Published on May 15, 2025 1:50 AM GMT
A well-fitting elastomeric respirator is something everyone should have on hand foremergencies. [1] Primarily for infection prevention, since a futurepandemic could be much worse than covid, though they're also usefulfor smoke. There are a lot of options, though, and whichone is best for you depends on the size and shape of your particularface. To help people figure out what they should get, I've bought aselection of respirators and will be hosting a fitting session a weekfrom tomorrow, Thursday 2025-05-22; drop in any time between7:30-9:30pm. Write jeff@jefftk.com for the address.
If you have a beard I recommend shaving before you come: in my testingI couldn't get a fullseal with anything more than a short stubble.
I'll have the following masks available for testing:
• ElastoMaskPro: Small ($30), Large ($30)
• Envo Pro: Standard ($41)
• 3M 6200 P100: Small ($17 + filters),Medium ($16 +filters),Large ($19 + filters)
• 3M SecureClick with Speaking Diaphragm: Small ($56), Medium ($61), Large ($59)
• GVS Elipse P100: Small-Medium ($35), Medium-Large ($41)
• Flo Mask Pro: Low-Medium ($90), Medium-High ($90)
• Flo Mask Kids: Age4-12 ($50)
Some of these are valved masks, while others filter your exhalation("source control"). There are advantages to both:
Valved masks are easier to breathe in, are less likely to fogglasses and generally build up less condensation, and reduce your CO2intake.
Unvalved masks reduce your chance of getting others sick. If amask reduces risk by two logs, both people wearing unvalved masksreduces risk by four.
[1] Some back-of-the-envelope math: let's very conservatively guessthat:
- A really bad pandemic has at least a 1% chance of happening inthe next ten years.If one does happen, having a well-fitting high-filtrationrespirator would have a 1% chance of making the difference between yousurviving and not.Surviving is worth $7.5M to you.
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