Rank the masks you have tried????

chipbutty wrote:Thanks for the tip. I'll have to ask my girlfriend. i'm sure she will know which sort to get. I'm certainly not buying them

CHICKEN!!!!

1) Swift II
2) ComfortGel
3) Mirage Micro


Other than the whole 'not-able-to-sleep-on-both-sides" thing, I love the Swift II! It stays sealed all night, it's reasonably quiet, the air venting from it doesn't hit or otherwise annoy me. (can't say if it would bother hubby, as that's the side the hose is on so I no longer sleep facing him ) I have far less rain out issues than with the nasal masks. And I'm not constantly tightening it. Oh, and I can use face cream!
I have noticed that the mask has to be clean to seal. The few times I forgot to wash it in the morning I end up in the bathroom at night washing and then drying it with my towel and q-tips.

Comfortgel was leaving a divit in my nose and had this really really annoying rainout habit of suddenly having this fountain of water emit from my mask. Always woke me up!. The seal just never stood up to my moving around. I was always getting leaks.

The Mirage micro was too adjustable, I never got it right, it leaked like crazy, the seal material was to hard and hurt, plus there was this jet of cold air that hit my arms and made it hard to fall asleep.

[quote="Nosey"]To date I have tried 3 masks (note: I cannot use nasal masks).
Mirage Quattro > Mirage Liberty >>>>>> F+P Oracle
How about you?
(want to buy another FF mask and am trying to figure out which one to buy)Cheers,Nosey

I have used a Rescare Nasal mask from 1989 to 2002 and the switched to Resmed Activa ( even now I believe it is the best mask Resmed designed).

I started to snore with Activa on and tried the Resmed Liberty ( was terrible) and now use the Resmed Full face Quattro. Also terrible as it leaks like a sieve and marks the forehead and cuts around the mouth like a knife. I hate this mask and am stuck with it and waiting to test the new Respironics Comfort gel Full Face mask which is not yet available in Sydney australia..

I don't know if I could rank the rest I have tried.... but the Activa has to be #1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Update:

Into my second month of CPAP. Am now up to 6-8 hours/night (Leaks 0.1-0.2 l/s and AHI 5-8 ). The workhorse mask has been the FF Quattro, though note that it hurts the bridge of my nose somewhat (though that area has become somewhat less sensitive to the mask). Still occasionally use the Mirage Liberty hybrid mask but cannot see using that mask fulltime as I'd probably need braces within a year or two to correct inward movement of my top teeth.

Even though I have broken my nose twice and thought a nasal mask a bad idea (often have problems breathing through my nose and am a natural mouth breather), picked up the Optilite and Comfortlite II. Have used the Optilite once (2hrs) with my mouth taped shut....breathing through my nose fulltime did not bother me and it had a tight seal. Did not like the upward pressure on my nares but maybe fine tune adjustment will fix that. The Comfortlite? Cannot get the nose mask to sit on my nose without pushing on my airways clogging one of them and the nose "cup" leaks too much. Will try the pillows tonight. Like the design of the mask but don't know if it will work for me.

Also picked up a HC431 FF mask. Am interested in seeing how an under the chin FF mask wors for me but have not opened the package yet as I'm too busy trying to sort out the others. Will probably try the Mirage Ultra and/or Mirage Swift II if need be. The only mask to date that was a complete waste of time (for me) was the F+P Oracle.

Cheers and best of success to everyone!

Richard

Richard...sorry the Oracle didn't work for you. Been my DREAM mask for past 2 years.

The oracle is definitely an interesting mask. No need to worry about leaks! My problem is that my mouth is quite small and the mask was very tight around my mouth. I assume it would have been a much better fit if my mouth was larger

1) Nasal Aire II
2) Headrest (aka Aura)
3) Breeze - hurt my nose and upper lip and wouldn't stay in place
4) Comfort Lite 2 - ditto above
5) Bravo - stuck out too far on the sides to side sleep comfortably
6) Hybrid - One good night - could never replicate it - fiddled with it all night - leaks if not washed THOROUGHLY EVERY DAY
7) Comfortfull 2 - Uh, can you say "claustrophobic"? Really too much stuff on my face. Leaks if not washed DAILY and RIGOROUSLY.
OptiLife - PTUI! I really hated it covering my mouth and the hose management going down my front
9) Whatever over the nose job they gave me in the sleep lab - not going there again

Best of luck!
Babs

Hiya fellow hoseheads-

Well, I guess it's time for Nosey's personal product challenge update:

My fav masks have been the pillow system:
* Swift LT- the mask I use most frequently. I usually get a good seal and like that the mask straps are relative unobtrusive. In particular, this mask is great if sleeping on my side.

* Swift II- Thought I'd like this mask more than I do. It weighs more than the LT, the pillows are not as soft and it has the hose coming off to one side, which makes that side less than ideal for sleeping. As my backup mask, I go to the Quattro (see below) and I thought it would be this one instead.

* Optilite- I like this mask but for me it has stability issues while sleeping. The straps that come with it just don't keep it in place all night. I assume personal modifications would help and may play around more with this mask at a later date.

* Comfortlite- do not like this mask....it reaches around from the top of your head and hooks under your nose. Woke up one night because the mask had slipped up wards on my head and this evil mask was trying to rip my nose off. The pillows are nothing special. The mask a joke. Will pass on the breeze (a similar design).

** Hope to try the opus at a later date

FF masks:
*Quattro- really like this mask. One problem I've had with it is that I found that bumping the air up from 8cm to 9cm made it a challenge to keep as good a seal. Still, it is a good alternative for me if not using the LT all night. Having said that, I would not want to go back to using this mask every night.

*Mirage- As I use a large Quattro, I tried a Large Mirage....could not get a good seal. Also, it was obvious this mask is not as good if one has a sensitive nose bridge as the Quattro

HC431- Tried a large....did not fit.

Nasal Masks
* Activa- Very interesting flotation system. The mask is a heavy sucker, which makes it less than ideal. Can get a reasonable seal but go to the Quattro instead.

*ComfortGel- Can get a reasonable seal. Have not used it much......yet. Need to try heating it to see if I can mold it better for a better fit (no leak = tight seal). Smelly until you put it on. Hope by heating it I can get rid of the smell. The good news is that's lighter than the Active....but does not seal as well......and the pillow system for me is much better.

Hybrid masks:
* Liberty- Very interesting mask (used a large). Was able to get a good seal but found that when secure on my face, it pushed my upper teeth inwards so much that they hurt after wearing the mask. Tried a smaller size....didn't help.

Oral mask:
* Oracle- Felt like a pufferfish wearing this mask. Could only deal with about 20 minutes. Glad some people like it....but it's not for me!

Prong mask:
*Nasal Aire II- With thanks to Babette, I was able to try to NA II (see Avatar). I think the prong system is really cool. Could easily get a 0 leak rate. For the time I used this mask, I did not suffer nose discomfort (though it does feel errr, ummmm....interesting). My main beef with the mask was a stability issue....neither the straps or the papcap gave enough stability that the prongs did not pull in one direction or the other at night. I assume I could have rigged it better (and my bet is that the straps had seen better days). Did not particularly like resting my head on the tubing (similar to resting one's head on the Swift II's tube). Overall, the Nasal Aire has potential for me but will require customization.

Soooooooooo.....will pick up an opus at some point, a medium HC431 and a Nasal Aire II. Overall, feel VERY lucky to have you guys to learn from. Been on CPAP for 4 months and have been able to wear a mask all night for 3.5 of the 4 months. Happy to have found some masks that work for me and look forward to additional personal product challenges....and learning for you'all.

Richard

BTW, Nosey, from looking at your Avatar pic, I think I see what your problem with the NAII is.

You need to tie the two tubes together at the crown of your head. I use a length of velcro one wrap. You can use anything you want, including some of the random straps that come with the NAII headgear.

This tie together point is really crucial for me to get good stability with the side hoses.

See my pix here:
http://s124.photobucket.com/albums/p36/ ... aise/CPAP/

Good luck!
Babette

1) Fisher and Paykel FlexiFit 432 - fits my face and seals well, even when I'm lying on my side! Tried two sizes, settled on the large.
2) Resmed Mirage Liberty - felt like it was trying to inflate through my lips when they were closed, had trouble keeping the pillows in place.
3) Fisher and Paykel Opus 360 with chin strap -- nostrils clog during the night due to allergies, so couldn't keep from opening my mouth even with chin strap as tight as it would go.
4) Respironics ComfortFull 2 - too small, wrong shape so caused a sore on the bridge of my nose.

I would like to try the Hans Rudolph 7600 V2 Full Face mask in the future. I like the idea of having nothing up there on my forehead. Any reviews from members?

1. Snapp (nasal prongs)
2. Comfort Curve ( used to be my #1 until I found Snapp)
3. OptiLife with Cradle cushions (pillows sometimes)
4. Hybrid
5. Mirage Micro
6. Simplicity (started with it 5+ years ago - used at my original titration)
I do rotate between them but wear the Snapp the most.

1 (tie) ComfortGel (s); Headrest (XL)
3 NA II
4 HC431 (bad seal due to facial hair)

cheers
goose

Wrenna wrote:1) Swift II
2) ComfortGel
3) Mirage Micro


Other than the whole 'not-able-to-sleep-on-both-sides" thing, I love the Swift II!

Hey Wrenna, just saw this. You might want to try:

Swift LT
Headrest
Nasal Aire II

Those are all rated highly by side sleepers.

Cheers,
Barbara

mindy wrote:Just be sure to get panty hose tights not plain pantyhose. The tights are a heavier weave and are better for our purpose. Rested Gal also posted info about a specific type of knot to use so it doesn't get bulky and is easy to get off.

Mindy

Yes and technically there is pantyhose and there is tights. There is no such thing as "pantyhose tights" (my wife taught me this and you can check it on Wikipedia). You want tights which are usually made of polyester microfiber and are very soft, lighweight, cool and wicking. The material seems identical to the Buff (buffwear.com) material.