After hearing about it for a long time (and getting many, many requests to test it), I’ve finally been able to get my hands on the IQAir FFP2/KN95 Face Mask. This rather premium mask has always been of interest to me - partially just because of the price and brand reputation, and partially because of the internal frame (something that was previously quite rare).
Mask not fitted in the image above. For illustrative purposes only.
I say previously because more recently, other masks such as Zimi have become increasingly popular and I have a theory that they may actually produce the internal frames for the IQAir masks (you can read through this amazing post if you’re interested). Just look at how similar the frames are (Zimi is white, IQAir is semi-transparent):
When you place one frame over the other, they line up perfectly. For this reason, I would guess that Zimi is producing the frames for the IQAir Face Mask.
Anyway, I digress. The point of this post is to share a few of my first thoughts with the IQAir Face Mask because I know quite a few people are interested in it.
Straight away, the mask feels quite premium (I would argue even more so than the Zimi) and it is clear that the mask is well built. While the mask is uses earloops, the loops are fully adjustable and a clip is provided with every mask allowing you to connect the loops behind your head. While the fit is likely to not be as secure as a headband, at least there is some flexibility here making this an option for anyone who prefers to avoid headbands.
The two plastic tighteners allow for a lot of flexibility with sizing the earloops and I prefer this approach to using beads on the other end of the loops as I find those often slowly loosen over time, whereas I didn’t have such an issue here. That said, I did find myself needing to rely on the hook at the back of my head to achieve a proper seal that passed a qualitative fit test. Unfortunately, using only the earloops, I wasn’t able to pass a qualitative test.
On a side note, when tightened enough for a good fit, the ends of the elastic loops dangle a lot, so I ended up cutting these significantly shorter so they don’t look like whiskers.
I also checked Mask Nerd’s results, which show a filtration efficacy of just under 94%. This is slightly below the FFP2 and KN95 requirements (the mask is certified both FFP2 and KN95), but fit does vary greatly from person to person. At the end of the day, the best way to know if this mask works for you is to perform a personal fit test.
The biggest advantage of masks with frames is the fact that they always stay off your face and give you room to breathe and speak without ‘eating’ the mask. This is the case with the IQAir Face Mask too, and I found wearing this mask quite comfortable (as comfortable as wearing a mask can be) even in the Philippine summer heat.
While I was able to get the mask to fit me quite well, my wife had difficulties an we needed to cut the mask a bit as shown in this video. Some people will get a better fit this way, but again, it’s hard to know without being fit tested.
I will continue to use the IQAir Face Mask and will be back to share more thoughts when they arise. At the moment, I think it’s a solid mask but the price is around 3x higher than Zimi which offers a very similar mask but in more sizes and with an optional valve. Some of their masks are even KN100 if that’s of interest!