The new F & P Solo nasal pillow mask & F & P Nova Micro mask

[KungFuCow]

I tried a Solo for a while. It was pretty good when new but when the headgear got some use, I felt like the seal wasn't as good and it is REALLY loud. I don't really understand why they don't use the Brevida diffuser on everything they make. It's very quiet.

I may try the Micro Nova. I always seem to come back to the Brevida but I do miss the Bleep stuff a lot. I'm sadly in that small percentage of people that the adhesive doesn't stick to properly.

[AndyB]

Pugsy -- great review of the Nova Micro, and congrats on your 0.00 AHI night -- a really good-looking flow pattern; except for that early-morning leaky stretch the pattern is silky smooth all night.

I've been using the Nova Micro for about 2 weeks now and have the same opinion as you do -- it's a great mask for all the reasons you so well state. I've been a very happy Bleep DreamPorts user for over 2 years, and I will probably continue to use the DreamPorts most of the time, but the Nova Micro is now my number 1 backup and I expect to use it frequently.

[Pugsy]

I am about to wind down the Nova Micro experiment. Probably go back to the Eclipse this weekend.
I still am a fan of the mask. It will be my number 2 in priority after the Eclipse.
Last night I happened to think of one negative that I hadn't thought of or mentioned.
The nasal pillow portion runs on the small side as far as nasal pillows go. With any other nasal pillow mask I use either the XS or Small size but with the Nova Micro I have had to move up to the medium and I could probably use the large....I may try that size in a couple of days.

If you are a person who needs the large size P10 (or whatever) and wish it were a little bigger...then you may find that the large Nova Micro pillow is a little small.

[Anonynose]

Tried the Micro the last two nights again, this time using large.

I'm not sure if they simply run small or are designed differently on purpose -- that is, if they are supposed to rest inside the nostrils vs mostly outside like most other pillow masks. Small seems too small for me, all squished up... med is so-so, inside the nostrils, but my nose doesn't really like things inside of it... and large might be okay-ish and rests primarily outside of my nostrils.

But that diffuser....

Last night, I tried to be a big boy and turned 'ramp off'. At the higher starting pressure (not really that high, 6), the air blowing out of the mask hit my arm or face. I usually sleep with my arm partially over my face, but that results in a cold arm that feels like a fan is blowing on it.

If the position of the diffuser wasn't so 'up' I may be fine, even with a lot of air being blown out. It's the positioning that seems to be a problem for me.

[Pugsy]

Tried the Micro the last two nights again, this time using large.

I'm not sure if they simply run small or are designed differently on purpose -- that is, if they are supposed to rest inside the nostrils vs mostly outside like most other pillow masks. Small seems too small for me, all squished up... med is so-so, inside the nostrils, but my nose doesn't really like things inside of it... and large might be okay-ish and rests primarily outside of my nostrils.

But that diffuser....

Last night, I tried to be a big boy and turned 'ramp off'. At the higher starting pressure (not really that high, 6), the air blowing out of the mask hit my arm or face. I usually sleep with my arm partially over my face, but that results in a cold arm that feels like a fan is blowing on it.

If the position of the diffuser wasn't so 'up' I may be fine, even with a lot of air being blown out. It's the positioning that seems to be a problem for me.

Wonder if maybe we could add a diffuser to the vent holes without actually fully blocking the vented air because we don't want to totally block that venting.....
it is something we did when the original Bleep (with the dreamports) came out and it didn't have any diffusing either and it was a major complaint people had.
What we did was add a machine filter to the mask frame up by the vent holes but it didn't actually block the venting...it only diffused the venting.
Let me see if I can find a picture of what was done.
viewtopic/t174807/BleepDreamPort-nasal- ... eep+review
Look at the 3rd post from the top where I copied paleriders review and he had a picture of how he put the filter on the hose next to the vent holes.

[Anonynose]

Wonder if maybe we could add a diffuser to the vent holes without actually fully blocking the vented air because we don't want to totally block that venting.....
it is something we did when the original Bleep (with the dreamports) came out and it didn't have any diffusing either and it was a major complaint people had.
What we did was add a machine filter to the mask frame up by the vent holes but it didn't actually block the venting...it only diffused the venting.
Let me see if I can find a picture of what was done.
viewtopic/t174807/BleepDreamPort-nasal- ... eep+review
Look at the 3rd post from the top where I copied paleriders review and he had a picture of how he put the filter on the hose next to the vent holes.

That's possible... although at the same time I'm a little concerned I'd do it wrong and get CO2 poisoning or something.

It's one of those design decisions I don't quite get, unless the manufacturer felt that it'd add extra weight to to the mask perhaps?

But I don't get a lot of things with masks... why some have decent features, like a swivel tube, others don't, from the same manufacturer... some have hard clips for some odd reason (not sure who enjoys those), others are nice soft fabric....

[Cecioboe]

I've been using the Nova Micro for about a month now and I love it. I have virtually no leaks, and don't wake up with strap marks .
The headgear seems flimsy since it's so thin and light, but it seems retain it's shape the stretch. I wash the pillow every morning and the headgear every week. 5 weeks in with the same pillow and all is well.
I used to have to change the P10 pillows about every 3 weeks or they would leak and feel uncomfortable. So far, I've not experienced that with the F&P Nova Micro.
It's my new favorite mask and I'll be happy when my supplier gets them in. I ordered mine (2 of them) from a place in Canada back in October.