Hybrid Mask Reveiw - First Blush (Long)

mikemoran · Post by **mikemoran** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 6:25 am

Got my new Hybrid on Friday from CPAP.com. It shipped earlier than expected. Now let me put some disclaimers out there before my review. I have only had it two nights and can only relate my experience so far. I feel you need to live with a mask atleast a week in order to have a decent trial of it. so I will report my progess again next weekend.

My setup is a Resmed Spirit Auto, H2 heated humidifier and heated hose. I have a long face with full beard and slightly slotted sensitive nostrils, so I am not the easiest to fit.

The mask comes with all sizes available so you don't need to do pre-sizing or use any kind of sizing tool prior to ordering. It consists of three mouth cushions and three sets of nasal pillows. You can use the pillow sets together or split them and use a different size for each nostril. The pillows have two height adjustments. The headgear has four connection points on the mask that go around to the back of your head one over the ears and one under. There is a top strap to keep the upper strap off your ears and to help pull the mask higher on your face.

This is a two part mask. A lower peice that goes over your mouth which fits down on your chin and above your upper lips. The nasal pillows then fit into openings on top of this peice to seal agaisnt your nostirls. the mouth peice has a stiffer silicone peice at the bottom that is a chin support that I think is supposed to go under your chin. In my case that was not possible (more later). The straps connect by clips that have little key hole openings that go over little plastic studs on the hard part of the mask and click into place.

The hard part that the silicone peices fit into has a swivel elbow, oxygen ports, exhalation ports and an anti-aphyxiation valve in the elbow. There does not seem to be a quick release to the elbow, atleast not one I could find. I will research the manual today.

So the first night I spent about an hour before bed fitting the mask best I could. I used the largest mouth peice and the medium pillows. I set the straps a little tight and seemed to have everything in the right position. The release clips are a little hard to do quickly with as tight as i was strapping down. I didn't mind the tighter straps as they were on the lower part of my face. My face is too long for the peice to fit under my chin, but I did find that it acted as a second seal and helped stabilize the mask on my face. Thsi puppy didn't move when I went side to side and bounce it agaisnt my pillow. There was no issue of it shifting and undoing the seal at the nasal pillows. Good design from that standpoint.

Now normally I hang my hose from a scrunchy on my wall so the hose goes up over my head and gives me freedom of movement. if you do this two problems occur. The first is it kinds of defeats the purpose of having nothing on your nose and your line of vision free. The second more troubling problem it is moves the elbow into the path of exhalation ports and you get a major increase in air flow noise. So I ran the hose down the front over my blankets. Because the mask was so stable this wasn't a problem, no hose tugs moved the msak, but it does mean you have a little more hose managment to contend with.

The first night the mask was noisy and miserable. The exhalation ports point forward and do put out a lot of air so your partner may complain some. The noise from the ports increases in volume if you have any leakage. My problem the first night was an adjustment problem. I was getting leaks at the bottom of the mask and at the pillows. In my case I didn't notice the leaks as much as they did not blow into my eyes and I wasn't sure how the mask should sound. All my usual leak cues were gone. The good news is that if it does leak you won't have eye irritation too.

Based on the first night experience I would of said save your money, but the mask had potential and I could tell the problem was my adjustment. The next morning I re-adjusted until I got a complete seal and reduced the mask noise. Remeberiing with the Swift that the larger nasal pillows sealed better with my nares I switched up to the that size. I then cranked the straps as tight as possible. I kept the lower straps tight so it sealed agaisnt my beard and kept the mask stable then backed off the top straps some so there wasn't pressure on my head. This is not a loose strap mask, atleast for us bearded types. Everything sealed well and the noise dropped tremendously.

It worked well through the night with only a few nasal pillows leaks. I woke up about 2 times with them, and all I needed to do to regain the seal was sort of push my nose down into them. sounds silly but it worked in my sleep. While I could mouth breath I didn't find myself doing it as I pretty much trained myself not to. The air flow through the pillows was great. Also the pillows are a soft enough silicone that I expereinced no nostril irritation so far.

Pros - Nothing on your nose, Clear line of sight. No worries about mouth breathing. Soft nasal pillows. A reasonably stable mask if adjusted properly. No leaks in your eyes. Will seal agaisnt a beard.

Cons- Noisy (but no noisier than my UMFF mask), Forward air exhast. Not so quick release. Front hose management.

Overall impression - This mask has the potential to be my dream mask. I need to try it for longer, but if I don't get irritated nostrils it will be a winner for me. I really don't like things on my nose so I am already biased towards it. No mask is perfect but this is designed well. Hang on for more before you spend your money on one.

chdurie2 · Post by **chdurie2** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 6:48 am

hi mike-- since this seems to eliminate mouth breathing, i guess it is a no-go for folks who mouth-breathe, at least in part, that their nose is so stuffed up they have trouble breathing through nose?

thanks.

caroline

mikemoran · Post by **mikemoran** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 7:15 am

Caroline,

It doesn't eliminate mouth breathing. It is a the same as a full face mask. You can breath through your mouth or through your nose. Its actually perfect for mouth breathers. Sorry if I didn't make myself clear. Even though I could breath through my mouth I found myself breathing through my nose because i trained myself to. It works well no matter how you breath. One thing is for sure, my Ultra Mirage full face mask is going into my old mask bin. I don't see myself using it ever again.

ufo13 · Post by **ufo13** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 8:00 am

Mike:

Thanks for the excellent review of the hybrid! As usual you covered ALL the important points IMO! Looking forward to your follow-up!

All the best,

Steve,
ufo13

nomad · Post by **nomad** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 8:58 am

Great review! Having a beard myself, it's good to hear that it worked so well for you. Right now I am TRYING to get use to a Hans Rudolph 7600, but am struggling with it. I've got a new foam headgear on the way, but if that fails, that mask is going into permanent storage. I almost feel like my breathing is restricted when using it.

The mask I can almost totally rely on is the F&P 431. My UMFF is good too, but it rarely sees any action any more.

I can't wait to hear if you're still loving the new hybrid after a month or so. I also can't wait to hear others' opinions.

Thanks again for the review.

WillCunningham · Post by **WillCunningham** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 9:30 am

I am also glad to read your review, thanks. I have a beard as well so I will be really interested to hear how the seal works for you over time. I am in love with my new activa mask at the moment but I want to keep my eyes open for an oral mask for the next time I get sick and end up too congested to use a nasal mask. This one has the benifit of looking like it might be a cool mask all around, the headgear looks like it could fit in a very secure manner with few riding up issues.

rested gal · Post by **rested gal** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 9:39 am

Mike, thank you sooo much for the very thorough review. I've been toying with the idea of getting the Hybrid to replace the full face mask I keep stashed away for the occasional too-stuffy-to-breathe-through-the-nose nights.

Sounds like that one might be worth a try.

GoofyUT · Post by **GoofyUT** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 10:29 am

As usual Mike, VERY well-written and VERY well-done. You've done the community a great service.

Thank you!

Chuck

Sleepless on LI · Post by **Sleepless on LI** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 10:58 am

Hey, Mike. Sounds like this could be the answer for a lot of us. Thanks for the review.

Do you know if there is anywhere we could find a photo of what this mask looks like? I'd be interested in the visual.

Thanks.

NEVER MIND...

wolftracker · Post by **wolftracker** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 11:04 am

viewtopic.php?t=10169&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15

Bellcrest · Post by **Bellcrest** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 11:42 am

This mask sounds like it may be the answer for those of us who love the nasal pillows but have to tape our mouths.

I'll be watching and waiting for more results.

Issac · Post by **Issac** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 11:52 am

Mikemoran, this sounds as if this mask could be my dream mask as well. I have a few questions. First, with the design obviously not having anything above the nose, why would someone want to put the hose over their head? Seems that it defeats the beautiful design. Second, was the noise mostly from trying to put it over your head and was it quieter when it was not?
Third, I find it remarkable that any mask would seal over a beard and do I see a mustashe in your picture ? Are you telling us you got such a good seal with a beard and mustashe, too ? I find that overly remarkable !
Mikemoran, what is your pressure?
Do you wear a full face mask?
Did you say their were 3 face cushions as well as the three pillows?
Once you set your straps the way you know it will seal, can you snap the mask on and off without resetting the straps every night ?
I am very impressed, as I read that YOU PAID for your mask, thus not giving such a positive report for a free mask. I am due a new mask next month but I may not wait a month. To think of no more air blowing in my eyes and no more TAPE on my face is more than I could ask.

wolftracker · Post by **wolftracker** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 12:23 pm

i believe a lot of your questions are addressed there.

i remember seeing once set you only have to remove
a corner to get it off.

it comes with 9 total adjustments via the pillows and cussions

the pillows have two setting each ...

it looks really interesting ... hmmm

nov before insurance will pay for another mask ...

mikemoran · Post by **mikemoran** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 12:33 pm

Lori,

The video is available on CPAP.com and you can also get more info here: http://www.hybridmask.com/

Issac,

For all my other masks (Activa, ComfortLite, UMFF) routing it behind my head works best. It keeps the hose out of my way and allows me to easily roll from side to side without the mask pulling. As I said this mask doesn't work well that way and it defeats some fo the purpose of the design. So now my hose runs down the front and to the side. Not as convenient but manageable. Much quieter in front than over the head.

full beard and moustache and complete seal.

My titrated pressure is 11 so I am not sure how this will work with higher pressure. I do know you can crank the straps on this baby down pretty tight, so sealing the mouth is not a problem. I think higher pressure would blow the nasal pillows as they are not pulled up tight like they are with other head gear. I will crank up the pressure for an awake test and let you know.

I suually switch between the ComfortLite and the Activa, I like the free feel of the CL2 but after a few days my nares hurt too much. The Activa has the nasty habit of irritating the bridge of my nose. So it has been a juggling game from one irritation to another with some good days in between. i trianed myself away from mouth breathing so have only used my Ultra Mirage FF mask when I had a cold (leaks too much with the beard to use it otherwise).

Three face cushions and three pillow sets. Once you set the straps you just clip the strap end on and off the little post on the mask. Not as easy as the Activa one button snaps so it takes a little pressing and sliding when you have the straps tight.

I am an admitted mask junkie so how could I resist. I can't make a solid recommendation until I spend more time with it. The only positive thing I can say right now is the mask is tameable for leaks.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 12:46 pm

For those of you who like nasal pillows, etc. QUESTION?? I have the swift and the Comfortlight2, my nares (is that a fancy word for nostril?) are sensitive and sore, no matter the size of the pillow, no matter if I adjust the straps loose, etc. And I also use a gel. How long does it take to "toughen up" the things?

Hybrid Mask Reveiw - First Blush (Long)

Hybrid Mask Reveiw - First Blush (Long)

Thanks!

Bravo!

here is one

sounds like

did you watch the video

Mask

Additional Comments: Large mask collection