What is best full face mask?

[TClay]

I need a good full face mask. I currently have the Mirage and cannot get it sealed. I like the Breeze nasal gear but I am a mouth breather. Don't like the tape. Need your help please!

[dkeat]

I need a good full face mask. I currently have the Mirage and cannot get it sealed. I like the Breeze nasal gear but I am a mouth breather. Don't like the tape. Need your help please!

There are not that many choices for the FF crowd. IMHO the Mirage Ultra is the best designed FF mask. Meaning the headgear and ease of use are excellently designed. But what works well for one person may not work well for another. That you are experiencing leaks is not good but also not unusual and many users of FF masks have that problem.

You will really have to try the other masks on the market to see which works for you as only in that way will you really know. No advice can really give you that answer. These are the choices I know of, there may be others:

1. Respironics FF
2. Fisher Paykel FF

Sleep Net will be releasing a brand new FF mask in November that promises a fairly radical and hopefully comfortable design compared to what is now out there. You might want to track that one.

Of the 2 I mentioned above, the Fischer Paykel is the more primitive in design with no possiblity of raising or lowering the mask over the forehead. Also the strap mechanism is a bit dicey and may break over time. It may, however, still prove to be the best mask for you.

Good luck!

[rested gal]

TClay, before you spend money on another FF mask (I agree with David that the ResMed Ultra Mirage FF mask is the most leakproof one for most people) you might try a "fix" to see if you can get your mask to behave better.

Put an additional strap made of any soft stretchy material down low across the front of your full face mask. Tie it in the back with a double start knot so it will be flat and easy to take off. Or make the stretchy strap be a continuous circle like a sweatband to pull up over the mask from the bottom.

If using a low strap (shown in red) doesn't do the job, put another strap (shown in orange) up high. With those two homemade straps, you might find you don't even need the regular straps or even the headgear.