What are the best three chinstraps?

I'm looking for recommendations for chinstraps. Thicker styles interfere with the Swift headgear and the Tiara adjustable has it's drawbacks. I'd like to find a cap arrangement that accommodates the functions needed.

Sounds like you want the PAP CAP:
http://www.pur-sleep.com
http://www.pur-sleep.com/content/?id=44
http://www.pur-sleep.com/products/produ ... category=6

I have ditched my headgear and attach my Nasal Aire II directly to my Deluxe Chinstrap. It looks wide, but is really very comfortable. You can see pix here:

http://s124.photobucket.com/albums/p36/ ... aise/CPAP/

I like the design of the Topaz, but the fabric irritates my skin. The Deluxe is much less irritating, and provides all the support I need.

Cheers,
Barbara

As I have tried ALL of them I think I can comment.

Slumbergear
http://www.slumbergear.com/
Very nice, chinstrap and headgear all in one. VERY stable.

papcap from pursleep.com is very nice as mentioned above

Topaz is also a good chinstrap.

ca_hosehead wrote:As I have tried ALL of them I think I can comment.

Slumbergear
http://www.slumbergear.com/
Very nice, chinstrap and headgear all in one. VERY stable.

papcap from pursleep.com is very nice as mentioned above

Topaz is also a good chinstrap.

The slumbergear looks interesting, but this is the skeptic in me speaking. I'm less likely to buy the slumbergear because they don't show a price and they're hooked too well into the DME system. Once again, the product probably cost five dollars to make and is being sold for $65. FDA approval doesn't mean much to me other than they're allowed to charge more for the privilege of approval. It looks like a modified topaz.

The slumbergear probably works pretty well. I'm just not going back to a local DME if I can avoid it.

ca_hosehead - what does it cost?

DreamDiver wrote: The slumbergear looks interesting, but this is the skeptic in me speaking. I'm less likely to buy the slumbergear because they don't show a price and they're hooked too well into the DME system. Once again, the product probably cost five dollars to make and is being sold for $65. FDA approval doesn't mean much to me other than they're allowed to charge more for the privilege of approval. It looks like a modified topaz.

The slumbergear probably works pretty well. I'm just not going back to a local DME if I can avoid it.

ca_hosehead - what does it cost?

I paid $44.99 for it.

>> It looks like a modified topaz.

It does look like it, but actually it's pretty different from the Topaz. The Topaz has more of a tendency to pull "up and back" while the Slumbergear is more "straight up", like the Papcap.

The Slumbergear has straps to attach a mask so it's mask straps and chinstrap all in one piece. (I use nasal pillows so I fold back the mask straps myself.) The fabric is much thicker than the Topaz and the surface area is larger. All of the exposed surfaces can be used to stick velcro to so this leaves you with *lots* of places to attach. The fabric breathes well and is comfortable for me.

Since it has a strap in the back, on the top and under the chin it sort of wraps up your entire head. This means the rig is STABLE. You put it on at night and in the morning it is EXACTLY where you put it. I don't have much of a protrusion on the back of my head, it's pretty flat back there, so things are always riding up in the back and shifting out of position. This gear stays steady and with all the attachment points it's fairly easy to find good places to hook the mask to.

Thanks for the nice report CA. Are you a mouthbreather and does the SlumberGear keep your mouth shut?

Also, what is the fabric the Slumber Gear is made from? Is it the same neoprene as the Topaz? I had to give up the Topaz (which I really liked) because the neoprene irritated my face.

Many thanks!
Barbara

CA,

Because of your report I have looked at SlumberGear a second time and am now more impressed with it. It looks like those straps might help with the blowfish effect.

When you take the gear off, how many straps do you have to adjust the next time you use it?

Thanks,

I just got one from someone on ebay for $16.95 (reasonable shipping costs). Its called the "AG Deluxe III Adjustable CPAP chin strap". Works fantastic. This is my first chin strap and have had no problems using it. (No I'm not affiliated with the seller "Breathe Rite Medical Supplies", just a happy customer.

Lynne

I agree. I like the Deluxe too. You can usually find it for that same price on cpapauction.com, from Tina's Homecare. I've bought a few from her. She's very nice, and I've always been pleased with the transaction.

Pix of my Deluxe - Nasal Aire II Morph here:
http://s124.photobucket.com/albums/p36/ ... aise/CPAP/

Cheers,
Babs

>> Also, what is the fabric the Slumber Gear is made from? Is it the same neoprene as the Topaz? I had to give up the Topaz (which I really liked) because the neoprene irritated my face.


This is what their web site says about the fabric. "SLUMBERGEAR is comprised of Velcro® and/or Breath-O-Prene fabric. The fabric is soft and smooth on the underside and is faced with Velcro® loop, allowing for ease of fit. The fabric is soft, breathable, light weight, strong and flexible. It has 4-way stretch and does not contain any latex material."

There is a web site that talks about the material:

http://www.thematerialrevolution.com/

It says it "eliminates a majority of skin irritations commonly found in the products of our competition".

Since it ends with "prene" I would guess it is he same base material, but it is put together differently.

They have a model for the Nasal Aire II now, (link below)


>> When you take the gear off, how many straps do you have to adjust the next time you use it?

None, which I really like. Whenever I change my rig I spend hours over several nights doing the "velcro dance" adjusting this or that little strap. With this rig you can leave everything hooked up and put your head in through the lower rear hole. I leave the nasal pillows hooked to the Slumbergear, so it's all one rig.


>> Are you a mouthbreather and does the SlumberGear keep your mouth shut?

Yes and yes. When left to its own devices my mouth will fall open so a chinstrap is required. I have a large tongue and a small mouth so I don't seem to have a problem with mouth leaks and I do not have to put a lot of pressure on the chin strap. I thought I had problems with mouth leaks at one time and I did put a lot of pressure on my chin but have since backed it off. The top strap and chinstrap form a ring around the front of your head. By adjusting the size of that ring using the top adjustment you can vary the pressure on your chin.


A couple of additional things:

I bought it online from this guy:

http://www.youneedsleep.com/inc/sdetail/2847

He was good to deal with.


I also notice that they now have several models. The one I have is 004, when I bought it it was the only one.

This has two sets of front straps for a nasal mask:
http://www.slumbergear.com/model004.html


For a small mask, one set of forward straps:
http://www.slumbergear.com/model005.html

For a nasal pillow with overhead tube routing:
http://www.slumbergear.com/model005.html

For a Nasal Aire II:
http://www.slumbergear.com/model007.html

Oh yeah... I'm vaguely remembering now why I didn't jump on this when we talked about it a few months ago.

Hey! I'm sleep deprived!!!

Yeah, they are just using a slightly tweaked version of neoprene laminate. Still neoprene core, still hot, still going to cause my face to sweat and itch.

Thanks much!!!!
B.

Babette wrote: Yeah, they are just using a slightly tweaked version of neoprene laminate. Still neoprene core, still hot, still going to cause my face to sweat and itch.

Well they say that this new version of the material wicks away moisture from the skin, that it "breathes". It does well for me but I didn't have any sweating/irritation problems with the Topaz either.

The papcap is the best from a fabric comfort point of view. You can't beat 100% cotton.

my opinion:

1. Sleep Guy's Pap-Cap
2. Sleep Guy's Pap-Cap
3. Sleep Guy's Pap-Cap