Unboxing All The Masks...

Oh boy, so have I been down a rabbit hole or what

I've been looking at these different masks. Just out of a general sense of curiosity, given the state of things on planet Earth in 2020 so far

I've just, I've been on the internet and I've been seeing people talk about it

I've been seeing people post pictures with masks. And you're looking at this table thinking to yourself

man, those are some wild looking contraptions you've got there. But believe it or not, I've actually seen people on social media and in real life wearing these more advanced 3M contraptions in place of something disposable

In place of something you would see more typically as a solution for someone in public attempting to not be contaminated

So, a little bit of background. Why or what you would be looking for or just how to think about this space in general

because you might be surprised to find out that in most cases these substantial looking things

are probably not going to be as good of a solution in most cases as more typical disposable N95 masks

And I'll explain why as the video progresses. I'm not saying that these things are useless

They just come with other issues and they're really intended for other purposes

as you probably already know and could have imagined. Background, 3M, they're one of the companies that makes masks, but the important part that you're looking for on any mask is the actual certification that comes from the CDC, from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

you will see this word on any mask that has the designation necessary to be used in certain

circumstances in certain workplaces healthcare hazardous places and so on 3m is one of the

manufacturers that makes these masks but there are others as well you're looking for n-i-o-s-h

on the package or on the actual device or on the filter that you put onto the device now in the

case of the N95 mask, that's this one over here on the left, that designation is going to be in

reference to the efficiency of that particular mask. So this chart here really illustrates it

as well as you're going to do. The N portion of the N95 is in relationship to non-oil aerosols

That means that this thing is going to work properly. It's going to work well for all that

organic material, viruses, these types of things that she would want to protect against

but it will do nothing against oil-based particles. For the reason that people are

wearing masks in public right now, that's not an issue. The oil-based stuff is not a concern for

that group of individuals. People who wear these things, on the other hand, every year up until

2020 are doing so because they may work in a paint shop or they may be exposed to dangerous

vapors they may be exposed to dangerous oil based particles so that's where these other rankings come

in where the 95 portion might stay the same but the letter changes so this mask in the middle is a

p95 i don't know which filters this thing comes with i haven't looked at these i haven't tried

them on i'm gonna unbox them and give them a go in this particular video with these types of masks

you'll often see the P designation or the R designation. R, 95, will include oil aerosols

P, the highest performance. Now, 95 is not where it stops either

I've got a bag over here. Look at this product. This says, where is it

It's N99. And then there's even N100. And N100 is 99.97% efficient

Now, the important thing to note, I was reading and found an article relating to virus particles and the fact that in some cases they small enough to fit through some of these filters but they often attached to something and the number one way that this stuff is

transmitted is attached to a droplet as you've heard if you've been watching the news and then

that makes it substantially bigger so this is why the various governments have now been suggesting

just cover your mouth with whatever you have if you have to go out in public in new york

They're saying you absolutely have to if you're in public cover your face with something even if it's just a scarf and because

These things have become so difficult to get your hands on people are having to resort to other means in order to protect themselves

Even if it's in only a minor way, so this is the famous one

This one is not made by 3M I have to give a shout out to my brother who actually had a couple of these sitting at his apartment

And he let me have this one for the purpose of this video face mask 95% filter

You could see if you look down. I'm just gonna crack it open actually. This is a two-pack again

There are different brands and different styles of this particular mask and it's it's actually very important how you

Handle these things as well. It seems super basic It's like it seems like a type of filter that you would put

Into your furnace to block particles and and that's sort of how it operates

It's got these various strands that will block particles from entering now

Now, the important thing to note here when you wear a mask like this, when you inhale, it's filtering

But also when you exhale, it's filtering because the air you're pushing out is going back through the same filter

That's actually not the case with some of those other masks. Most of them, you're just exhaling through a vent

And even though you're pushing the air downwards, which is likely away from other people

you're probably not filtering your particles on the way out. You see, whereas this is a two-way street

Now the problem with these masks, the majority of people wearing them in public are not getting a good fit on their face and

therefore kind of negating the purpose of wearing them now. I have facial hair. I have a bit of a beard and that also

destroys the purpose of most of these because it allows air to get in there to pass through metal band on the top here

This is where your note where you pinch it across your nose so you kind of get this thing you kind of get it placed on there like that and you get a pinch on

the nose and the key is to get the right fit now the other thing to note since this doesn't have a

valve on it for some people it could make breathing slightly more difficult particularly an individual

who might not have the best physical fitness or have other ailments as well so so that's something

to take into consideration with this type of mask 3m for example they make various versions of their

disposable masks as you can see here some of them with a valve on the front to improve the ability

for an individual to feel comfortable and exhale and breathe now there is a difference between

respirators and your typical surgical mask as well the surgical mask that you see a lot of people

wearing that thin thing that doesn't quite fit as well that's good it's better than nothing once

again but it's not going to filter as much particulate matter as something

like an n95 or above. Alright now let's move to the more exciting stuff. Next we'll

go to this guy. This is a performance respirator from 3M. There's the mask and

there's your filters. You can see that this one actually ships with P95 filters

Look at that. Okay, so that would be the filter you were looking for. It's going to give you that extra protection against oil-based contaminants as well

But see, here's the problem. These masks are designed for multi-use scenarios

Like I said, in a paint shop or something like that. And the problem then becomes, if you're wearing this as protection against some major virus

like people are wearing these now then how do you decontaminate this mask after you used it So with this it meant to be one use You throw it in the garbage after you done

And in fact, if you're out in public and you have to then head back home

you can throw this out in public in a public waste bin and then not bring any contamination back into your household

The other key factor with these is just how you treat them. when you're removing this

you don't touch anywhere near the filter. Otherwise you're just gonna contaminate your hands

with whatever this thing has picked up and its job is to pick up contaminants

So you're only touching the straps to remove it and you're kind of gently disposing of it

How do you do that with one of these reusable masks? It's gonna be a lot more difficult

This one, since it's a bit heavier, has a far more elaborate kind of setup on it

for how to wear it. And, ooh, it's obviously way cooler looking, and this is what it looks like without any filters on it

Now, you can feel the vacuum when you breathe in. And you can be sure that you have good suction and good fit, because when you put your hands over the valves, you can't breathe at all

But remember what I said on the exhale. I feel my exhale right here

I don't know if you guys heard any of that, but I can feel my exhale coming out the front

Now, this one, I can see just looking at it that the exhale valve, there's no filter on that

Now, maybe 3M makes some that do have a filter on the exhale

but again, you have to think of the reason these things are manufactured

and the typical usage that you would have for something like this

walking into a contaminated environment where the surrounding material, let's say a paint shop

let's say a weld shop, let's say any place, even noxious gases

which 3M makes filters specifically for that, what you're exhaling is not such a concern

It's strictly on the inhale, what you're exhaling is not dangerous. Whereas when you're talking about a virus

your exhale is also important. So again, that's probably the most major drawback

with these types of units. Okay, now everything I'm breathing is coming in through the filters, it is very sealed. I can feel that. It's almost like a vacuum

type of suction that's in there now. So nothing's getting in. So it's great that nothing gets in

And if you were in a really dangerous environment, you can imagine why you would want to be wearing

some type of mask like this. And that's really what it's designed for is those types of environments

But there's a reason you don't see the surgeons wearing these things. It's not practical to

decontaminate this thing every time it's in a potentially dangerous situation or place

Alright, the last one I got, this is probably the one I'm most excited for. Just again, from a general sense of curiosity, this is the 6800 from 3M

It is a full face mask. It will block your eyes as well

Believe it or not, your eyes are another entry point. It's an opening on your body

So even if you're wearing any of these other styles, you may still very well want to block your eyes

So this one was exciting to me just because obviously it's the most elaborate of the bunch

It was the most expensive of the bunch. This one comes with respirator cleaning wipes, particulate filter, P100s

That's some high level stuff. So when it comes to the reusable filters, what 3M calls the reusable filters

they have versions for everything, for welding, for metal pouring, pharmaceuticals, Utilities operations, chemical manufacturing

It's bananas. They have something for everything. How about 3M? Shout out 3M

And it scales all the way from a standard particulate filter in this circular shape like this

all the way up to these kind of combo series filters, combination cartridges These things combine filters So something like this let say 60926 is a P100 particulate filter for use with certain organic vapors chlorine hydrogen chloride So it filters

particulates, gases, and vapors. And these are all the various combinations of particulate

cartridge filters. My goodness. Now this is a full face shield mask. It's a lot like this other

half shield over here, but then it adds on it a full out coverage for your eyeballs

essentially, that you can stare through. And maybe it even gives you extra peace of mind

I suppose, if you go into a really toxic scenario. Kind of like when you wear a scuba diving mask

when it goes around the whole face, it can just create an even better seal. Keep in mind

like I said earlier in this video, I got the beard, so I'm not even talking full seal. If I had to go

into an actually dangerous environment this would have to be shaved okay so we

removed the protect oh that's nice that's a nice looking lens on there

better than I expected that's what these look like 2097 3mp 100 once again

NI OSH certification you can actually see some of the fibers on the inside

there take a closer look oh wow okay just tighten this up

Holy moly. Okay, what can- yeah. This- well this is a full out system obviously

It should be clear to you. I actually find it far more comfortable than the half face mask

I mean you definitely feel like you're ready for anything. You can get it off without touching the filters, it's possible

But it's just- it's a risky endeavor to be involved in. Obviously, as I mentioned previously

when you're seeing the experts telling you how to remove a typical N95

and they're so gently just touching the side of the elastic band

to just kind of go over to the trash and do that. So there you have it

Three different masks unboxed and a couple of them just sold over here for $250

The markup is massive as it stands right now. I thought it was worth it for a little educational video

Obviously, full disclaimer here, I'm not a doctor. I'm not a chemical engineer

I do not work for 3M. I'm a curious individual, just like yourself, going off the resources that are available

online to try to figure out exactly what's going on out there in the world and what people

are doing. Once I saw these things popping up on my social media, I just felt that I had to get to the

bottom of it. It just seemed like an area kind of technology related and maybe even going forward an area

where we're going to see innovation now that there's such a demand in this particular market

it was an area where I had a huge blind spot. I just knew nothing about these things

the various ratings and what they were meant for and what they could actually filter

It turns out there's a reason you see most people wearing something like this after it's all said and done

Granted, like I said, the key with these things is fit. And in the case of most medical professionals

they're going to make sure they have the key fit before they ever put themselves into a dangerous situation

where they may be exposed. So if you do have any, really, if you're covering your face with anything

fit is going to be as important as whatever the rating is on your particular mask

because it can only work if it's in between you and the air that's getting in

And the other big thing that I want to reiterate is just the handling of these

If you do choose to cover your face, how you remove of whatever garment it is

you put in front of your face is equally important because otherwise you may contaminate other things

with everything that has piled up on that device that you've placed between yourself

and the air that you're breathing. So remember, it's, yeah