Pad A Check and the Quattro-FP431 How to Get a PERFECT FIT!

Hi, All,

I wanted to share my struggles with getting the "perfect fit" with the Pad A Cheek FF mask liner that fits the Quattro and the FP-431 (and 432). I have both of these masks and the simple "fix" I came up with works well with both. I ordered the wrong one at first, and while I was doing the exchange with Karen, I was given one that arrived before the one I ordered. Thanks, again, msradar65!

When I received the first one, I realized that I was going to have to enlarge the hole in the liner so it wouldn't cover my mouth, making me unable to breathe through my mouth, which is why most people use a FFM, so that's important. I read Karen's instructions that, "You may need to cut the hole larger to accommodate your nose, do this with sharp scissors a little bit at a time. It is very easy to get the hole too large," so I cautiously started cutting. I didn't want to cut too much as Karen warns about, but I didn't know how much was "too much."

I ended up cutting too much and essentially ruined the first one. I was having trouble with the edge of the fabric stretching across my nose, causing a sore after just one night. So I cut a little around the top... still the same problem just higher up on my nose, a new sore. So I cut it a little more around the top. Well, that was TOO MUCH! Now it was loose and wrinkly, and I was having a hard time getting a good seal. My leak rate wasn't bad, but I was having spikes in the night that I didn't have before, and it seemed to be getting worse. And I could feel just a little air under the seal, and around my eyes, and that was while awake. After struggling with it for a few nights, I realized I ruined it!

I got the new one in the mail, and after talking to Karen and thinking about it for a few days, and NOT wanting to ruin the SECOND one, I decided to make two cuts. I ended up making two vertical cuts, 6/8-inch long and 5/8-inch apart. Just two little snips.... Violla! IT WAS PERFECT! The two cuts made it feel like a soft "hammock" over my nose, instead of the edge of the fabric, so soft and comfortable! The liner is still taut, no wrinkles, and NO LEAKS WHATSOEVER! The mask seals better than it did before the liner, I think. Certainly, it's EVER so much MORE COMFORTABLE!

So you can make these cuts, 1/2 inch or so apart, at the top of the hole, (better to be a little more than a little less,) and as long as you need them to be for your preference, but probably no longer than 3/4 inch. You don't want it so long that it extends in to the seal of the mask, might cause unwanted leaks. That will accommodate your nose, and the original hole accommodates your mouth, allowing you to mouth breathe if you need to.

If you want the edge of the fabric over your chin to ride high, up towards your lips, and the fabric over your nose to ride low, make a very small cut, like 2/8 inch and see if that does it. If you want it to ride low on your chin and/or high on your nose, make a bigger cut. But start with 2/8 inch, and try it. Then another 2/8 inch, better to go a little bit at a time, until you get the "perfect fit" for you. And if you get it just about right, but it's a little snug, the cuts will tear or give a little as you wear it, not hurting you in the process, giving you a GREAT FIT!

Karen and I discussed this, and we're hoping this fix will be universal for everyone. I am hoping that this may help others who have ordered the mask and need to do a "fix" on the hole, to know what to do specifically to get a good fit and not ruin it on the first try. These liners are GENIUS on Karen's part, and we don't want to ruin them in the pursuit of the "perfect fit" which I know now, CAN BE ACHIEVED! Karen is very open to feedback in order to help her products work better for everyone, and I think we could give her some with this thread. So if you try my fix, please share as to whether it worked for you or not.

Thanks for any input!

Lori "QF" Dawn

For those of you who use these mask liners, I think Lori (Queen of the Fog) Dawn is amazing in her advice. The way she cut the mask liner makes the edge at the bridge of the nose not a sharp fabric edge but a rolled edge and it makes perfect sense. Thank you Lori Dawn for the idea of how to make this even better.
I need the feedback of people who use the products in order to make the best possible solutions to the issues.
If anyone else has suggestions on anything we make, I am all ears.

Thanks Lori Dawn for your idea.
Karen

I can't visualize. Can you post photos?

This is what Lori Dawn was talking about I believe.



Hope this helps.

Karen

Oh my that is perfect!! I am going to have to give that a try!

Yes, that's it, EXACTLY, Karen!

Interesting. I wonder if I should try that on the mask, too, instead of enlarging the bridge arch as I usually have to do.