anyone have experience with the Z2 auto?

[Broadway Bennie]

Greetings all: Hopefully I am doing this right and this subject isn't covered already. (I think I checked correctly) I am a newbie to the world of CPAP. I have had my Dreamstation with the most comfortable nose gel pillows and I've had no issues. For the first time in my life I am actually sleeping through the night and not snoring. Hopefully Covid will go away soon enough and when it does I will be back on the road producing meetings for corporate America. My intent is to buy a portable unit. The Z2 is attractive because its' small and doesn't have a humidifier. This is the basis of my question. Has anyone had any experience with one of these as it uses a humidifier less technology but presumably achieves the same result. As much as I would like to travel as light as possible, if it means getting the Dreamstation Go instead I will since I like the one I have and hope the smaller version works just as well.

Thanks,

Broadway Bennie

[Pugsy]

Are you using the humidifier now? If you are you might try turning it off and no water and see how your nose likes no added moisture.
Your nose may not like it so much.

Sorry, no personal experience with any travel machine to offer you...I already know that my nose will be really unhappy without added moisture. I found that out a few times when I forgot to add water and the chamber went dry. It was ugly. Don't want to even think about going there.

[Broadway Bennie]

This is the explanation Z2 uses as to why the unit doesn't need a humidifier:

The Z2 comes with a small, portable humidification cartridge called an HME (Heat Moisture Exchanger). When inserted between the hose and the mask, it captures the moisture in the exhaled breath and releases it on the inhaled breath. It does not require any electricity or additional water. No more hunting for distilled water when you reach your destination.

[Pugsy]

Yep. I know what it says. Maybe you should get one of those discs and use it with your humidifier off and see just how well it works.
Everyone I have seen talk about it say it is considerably less moisture and sometimes they are okay with it and sometimes it's a deal breaker. It is in no way going to be equal to what the machine provides. It all depends on how much moisture YOUR nasal mucosa require to be happy.

You can get one of those discs and give it a try...see how your nose likes it. There's nothing stopping you from using it with your DreamStation and just turn off the humidifier and don't put any water in it.

[sronsen]

I use my Z2 exclusively as a travel machine. Compared with my AirSense 10 Autoset and its two previous iterations, the Z2 is much nosier, but it's noise level is very consistent, unvarying during the breathing cycle and, as a result, more tolerable to me than some full-sized units I've tried which seem to emphasize each breath. The included humidification capsules and their generic replacements have worked fine for me, However, I am most comfortable with my Resmed units' humidification set manually to a relatively low level and most of my Z2 usage has been in summer months in air-conditioned settings. I should also note that I'm a hearing aid user, so the noise I sense is somewhat diminished. One other note. I don't use nor have never used EPR on my ResMed units, but find it to be a necessity on the Z2.

In all, the size of the unit adequately compensates for its negatives. However, I would not recommend it as a full-time solution.

[zonker]

I use my Z2 exclusively as a travel machine. Compared with my AirSense 10 Autoset and its two previous iterations, the Z2 is much nosier, but it's noise level is very consistent, unvarying during the breathing cycle and, as a result, more tolerable to me than some full-sized units I've tried which seem to emphasize each breath.

thank you for that precise explanation. it makes a great deal of sense to me.