Z1 vs airmini for travel

I don't normally bring my CPAP machine while traveling, as my doctor said he wasn't too concerned if I didn't use it a few nights as my apnea is low.

But looking for a machine anyway for travel.

Any thoughts on the pros and cons of the Z1 vs airmini for occasional travel use. The Z1 is a few hundred cheaper, and about the same size.

Have you considered the Transcend?
Or the Respironics mini?
Yeah, more choices--but one might be a good compromise.

They don't have humidifiers. Can you get by without that? Try using your machine with no humidity before you decide. I have the Dreamstation GO with battery travel machine. Very handy when the power goes out.
But I miss the humidifier.

I feel really attached to my humidifier, so my travel machine is not so compact, but simple. (See below)
The Intellipap machines are sturdy, and can run off 12VDC current with a compact and affordable cord.

chunkyfrog wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 01, 2018 5:56 pm

Have you considered the Transcend?
Or the Respironics mini?
Yeah, more choices--but one might be a good compromise.

I had looked at both, and figured the respironics mini was about the same cost/size as the airmini, and the transcend seemed about the same cost but a little bigger than the Z1, and eliminated them for no reason other than I wanted to reduce options unless something jumped out.

Cardsfan wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 01, 2018 6:33 pm

They don't have humidifiers. Can you get by without that? Try using your machine with no humidity before you decide. I have the Dreamstation GO with battery travel machine. Very handy when the power goes out.
But I miss the humidifier.

I've never run without the humidifier in my Airsense 10. I'm not sure how I'd like it without.

Chilehead wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 01, 2018 4:22 pm

my doctor said he wasn't too concerned if I didn't use it a few nights as my apnea is low.

Another fine example of the state of sleep medicine... :sigh:

Chilehead wrote: ↑

Fri Jun 01, 2018 8:05 pm

I've never run without the humidifier in my Airsense 10. I'm not sure how I'd like it without.

You might try it at home first just for one night and see how your nose reacts and that may make the decision for you.
I learned a long time ago that my nose wasn't happy without the added moisture (and lots of it) just when I turned the setting down or forgot to fill the water chamber and it went dry during the night.

Most of those tiny travel machines offer no moisture added or a very limited moisture added thing.
The ones that due offer real moisture by the time you add in a real humidifier you really haven't gained much in the tiny size department.

I am unsure if using one of the humid X kind of things to make use of the moisture in my own exhaled breath would provide enough moisture to keep my nasal mucosa happy. I just can't see it since I can't even turn my humidifier down to 1 or 2 setting without suffering unhappy nasal mucosa. I don't even want to try it. Not worth it to me.

Also those tiny machines...to get them tiny they had to give up something and part of what they gave up was sound insulation material in the unit that cuts down on motor noise. Almost all the tiny machines out there the biggest complaint from those that use them is machine noise. Now I suppose if you need to use hearing aids and take them out at night it's a non issue but for some of us that motor noise could be highly annoying and affect ability to go to sleep.

When I travel somewhere I want to sleep good so I can enjoy being where it is I am traveling to.
I don't want my sleep messed up with a new machine noise to mess up my routine.
I don't want my nasal mucosa getting mad at me because of getting dried out because when they get mad at me they do so by giving me the worst symptoms mimicking a really bad allergy attack and I am miserable for 3 days until they get over being mad at me.
I don't want my trip ruined just because I wanted a smaller machine to have to pack/carry. I just take my regular home machine or the spare of the same machine so that my routine doesn't change and I have the best chance to enjoy wherever I am going.

I recently brought my Resmed Airsense 10 Autoset on my 4+ hour flight with the optional side cover, but left the water chamber at home. Also, bought my standard hose instead of my heated hose to keep the weight down. I should have left my Medistrom 24 volt Li-ion battery at home....I didn't use the APAP on the plane or the battery at all.

The destination was generally quite humid so I didn't miss my humidifier the 6 nights that I was away.

Getting the "for her" model as my backup/travel. The other unit that I was considering was the Dreamstation Go since I could use my Medistrom battery backup with it if I bought the optional cable connector.

Soon after I ordered a new unit online, there was a used S9 Autoset with a humidifier for sale within 2 hours of my location....could have saved me CAD$500 or more.

Any thoughts about the S9 Autoset with the humidifer as a travel unit? The humidifier is optional to keep the size and weight down.

Dave

My neighbor travels on long flights a lot and bought a Z-1 (fixed pressure) because of the convenience of the battery. Only half his flights have plugins for a machine. It is not silent - he says it makes no more noise than his Airsense, BUT with the mask installed it is noisier. Nobody on the flights have complained about it and he's always asked the person sitting next to him was disturbed by the sound. You can add one of those humidifier disk thingies. As others have mentioned, lots of people can't stand NOT using humidification, so that may change your choices. I personally don't know anybody who has tried the other travel machines. I NEED the humidification, so my Airsense would be going with me.

Size wise, it fits in my purse nicely, so you could use a smaller carry-on bag.

DavidY wrote: ↑

Sat Jun 02, 2018 9:08 am

Any thoughts about the S9 Autoset with the humidifer as a travel unit? The humidifier is optional to keep the size and weight down.

S9 autoset is a great unit. If you can get a good price, go for it. I only sold mine because I was able to get a great deal on another Airsense for Her AND I can't do without the humidification except at this time of the year (very damp). So separating the parts was not needed.