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Show HN: I bought and tested the filtration of every mask on Amazon

armbrustusa.com

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Re: Show HN: I bought and tested the filtration of every mask on Amazon

#131

Post by sokoloff »

dylan604 wrote: post #99
boardwaalk wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Beware confirmation bias…

sorry. should have included, that i looked up that mask specifically because i have some. they do not have the printed text on them, nor the original images from when originally purchased. can't be biased if i have like physical evidence of it, but in this post fact world, i guess that might not be worth much???

You have a valid measurement. Whether that measurement is confirmation that you shouldn’t buy anything from Amazon is where the possible bias comes in.

Re: Show HN: I bought and tested the filtration of every mask on Amazon

#132

Post by jcims »

lloydarmbrust wrote: post #94
jcims wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a stack of 50ish Armbrust masks after learning about them last year. Every single one i wore failed at the strap weld within a few minutes. I’ve got a big head and they ran a little small, but this was pure QA fail. I’m guessing they’ve fixed it since then, but i don’t see how people can release products without testing them.

Yes, it took us a long time to get it right... manufacturing is hard but that's why we have an earloop guarantee. Write support@armbrust.com and they will refund you or get you a new order.

Appreciate you replying. I think I found your company by a video you (?) posted about the magic of the meltblown process which sent me down a pretty entertaining rabbit hole.

I had some issues with import masks previously so I went deep with an order of the denim colored masks thinking this would get us squared away. It was extremely frustrating when I couldn't get a single one to hold together and wasn't sure if I just got took by a bullshit story or you all were just going through growing pains. I'm glad to see it was the latter and am really glad to see some domestic manufacturing stood up.

I'll give the earloop guarantee a shot and get a few on your tab. Would love to get a steady supplier, it's always hit and miss around here. If you have any suggestions for big head folks so we don't look like walking wingnuts I'm all ears...literally.

Re: Show HN: I bought and tested the filtration of every mask on Amazon

#133

Post by jcims »

throwaway81523 wrote: post #111
jcims wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a stack of 50ish Armbrust masks after learning about them last year. Every single one i wore failed at the strap weld within a few minutes. I’ve got a big head and they ran a little small, but this was pure QA fail. I’m guessing they’ve fixed it since then, but i don’t see how people can release products without testing them.

I've had a lot of strap welds break on all kinds of masks. I fix them with hot melt glue and they are as good as new.

I just stab a hole in the mask just inside the weld spot and tie the elastic to it. Works surprisingly well when I'm in the produce section at Kroger. XD

Re: Show HN: I bought and tested the filtration of every mask on Amazon

#134

Post by RobertRoberts »

I can't name the instituition or lab but for the purposes of protecting us from COVID their results showed 100% failure of all masks because of both lack of proper fit and inconsistent manufacturing quality. Especially from KN95 masks made in China.

Essentially mask are useless long term for COVID protection. Short term they may slow some spread but that is it.

Re: Show HN: I bought and tested the filtration of every mask on Amazon

#135

Post by bfung »

lloydarmbrust wrote: post #79
nopenopenopeno wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Table only shows mask names on mobile. Don’t be surprised if your announcement doesn’t have the impact you wanted it to. You need a website that does its job on mobile.

Ahhh... good point. The search will work but you are correct that the full version is better on desktop.

The GP has a good point - I was about to write a long HN reply about being able to sort or show the “best” masks. Saw the “list doesn’t show scores” on mobile led me to this comment.

As a consumer, when I land on that site, “what’s the best mask I should buy” (protection level, budget, comfort, local/globally made). If it’s not clear on mobile, it’ll be pretty hard to get non-tech people to stay on page for more then 10s or funnel them to the page you want.

Re: Show HN: I bought and tested the filtration of every mask on Amazon

#136

Post by divbzero »

lloydarmbrust wrote: post #101
BugsJustFindMe wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could start by adjusting your given filtration ratios by predictable leakage based on the type of mask. It's wholly misleading to rate the filtration potential of an earloop mask as equivalent to that of a 3M Aura.

Not exactly.. it really depends on the situation. For example an ASTM 2 or 3 surgical mask fabric has a filtration of 98%+ On my face I have a leakage of about 21% or PFE of 79% when worn normally. With an ear saver, it jumps to 91%. With a mask brace, it jumps to 98%. So it really is about the fit. If I put leakage % it would vary from person to person and many people would be mislead by this.

> On my face I have a leakage of about 21% or PFE of 79% when worn normally.

> With an ear saver, it jumps to 91%.

> With a mask brace, it jumps to 98%.

I had no idea it could vary so much for surgical masks. I’d be curious what range of leakage people could typically expect for other designs such boat-shaped KF94 or flat-fold KN95 masks.

Fit seems important enough to deserve a mention in the intro paragraph at the top of the home page. A more detailed explanation, including the example you gave of how much it can vary for even one person, could go in the “Click here” link to the full testing methodology.

Thank you for doing this, by the way, rare to see a manufacturer test so far beyond their own masks. It clearly takes resources to do this and is a great service to all of us who have been relying on guesswork.

Re: Show HN: I bought and tested the filtration of every mask on Amazon

#137

Post by TylerE »

potatochup wrote: post #127
lloydarmbrust wrote: post #12

I've spent about 1,000 hours on this with my team using a very expensive (~$250k) lab and I'd love for this to be a great resource for people when choosing a mask. The heavy lift we are doing here is around our particulate filtration efficiency test in which we do either the NIOSH N95 NaCL (0.3 micron) test or the ASTM 0.1 micron latex particle test. I'd love HN feedback on how we improve the interface and make this…

on the 3M aura, "made in american". otherwise great site

It actually depends on the model.

9205 is US made, the 9210 is made in Singapore.

Re: Show HN: I bought and tested the filtration of every mask on Amazon

#138

Post by TylerE »

veemjeem wrote: post #54
koyote wrote: post #46

That's a real trove of information! I see there are no cloth masks tested. I'd love to know how useful they are (or can be) as I much prefer being able to reuse my masks. Edit: just realised that both Type and Style can be cloth and the cloth ones are presumably all under Style. All of them failed :(

you can reuse n95s, nurses do it all the time. let them sit near a sunny window, off-smells will dissipate in a day. each mask is good for around 8 hours of continuous usage, but it's likely that the mask becomes too soiled before the electrostatic charge is neutralized.

In a non-healthcare setting the lifespan of an N95 is way longer than 8 hours perhaps 30-40.

Generally the idea is to get a new one when it becomes noticeably harder to breath.

Generally for COVID use, as opposed to say, construction, I find the mask will physically fail (e.g strap breaks or stretches too much, nose foam detaches) before the filter media is close to being used up.

Re: Show HN: I bought and tested the filtration of every mask on Amazon

#140

Post by usrusr »

tallanvor wrote: post #122
lloydarmbrust wrote: post #12

I've spent about 1,000 hours on this with my team using a very expensive (~$250k) lab and I'd love for this to be a great resource for people when choosing a mask. The heavy lift we are doing here is around our particulate filtration efficiency test in which we do either the NIOSH N95 NaCL (0.3 micron) test or the ASTM 0.1 micron latex particle test. I'd love HN feedback on how we improve the interface and make this…

I read through your "methodology", and it seems to be too simple to explain your pass/fail results. For example, you fail this mask: https://www.armbrustusa.com/blogs/mask-review/kn95-arun-flat... even though it seems to meet the filtration and breathability standards, but is still listed as having failed. I guess maybe you explain the failure in the video, and maybe there's a good reason that it failed, but you're a…

And it gets worse when you look at the page on mobile, miss the entire filter percentage column and that the list is ordered by that: then all random samples reached without excessive scrolling are mystery failures despite good filter result. Really strong example of how a seemingly harmless presentation failure can taint the perception of content.
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