KN95 face masks - Need to find a new brand

[amalthia]

For the past few years I've been using WWDOLL KN95 Face Mask 50 PCs, Multiple Colour 5 Layers KN95 Masks (amazon link).

The 25 set boxes are no longer sold, so I purchased the 50 piece set and I think the quality may have gone down. The masks don't feel as thick as the ones I purchased last year, I did cut a few open and counted that they do have the 5 layers. I'll still use these for going around town grocery shopping, but I'm not sure I'd trust these to keep me well on long haul flights and hours in airports.

I believe it may be time to find a new face mask. I like the KN95 masks because they are easy to wear with the loops behind my ears.

Is anyone else on my friends list still wearing face masks in public and if yes, what type are you using? Are they comfortable for wearing at least 5 to 6 hours without taking it off?

I'd appreciate any and all advice on finding a new face mask.

Comments

[sweetestdrain]

I don't know if you like or have tried KF94-style masks -- after a lot of trial and error, I've found they work best with my face shape and are comfortable enough for several hours of wear. The brand I use is KN Flax and they have a few different colors here: https://knflax.com/collections/merged-adults -- they're lightweight but seem pretty protective and I've used this brand for a couple years now with no issue (aka no covid -- or anything else!), knock wood. I work retail, so nobody's breathing or coughing directly on my face or anything, but I do interact with a lot of humans.

When I was using KN95s, though, I often bought some from VIDA (https://shopvida.com/collections/adult-masks) -- they use several different manufacturers, I believe, so the feel and style would change from time to time, which was kind of annoying, but I know they vet their manufacturers pretty well so I still felt okay about them protection-wise. Later, I found a few of those same masks for a bit cheaper than VIDA on Planet Halo Health (https://www.planethalohealth.com/), which also seems like a pretty reputable mask source to me, with several different brands and styles available.

[amalthia]

I haven't tried the KF94 masks, but I'm giving it some serious consideration, if I can't find a comfortable KN95 to wear.

I'm probably also going to stop buying through Amazon and go straight to the vendor website instead. Thanks for sharing links! I'm wondering if maybe half the bad reviews are from people receiving counterfeits.

Thanks so much for sharing what worked for you. :) I'll probably end up buying 10 masks from a few of these vendors and try them out to see what fits my face and is comfortable to wear.