BROAD Breathe Freely AirPro Mask Reusable Air Purifying Respirator with HEPA Filter

Note: I bought three of these units. This is NOT a paid review.Bottom Line First © - I searched all over the Net in my quest to find the BEST "mask with fan" (that's what I call it). After my research on Amazon and YouTube it came down to two masks, that one sold by a car parts company, and the Broad AirPro. I opted for the Broad mask because I liked that this product is specialized with the Company, this device has a dedicated web page, and a wide selection of parts are available (battery; HEPA filters; hose connectors - tube to the mask; extra tubes/hoses; tube fittings that allow joining two tubes to give an extra-long tube/hose; straps; etc.)Note: price was not a factor, all of these types of powered masks have the same base price point. (Price increases on some brands if you want more masks included in your order.)Executive Conclusion: I was so impressed with this product that after using the one I ordered, I quickly ordered two additional units.Mask Review:The box everything comes in was impressive. It's extra-thick cardboard. The packaging is reminiscent of a flagship mobile/cell phone box. Note: Don't be thrown off by the Chinese writing on one side of the box. Flip the box over, that's for English speakers. The feel and weight of the box impresses, telling you there's quality inside.Opening the box revealed careful packaging of the parts and mask unit.Bonus Tip and WARNING: Open the box on a large table that allows you to lay everything out, and for safety. Using a table or desk top will prevent the small clear parts falling to the floor, which will be hard to see and retrieve, especially if your floor area has lots of stuff (aka "junk") laying about making it all the more difficult to find. Think a Venus flytrap saying "feed me, feed me." I digress, forgive my dramatic embellishments.On excitedly sifting through your new-found treasure chest (the box) you will eventually discover:YIKES! THERE'S NO CHARGER! That's OK, slug a shot of . . . cranberry or apple juice and calm down because as with many modern-day electronics, a charger is NOT included in the box. Why?Because to charge the battery you can use one of the many cell phone/mobile chargers you have accumulating in your home's nooks and crannies.Note: The box does include a micro-USB cable, to connect one end to your charger and the other to the device. Yes, it's micro-USB, not Type-C.Bonus Tip: The first thing I did before eyeballing and pawing through all the box's wonderful things, I connected the device to an outlet so my cell/mobile charger could fully charge the battery (the battery comes installed inside the unit).While the device was charging I started the sifting process, similar to searching your cat's litter box in search of that last elusive doodad.For me, the generic stock kit I purchased included two masks. (I didn't need more masks because I intend to use my own masks with this device.)Super Fantastic Bonus Tip: The hole in the included stock ubiquitous KN95 mask is appx. 1/2 inch (12mm).Knowing that I spent $45 on a grommet making machine. From past experience, I knew this device would cut perfectly measured holes in any mask of my choosing (KN95 grade or better).Technique: for our purposes, you would put a mask on to the machine's 1/2" die, then you push down on the lever. Bam boom pow you have a perfectly cut 1/2" (12mm) hole. (This little grommet making machine also comes with other sized dies. I may need those for other projects where I need to make holes or attach a grommet.)Bonus Tip: I strongly recommend you buy a grommet machine rather than buy expensive pre-cut hole masks (they are $5 here on Amazon, from Broad). You will save lots of money. Here's a machine similar to what I bought on flea bay. https://www.amazon.com/Grommet-Machine-Grommets-Curtains-Scrapbooking/dp/B07Z56DGBK/ref=sr_1_6?dchild=1&keywords=grommet+kit+12mm&qid=1601076411&sr=8-6Bonus Tip: I also suggest you look at Broad's "spare parts" here on Amazon (see my list above). IMO this is a BIG plus for buying this machine.Operation:- This unit came with a neck lanyard (already attached to the device), together with an attached Velcro mount, the label on it saying: it's to attach the unit to a helmet, for example.The lanyard works fine and I like simply hanging the unit off of it.- This unit is not that heavy. That means when wearing it you won't know or feel that it's there, at least not because of the weight.- Noise: IMO it's not noisy at all, even on speed 3 (speeds are the ubiquitous 1, 2, 3; or low, med, and high, if you will). Even if in a quiet Doctor's office the sound emitted will NOT be intrusive.- I can breathe I can breathe! I am a Vietnam combat Veteran who was exposed to Agent Orange. One of my AO maladies is suffering from respiratory problems. I've had two surgeries, the VA is planning a third. Adding to my problems, when going outside we Californians are suffering from intense wildfire smoke. Basically, if I'm outside longer than five minutes I'm in BIG trouble if the smoke is thick.Wearing this mask at high speed allows me to walk the dog and get back to the house quickly. I am no longer at risk of collapse for those five to ten minutes I have to be outside. (Inside my house I have four high-powered HEPA/UV-C air purifiers going 24/7, so there's zero smoke inside my house. Thanks for your concern.)At Other Times: This makes mandatory pandemic mask wearing a comfortable experience. I was in a Safeway supermarket for an hour; I remarked to my GF I didn't much notice wearing my Broad mask.Suffice it to say: ONCE YOU USE THIS "POWERED AIR MASK" I GUARANTEE YOU WILL NEVER GO BACK TO WEARING A PLAIN OL' KN95 MASK.Battery power: Is very good. I have run my unit on high for two hours and the battery didn't show any sign of slowing down or weakening. Others here have reported wearing their masks for eight hours!End ReviewP.S. Everything about this machine speaks skilled engineering, excellent execution, and a superb product overall.Buy this unit folks, you will love this machine.Bonus P.S. I will be updating this review with pics of my plain ol' KN95 masks "retrofitted" with hand-cut holes. The modified masks work perfectly with this machine.

Brass tacks: SARS-COV-2 is .1 microns across and HEPA 13 is only rated to .3 microns so if that's the main reason you wanted this mask, you might want to get another filter. ULPA filters, like the ones in medical grade vacuums, those protect down to .1 microns. However, I have to revise my review, because according to NASA, particles under .3 microns are subject to something called Brownian Motion and HEPA filters work on nano-particles at low velocity! So as long as the fan is on low, you will probably actually be entirely safe. Also the RZ mask filters which have been scientifically tested protect you down to .1 microns no matter what. Here's the problem: Those filters aren't the right size or shape! So just keep the fan on low and you'll be fine.But here's the cool thing about this mask: You can just wear it over another BETTER mask and cool down your face and that will take off a lot of the bigger particles so your real N100 or N99 mask feels a lot cooler. A lot of people also complain because some masks cause oxygen in the mask area to drop from 21% to 17% and even if it doesn't REALLY affect your body's oxygen saturation, it just doesn't feel right. This feels great! There's always fresh and clean air flowing over your face and even if some viruses slip through the HEPA filter, dust and stuff does not.Now, my long term plan is to get crafty and make a custom ULPA filter for this or wait until Broad Clean Air starts selling better filters. If you have a mask with valves, you can just hook it up to your existing masks. It comes with 2 adapters and an extension adapter for the tube, so its really easy to turn one of your valves in to an air supply port.This actually comes with 2 masks that are basically lined all the way around with tiny exhaust holes. The foam around the nose pad is super comfy. The elastic bands make the mask fit very tight, but if you have a wrap-around mask you can slide the flaps through the loops and make a very comfy double mask. If I was just worried about pollution, this would be great, but the video ad specifically shows news footage of the COVID-19 virus, hinting you should use it for that, but again, the filter is not ultra fine but better than nothing. I'm not sure about high speed, the fan might make it equivalent to just like a normal cloth mask or bandana.It also comes with a velcro armband that is TOO SMALL for the average American male. You must be skinny for it to fit. Instead, I just use the neck harness and the fan has enough velcro on the back to stick to my shirt.It comes with a USB cord charger and has 3 speeds. All the instructions are in English except for the spot on the device which says "hold for 2 seconds" in Chinese. Kudos to the translators for not writing "long press".It looks like a quality device. Better than a lot of Chinese exports, probably because it looks like this was something made for the Chinese to use themselves, originally. It feels sturdy like something made in the 1950's that might last forever and the tubes have no signs of leaks or flaws. When you open the device though, you can see the very simple inner workings and begin to wonder if it really should be $65. $65 seems a little high for just a tiny fan with a $5 filter, some tubes, and a couple masks, but it is a unique device and the alternatives are quite expensive so it is not totally unreasonable!As soon as I complained about the price, they took it down and I was wrong about it not blocking COVID, in theory, it should! So now I have to give this 5 stars! If the straps came with an adjustable plastic "ear saver" and if the arm-band was just a bit longer, then it would be 5 stars for comfort. If anyone knows where to get an ULPA cpap filter or inline filter, please let me know. That would be perfect for something like this and would probably fit well over the fan or in the line.The box is pretty too. It would make a great gift for people who don't wear a mask because they feel like they are suffocating or just sweat a lot while wearing a mask at work.

This was perfect for my papa at the beginning of Covid when they pushed the masks mandate. With his health issues he wasn’t getting enough air, especially in the summer time.This fit him perfectly, brought him so much comfort with the cool air being pumped into it. It was lightweight and was easy to carry around since it had a lanyard design to wear around his neck to be hands free.If you or a loved one needs that boost of extra air and still wearing masks then I highly recommend this product! It was a life saver for us.