1. We need to buy some new good masks for Edward.
2. I can’t figure out how to do it.
He’s been wearing KN95 masks from a pack I bought quite awhile ago from Staples, but they are starting to need replacing. I went back to buy more of those, and the reviews are things like “I bought these before and they were great, but then I bought a new box of them and they’re terrible and flimsy and the straps break.”
I checked Target’s website, and they don’t have any KN95 masks. Probably. It can be hard to tell with Target’s website. For a long time their search field was case-sensitive—so that, for example, if you typed “hershey kisses” it would say there were no matches for your search.
I thought “Fine. Fine. I will see what Amazon has,” and I went through their recommendations system and chose their best-rated mask, which is very highly rated by customers as well—and the negative reviews are things like “These are counterfeit, I bought these before and they were the real kind, but when I re-ordered I got fakes that are on the government’s list of Do Not Buy These Masks.”
This is so frustrating. Surely by now we could have come up with a better system for this.
The Wirecutter has links to some from Kimberly Clark and BYD that are supposed to be good. I would go with their recommendations, if I were making a purchase now. Will be interested in what others have to say, too. It’s really tough. We’ve been lucky—there’s been a parent at our school district who has been organizing bulk orders of KN95 masks directly from a manufacturer for families throughout this thing and it’s helped a lot.
My brother in loves those Kimberly Clark ones that look like a giant duckbill!! He sometimes has to wear them all day and says they are very comfortable.
I’ve also read that in general, masks manufactured in South Korea are pretty reliable, as the South Koreans are super serious about masks and mask quality.
Mask sourcing has been so frustrating!
I have ordered from Bona Fide Masks several times. Their KN95 masks are very good quality and their customer service is fantastic.
Bona Fide for me, too! Fast, free shipping, and not counterfeit. The Powecom brand had an Emergency Use Authorization from the FDA when there was a shortage of protective equipment early on in the pandemic. Not an ad, just one of the few companies I trusted, and I’ve ordered from them a handful of times at this point. :)
Another recommendation for the Powecom masks via Bona Fide. They’ve had both white and black. I ordered a couple of weeks ago and got them within a few days.
Was just going to recommend this company. I’ve made several orders, all great. First found them somewhere that was vetting sites for authenticity but I don’t remember where.
Maybe try a pharmacy? I see them online at CVS.
I just purchased a second set from Vida. They seem well made and my son wears them all day without complaint. I see them recommended on a few sites.
I was going to say Vida too! Theirs are FDA approved.
We bought N95 masks from US Masks two times. They are made in the USA (based in Texas I think) and quality is very good.
Our Ace Hardware has had KN95s — the website will show all the stores in the area that have them in stock, so you can see them on the hoof, as it were.
Another vote for Bona fide
I ordered these directly from the manufacturer because everything I saw on Amazon seemed potentially to be counterfeit based on the reviews:
https://ppe.honeywell.com/collections/respiratory/products/honeywell-df300-disposable-respirator
For the curious (like myself), here’s an explanation of KN95 vs N95
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/health/a35383193/n95-vs-kn95-mask-differences/
Do you have an Asian grocery store near you? The ones near us have a pretty good selection of masks in store. We’ve bought masks from them a couple of times and have been pleased with the quality.
I ordered surgical masks from a company called Armbrust (based in Texas), and I’ve been happy with them. My kids say that the straps are not as comfortable as whatever brand Costco had, though. They’ve been fine for me, but I’m not wearing them all day, every day. Anyway, Armbrust has KN95 masks that are made in the U.S., and they are currently 30% off with code US-KN95-30. They should be good quality, and they’ll get here faster than if they were shipped from overseas.
https://www.armbrustusa.com/
https://bonafidemasks.com/face-masks/kn95-respirator-face-masks/
We use these. My teen prefers the black ones with ear loops.
Another vote for the Wirecutter recommendations (https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/where-to-buy-n95-kn95-masks-online/). They’re updating the listing periodically and have links to all the recommended masks so it feels like I’m less likely to get a counterfeit. I’ve ordered two kinds from their recommendations and have been pleased.
Scientific American has a long article with brand and vendor suggestions here:
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-we-need-to-upgrade-our-face-masks-and-where-to-get-them/
Everyday eMall is a Korean supplier that was recommended by someone on Twitter and we’ve been using KF94s from there. https://www.everydayemall.com/
I will be very interested to see what comes from this post, especially if the companies make washable/reusable small kid masks. Every recommendation list I’ve seen has been full of sites where everything is out of stock. My kid has gotten sick with non-covid respiratory stuff in the last month: I know that her current masks are not sufficiently effective. But I can’t find better ones in stock anywhere.
Aaron Collins (https://mobile.twitter.com/masknerd?lang=en) recently tested reusable masks and posted a quick summary chart on Twitter. From his chart, VogMask looks like the only one that’s close to a good disposable mask, and they are really pricey!
I buy https://lutema.com/products/kids-5-layer-disposable-face-mask-with-95-particle-protection-made-in-the-usa-5-pack for my kids. They ship directly from the US manufacturer, they aren’t too expensive, and they come in lots of colors so my kids can pick their favorites. They fit my 10 year old very well, and are just a little big (but still well sealed) on my 7 year old.
If your kids are younger, Aaron has recommendations grouped by age somewhere on twitter.
But one thing to note: my scientist friends tell me that rhinoviruses (colds) love surface transmission (handwashing) whereas covid is all about the aerosols. Maybe your masks are okay and it’s just harder to stop colds?
I bought from here earlier this year: https://www.ebay.com/itm/233906400037
And the mask (which I reused weekly for PT sessions for months) was good enough that *I did not have environmental allergen responses* while wearing the mask, only after taking it off, at which point my sinuses and throat freaked out about the fragrance deposits on my skin and clothing from the PT center.
Negative: it was too tight of a seal; after two hours of wear, there was an indentation in my skin around the edge of the mask; probably could not wear daily for >2 hours. It is also very industrial-looking. Last time I bought was in June; quality may have shifted with Delta demand.
Positive: I could not believe it about the allergens, but every single week it was the same, until I started wearing the mask all the way home and stripping and scrubbing down before removing the mask. The mask also did not collapse.
The CDC has this chart that tests the efficacy of different brands of KN95s and N95s:
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/respirators/testing/NonNIOSHresults.html
It does note, however, that it can be hard to know if you’re getting a counterfeit mask, which is frustrating.
I find the KF94 shape easier for me/fits better/hurts my ears less. WellBefore (as recommended by wire cutter) has both KN95 and KF94 masks and they are real.
I also like the brand “BOTN” which is from Korea. They are on amazon as well as on behealthyusa.net. Those are all the brand of kids’ masks we like too.
I’ve ordered both the adult and kid kn95s from bona fide masks and they are excellent quality. Better than any other approved brand I’ve tried. Be aware that the adult masks have little flaps that can get in your eyes, but if you don’t have a tiny face, you should be fine.
Aaron Collins has been doing extraordinary work to test and review masks, including KN95, N95, KF94, and children’s masks. Some links to his work:
https://mobile.twitter.com/masknerd?lang=en
https://m.youtube.com/user/coll0412/videos (warning: his livestream videos are intended for data transparency purposes– if it’s your first time visiting his channel skip right past those to the prerecorded videos)
I also had a good experience with Powecom KN95s from BonaFide (and Aaron has confirmed they are legit, as are all of the following).
My husband loves https://www.everydaybeautylab.com/lg-airwasher-kf94-face-mask-black-made-in-korea/ which are Aaron-recommended and have a great comfortable fit for him, but they’re too big for me.
If you want pretty *and* effective masks for adults, go to https://masklab.us/collections/kf-series — they ship direct from the manufacturer, so you can be 100% confident they are not fake. I love my purple masks!
My kids wear https://lutema.com/products/kids-5-layer-disposable-face-mask-with-95-particle-protection-made-in-the-usa-5-pack which are the only kid’s masks I’ve found that are effective, affordable, and come in lots of good color choices for them.
Check out http://projectn95.org/ – that’s where we get all our KN95s! They bulk buy FDA-approved PPE and then resell for no profit in smaller amounts. I think we paid $1.50 per KN95 and they carry multiple sizes.
Agree. Project N95 was recommended in an article from the New York Times. They also had other suggestions. We’ve been using Project N95.
Article link to NY Times
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/2021/02/17/technology/personaltech/buy-real-n95-mask.amp.html
I used this site to find links to mask sources, and usually one of them has masks in stock: https://www.microcovid.org/blog/masks
I got some regular 3M N95s and the 3M Vflex N95s. The Vflex (duckbill ones) are really comfortable and easy to talk in. I think they’re like a dollar apiece and come in packs of fifty. I don’t wear anything else anymore.
Thank you to everyone who contributed mask sources, this is so helpful! What an awesome Swistle community!
Thank you for posting this!
I am interested in but haven’t yet gotten or tried an elastomeric mask, though am considering an Envomask for me. I don’t know that kids would want to wear these (as I may not, or not everywhere) because they look different. Right now I’m wearing 3M N95s to work and keeping them on all day (this is caution on my part rather than a high risk occupation or situation) and they leave marks on my face that can persist for hours.
This site — https://cleanaircrew.org/kids-masks/ — is one that I think is legitimately run by people qualified to provide information about (among other air safety related topics relevant to COVID), masks.
I got some Cambridge masks for my son (specifically, the Churchill) and he seems to like those pretty well. I also have a few for myself and think they are OK, they don’t fit me as well as I’d like.
I bought 3M N95 masks 4 times, and only when I ordered from a supplier linked directly from the 3M site did I get non-counterfeit masks (assuming having the lot number on the mask match the lot number on the box is an OK test of that). At least 2 of those orders were through Amazon (I returned both, and stopped payment on the credit card for the other order from a non-Amazon — apparently — unreputable seller). I had to state I needed them for occupational use, but as I’m buying them to wear in my office … I get that we need to conserve these for people with legitimate need, but hey, that’s all of us and if we haven’t resolved this problem by now, I don’t think abstaining will help.
I had such a frustrating time looking for KN95 masks on Amazon, but it seemed easier to find authentic KF94s? Anyway, my husband and I use these:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08KDGFD1D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Genuinely don’t know how to tell if a mask is counterfeit or not, but these certainly look and feel legit, and when I have it fitted snuggly enough they don’t fog up my sunglasses. My husband wears them as is, I knot the strings for a snugger fit, or use ear loop adjusters. If you need something in a smaller size, this is what we use for our 11-year-old girl. I have also worn one in a pinch before, and while it didn’t cover my cheeks as much as I would like, it worked well under a cloth mask:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08KGTT1LT/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I find that so often, dedicated mask retailers are charging more for masks than I’m willing or able to pay, given that we dispose of them after the kids wear them for 6 hours a day. I was pleased to find both these brands, and recently stocked up on another stash. Even though we’re good through December, I might buy more next month, in case there’s a holiday run on masks or something.