Hello - Travel CPAP

[crazydiamond]

Hi board,

Been a few years, forgot my old login - got a new. I was lucky I guess that my entry into CPAP treatment has been uneventful for the last 4-5 years and I have not had to visit here. MY old resmed s9 and Mirage Quatro Mask have worked well and I still have them. In compliance and no changes needed.

So I need a travel machine (also as emergency back up at home). It looks like the HDM Z2 Auto machine is just now released and I am thinking its the best choice for me, along with extended battery.

Anything I should consider with this choice for a travel machine?

Thanks.

[jsmit86]

I've got one on order that should ship on 3/26.
I had a Z1 Auto. I used it one night. My sleep was OK. 3 AHI. Similar to my Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset.
The unit did have some noise issues. I was OK with it, but my wife veto'd it after one night. I would have kept the unit. The noise was not an issue for me, for business travel.

Last week, I saw that they are releasing the Z2 Auto. The unit is supposed to have substantial noise improvement. It also adds auto start/stop, which is a great feature on my Resmed Unit. I had to pay a fair amount to upgrade since I had a really deep discount on the Z1 Auto. If the noise is good enough for my wife it will be well worth it. If not, I'll still use it for business travel. Once I get the unit, I'll report back here.

[tarpatel]

I know size is a consideration here but my understanding is that most airlines will allow you to bring a machine with no penalty since it is a medical device. Would it not make more sense to get a second machine exactly what you use at home?

[Goofproof]

I know size is a consideration here but my understanding is that most airlines will allow you to bring a machine with no penalty since it is a medical device. Would it not make more sense to get a second machine exactly what you use at home?

If you did that you wouldn't have the little one to throw away when it gave out. Jim Where would the fun be in that.

[crazydiamond]

I know size is a consideration here but my understanding is that most airlines will allow you to bring a machine with no penalty since it is a medical device. Would it not make more sense to get a second machine exactly what you use at home?

Thanks ! I recently got into a 7 hour delay kind of thing and really wanted to sleep on the plane. I brought it on but setting up my S9 full unit would have been a challenge with the limited space in airline seating these days. From what I see the travel ones are designed for airplanes and I was surprised to see the airlines have a formal procedure on notifying them in advance when you bring a CPAP machine on board and they want to know the the make and model for approval. Lastly traveling with full size machine is a pain on simple 1-2 night trips - even with the nice resmed bag I have - back pack, carry on bag, and then resmed bag. Hoping my z2 just tucks nicely in my carry on or backpack.

Its unfortunate my insurance wont cover a travel machine - they would have covered a new second full sized machine - but I have a flexible spending account to use to cover my Z2

[crazydiamond]

I've got one on order that should ship on 3/26.
I had a Z1 Auto. I used it one night. My sleep was OK. 3 AHI. Similar to my Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset.
The unit did have some noise issues. I was OK with it, but my wife veto'd it after one night. I would have kept the unit. The noise was not an issue for me, for business travel.

Last week, I saw that they are releasing the Z2 Auto. The unit is supposed to have substantial noise improvement. It also adds auto start/stop, which is a great feature on my Resmed Unit. I had to pay a fair amount to upgrade since I had a really deep discount on the Z1 Auto. If the noise is good enough for my wife it will be well worth it. If not, I'll still use it for business travel. Once I get the unit, I'll report back here.

Yes I saw that - good timing for me ordering one now. My doctor said the transcend or z1 were best to get - then I saw the Z2 was available for pre-order. It appeared to get better reviews than the transcend and I like the battery attachment. It should be nice for travel and also as an emergency back up (with battery) for home use.

[crazydiamond]

Not to muddy up the waters - but I love my Mirage Quattro full face mask. Anyone ever find a lighter full mask they like for traveling ? Other wise I will use the Quattro.

[jsmit86]

I know size is a consideration here but my understanding is that most airlines will allow you to bring a machine with no penalty since it is a medical device. Would it not make more sense to get a second machine exactly what you use at home?

No.. the reason to get the Z2 is size and weight, i.e. easier travel.
My home unit is great, but not so easy for travel. The entire reason for the travel unit... ease of travel.

[DanielPotvin]

Similar situation for me, I've been using a CPAP (Resmed AirSense 10) for the last for years and everything is great. Except that it added an extra piece of luggage to carry around when travelling. This year I wanted to be able to travel more frequently and start backcountry camping again so I bought an AirMini with a Medistrom battery. The whole kit is really light and compact, it easily fits in my backpack or carry-on suitcase, and works great. I can run the AirMini for two full nights on a charge. It is a bit noisy compared to the regular CPAP but you get used to it after a few nights.

[jsmit86]

My new Z2 Auto arrived yesterday. I will post my impressions as soon as I get a chance to fire it up.

[zoomzoom]

My new Z2 Auto arrived yesterday. I will post my impressions as soon as I get a chance to fire it up.

Looking forward to it! I was considering a travel unit, but the loud noise turned me off.

[zoomzoom]

Just started reading more about the Z2. Looks like it's 29% quieter than the Z1, per manufacturer, but I hope that's not because they added a free q-tube muffler when you buy the z2?

[jsmit86]

Just started reading more about the Z2. Looks like it's 29% quieter than the Z1, per manufacturer, but I hope that's not because they added a free q-tube muffler when you buy the z2?

I posted some details in a fresh thread. Z2 Auto first impressions.

The bottom line is that beyond the Q tube, it is significantly improved. The whining noise is reduced, but not completely eliminated.
The Z2 noise is acceptable to me. I'm not sure about the wife though. She has tinnitus, and is quite sensitive to high pitched noise. She did not like the Z1.

I demo'd the Z2 for my brother and sister in law. Both of them were impressed. The machine is not silent, but they felt it was no worse than his older Resmed unit.
It's definitely a bit louder than my Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset, but not a problem for me when traveling. Most of the residual whining sound happens during the transition from inhale to exhale. The Z2 machines have exhale pressure relief. (EPR) They call it Z-Breathe. There are 3 levels. Z1, Z2, and Z3. Z1 is the mildest, and Z3 is the most aggressive EPR. IMHO, they need a "Z-0" setting.... EPR OFF. That should reduce the sound a bit more, and frankly, I don't care for EPR. I opened a help ticket suggesting that they mod the firmware to allow EPR to be OFF.

I'm definitely keeping my new Z2 Unit. In the worst case, if it's not acceptable to my wife, she can lug the Resmed unit on our vacation trips.
For business travel, the Z2 will be great since it will take up very little space in my carry on.

[zoomzoom]

Just started reading more about the Z2. Looks like it's 29% quieter than the Z1, per manufacturer, but I hope that's not because they added a free q-tube muffler when you buy the z2?

I posted some details in a fresh thread. Z2 Auto first impressions.

The bottom line is that beyond the Q tube, it is significantly improved. The whining noise is reduced, but not completely eliminated.
The Z2 noise is acceptable to me. I'm not sure about the wife though. She has tinnitus, and is quite sensitive to high pitched noise. She did not like the Z1.

I demo'd the Z2 for my brother and sister in law. Both of them were impressed. The machine is not silent, but they felt it was no worse than his older Resmed unit.
It's definitely a bit louder than my Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset, but not a problem for me when traveling. Most of the residual whining sound happens during the transition from inhale to exhale. The Z2 machines have exhale pressure relief. (EPR) They call it Z-Breathe. There are 3 levels. Z1, Z2, and Z3. Z1 is the mildest, and Z3 is the most aggressive EPR. IMHO, they need a "Z-0" setting.... EPR OFF. That should reduce the sound a bit more, and frankly, I don't care for EPR. I opened a help ticket suggesting that they mod the firmware to allow EPR to be OFF.

I'm definitely keeping my new Z2 Unit. In the worst case, if it's not acceptable to my wife, she can lug the Resmed unit on our vacation trips.
For business travel, the Z2 will be great since it will take up very little space in my carry on.

Great comment and thank you for tagging me! I will look for your other post, as well.

Now it's time to wait for YouTube for the actual use videos (inhale/exhale). I would only need a travel APAP for about 2-4 weeks per year, likely closer to 2, so it's a pretty big expense for relatively minimal use.

[dadbar1]

For travel I splurged and bought myself a Dreamstation Go with the portable case. The unit is really small and the power brick is built into the unit so you just need a C8 cord to plug into it. I appreciate its USB port so I don't need to bring a phone charger- just a small power cable at bedside for my IPhone. It takes the standard 22mm air hose which is also much appreciated.