That mask only protects the wearer from what I’ve read.
Oh, and I can’t wait for this to be over. As a man with a beard, wearing a mask sucks!
/grumble
The biggest issue is social incompatibility. Your hardware choice can be as amazing as it is… But if the person across from you hasn’t invested equally (or at all) it is an unequal playing field.
I bought a bunch of these
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B086QS2YHF/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_vNUqFb50W3SW0
3 layer cloth masks, outside is poly, dual cotton inside.
Made semi locally (Central America), claims to have silver particles in the inner material.
Cheap, comfortable, good build quality, and I have so many (ordered 4 boxes so almost 200) that I hand em out to my friends and relatives to try to encourage compliance