A selection of masks to buy to get a sample of most likely

danmc · Post by **danmc** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 2:50 pm

Given how individual mask fitting is, I have few options to find the perfect mask short of trying them all.

I don't want to waste the time of my local clinics and they only seem to have a small selection anyway so far.

Cpap.com offers buyer insurance but being in Western Australia, perhaps a bit of a challenge to get them back in time.

Masks in Perth are expensive. An opus cost me $240 or so. But online they are relatively cheap.

So, I thought why not just buy a selection of likely candidates from cpap.com, try them throughly then donate the non keepers to the local clinics?

I am assuming that if I buy say, 5 for Perthmasks, that will cost me a pretty small amount. I will then keep perhaps the three that suit me best and donate the rest. Simple eh? Except which 5 masks to get? Lets make it 10 anyway while we are compiling lists, they are cheap online.

So, I want to compile a list of masks. In two styles - full face and nasal pillow as in the opus. So would anyone like to offer a list, in rough order based on - firstly release date ( I assume later release masks would be likley to have had more research and then perceived quality and specification.

My rough list is as follows;
pillows;
- Swift LT, Opus 360,New Version Breeze SleepGear, Nasal Aire II, add bravo

Full face - Activa, Flexifit HC432, Ultra mirage.

My preference is nasal pillows - I like having a beard but shaved it to try the Mirage Quattro. I found it difficult and didnt really test it properpy, but accept that I will have to explore full face for when my nose is congested - which is often.

I will also get the sizing star to give me a baseline for comparing nostril size and pillow size etc.

Perhaps many people will think"oh not not more mask comparisons" - it sure gets tedious I know. But what are peoples thoughts on the other ideas - the sizing star as a baseline that everyone can refer to and donating unsuitable masks? What are the best places to send the masks so that the most people can try them out? Lend them to people directly? Perhaps there is some kind of mask library for Perth or WA?[/list]

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CPAPopedia Keywords Contained In This Post (Click For Definition): breeze, mirage, activa, nasal pillow, cpap.com, swift, Nasal Pillows

cflame1 · Post by **cflame1** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 8:25 pm

Dan... Activa's not a full face mask. It's a nasal mask. Doesn't go over the mouth at all. That's not to say that it isn't a good mask, just in the wrong category.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 8:40 pm

Oh - my mistake. I better check which one it is I was thinking of.

danmc · Post by **danmc** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 8:43 pm

Whoops must have logged out again. anyhow - I was thinking of this mask - https://www.cpap.com/productpage/resmed ... allow.html

I couldn't tell from the picture that it was nasal only. Thanks for pointing that out to me.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 8:53 pm

Wait "Buyer's Insurance"?

I just looked this up on CPAP.com, honestly I think this is a scam. Why would you need to pay them when they can replace it from the manufacturer for free? Respironics, Resmed, F&P, and PB ALL have a 30 day return policy on their masks. Don't tell me this is to cover return shipping either, because they don't offer the return shipping in AK or HI. So if you live in either one of those 2 states you have to pay for the insurance AND return shipping yourself. I feel this is just BAD policy, not that I think CPAP.com is bad itself, just the policy.

AKCPAPGUY (who can't login for some reason)

mickeymammoth · Post by **mickeymammoth** » Fri Jun 20, 2008 11:55 pm

Buyer's Insurance isn't about returning a defective mask; it's about buying a mask, wearing it (and getting your cooties on it), and returning it for a refund. I assume that retailers don't want to have to eat the huge number of returns that would inevitably occur because masks are so tricky to fit. If the margins were better, or the number of returns smaller, then they would probably let you return a mask and just chalk up the loss to good customer relations. But that is not the case...

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 12:51 am

Mickey,

I'm not talking about defective masks. All the major mask manufactures have a "satisfaction" return policy. If a patient returns a mask to me within 30 days for ANY reason what so ever, I can get a new mask from the manufacturer for that mask. I don't understand why cpap.com is making you pay for that. You are paying them to be able to return the mask to them, which they turn around and get a brand new mask from the manufacturer. I guess maybe I just don't understand the concept.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 12:53 am

That was me above, still can't login.

AKCPAPGUY

danmc · Post by **danmc** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 1:21 am

I don't mean to be argumentative with you so don't take my musing the wrong way.

It may be debatable that processing a return costs the company money in hidden ways- staff time, extra courier and shipping charges for the replacement masks - that kind of cost.

It's still great that the suppliers have that replacement policy and great that you seem to mirror the policy in your dealings AKCPAPGUY.

Also I can imagine that the intention of the suppliers would not be to let people try their masks and just compare every mask to other brands etc. I would think its more of a "if you don't believe its a good mask then we will exhange it" kind of deal. I would not want to take advantage of it too much personally. My tendency personally is to want to try everything on the market. I don't feel anyone else should foot the bill for this kind of fussiness though. Perhaps we could argue that manufacturers should stand by the fit of their masks , its hard to say. My point is that it is a grey area when people like me want to try 15 masks.

It could be that if you make it really too easy and painless for people to chop and change their mind then you might be taken advantage of. That situation would quickly become intolerable and defeat the purpose of a satisfaction guarantee. It would eventually drive the price of the masks up for people who were less fussy as companies would need to build in a return factor in every sale.

I don't expect anyone to work for free so I don't mind reasonable charges.

Itt might actually be fairer in a community sense to say ok, lets make the mask price low. If you get lucky and you get the perfect fit first time thats great. But if you need to try a few then its a user pay scenario. Otherwise, you might pay more for each mask and only need the very first one.

Whether the costs of everyone finding their perfect mask should be spread over the community or charged to the individual then becomes the question I suppose.

Interesting.

pjwalman · Post by **pjwalman** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 12:55 pm

Hmmm. Very interesting to know things from your side of the fence, AKCPAPGUY. I appreciate knowing the real story and appreciate that you're willing to share that with us. So when the DME says, "After all, if you bring the masks back, we can't do anything with them and are just out the cost", that ain't necessarily so. Personally I think that is very useful information to have now and might help people deal with reluctant-to-trade-out DMEs. So thank you for sharing that!

And to danmc, the original poster, I have found the ZZZ mask so far to be the most comfortable and least leaky for full face masks. The only down side is that you can't replace the cushion but will have to replace the whole mask when it quits maintaining its seal. But having gone through the Quattro, Mirage, and 432 (second most comfortable for me, BTW), the ZZZ is hands down the easiest on my nose.

Peggy

Babette · Post by **Babette** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 1:33 pm

Dude... If you want to try the Nasal Aire II, why not just PM me and get on the maling list to try it FOR FREE, less the cost of shipping?

I run The Great Nasal Aire Test Drive. Read all about it on my Tip Sheet (see URL in my sig line). If you're interested, PM me.

Yes, I will even stand in line to send it to Australia.

Cheers,
Babette

lwg · Post by **lwg** » Sat Jun 21, 2008 6:03 pm

mickeymammoth wrote: I assume that retailers don't want to have to eat the huge number of returns that would inevitably occur because masks are so tricky to fit. If the margins were better, or the number of returns smaller, then they would probably let you return a mask and just chalk up the loss to good customer relations. But that is not the case...

I don't know what the retail margin is for masks but...I'll bet I'm not the only one who would guess that the cost of manufacture for a little bit of injection molded plastic and silicone is probably less than $5.00.

Mask