Bob Borzelleri
06-25-2005, 3:55 PM
The past few days have been marked by pronounced upper respiratory discomfort. While this is a pretty new thing for me, I've never spent so much time cutting and finishing chemically impregnated OSB and pine paneling. The old Dustfoe has worked pretty hard through it all, but there were times when I figured I had just one more cut to make and the 'foe never made it up to the nose. Apparently that was enough to trigger nasal assault.
Two mornings of awakening to me snorting with red eyes gave my wife cause to ponder. "Isn't there some sort of full mask you can wear that would better protect you from the effects of wood dust?"
I thought about her question long enough to recognize the benefits of a plan falling together and immediately replied, "hmmm, I'm sure that someone makes something that would work, but I would guess it would be more expensive than the average '3 for a dollar' masks you get at Ace Hardware". She followed with, "so how much is your health worth?" and I knew what I had to do.
Research here and there led me to two options; either NIOSH approved or not Niosh approved. The former class appeared to be notable for the significant number of dollars required to take possession and the latter by about half as much.
Focusing on the latter group, I quickly came upon the Trend Airshield and the Triton Respirator. Both are battery driven active air movement devices that appear to accomplish the same thing (getting in between nuisance dust and my nose, mouth and eyes), but they take rather different approaches.
The Trend is a one stop contained unit that has the filter, battery, fan and who know what else within the frame of the mask. The Triton, on the other hand, carries the batteries, fan and filters on a belt with a weird looking hose going up to the nylon shroud that is attached to the bottom of a fairly normal looking hard hat that has ear muffs and a full coverage shield.
Off I went to Woodcraft Suppy who just happened to have both in stock. My initial take as I was driving to the store was that the Trend was by far the front runner given it's simplicity and the fact that it didn't make the wearer look like a refugee from a slasher movie.
I must have attracted some perverse sort of attention as I spent about 20 minutes wearing each of the units while browsing through the store. I was surprised at the result of my little test.
The Triton still get high marks for looking bizzare, but it was significantly more comfortable than the Trend. In addition, the face seal on the Trend didn't match with my face very well while the Triton made it clear very quickly that the only thing getting into the face area would be the piped in air from the belt unit. The real kicker was the fact that the Trend (with the business pieces up above the eyes) was top heavy to me. I kept feeling that my forehead was on the brink of bouncing off the surface of the bar (not a device for having a drink at the local pub unless one seeks whatever protection that would come from having the mask hit the bar before you do).
For the most part, I am sure that the distinctions I've drawn between these two masks are subjective and due to my own sense of what feels comfortable. This is one of those areas where everyone's milage will vary.
I didn't have a chance to wear the Trend "in action" so I can't comment on issues such as airflow or noise. The Triton charged for 15 hours and provided what seemed to be adequate airflow so long as I didn't try to jog a mile or two. Noise was minimal since the moving parts are on the belt. I could hear a slight "whoosh" or air movement.
All in all, I think I have done a good thing.
Here's a picture I got off a "Jason vs. Freddy" movie poster. Notice how much it looks like the actor is wearing a Triton.
Two mornings of awakening to me snorting with red eyes gave my wife cause to ponder. "Isn't there some sort of full mask you can wear that would better protect you from the effects of wood dust?"
I thought about her question long enough to recognize the benefits of a plan falling together and immediately replied, "hmmm, I'm sure that someone makes something that would work, but I would guess it would be more expensive than the average '3 for a dollar' masks you get at Ace Hardware". She followed with, "so how much is your health worth?" and I knew what I had to do.
Research here and there led me to two options; either NIOSH approved or not Niosh approved. The former class appeared to be notable for the significant number of dollars required to take possession and the latter by about half as much.
Focusing on the latter group, I quickly came upon the Trend Airshield and the Triton Respirator. Both are battery driven active air movement devices that appear to accomplish the same thing (getting in between nuisance dust and my nose, mouth and eyes), but they take rather different approaches.
The Trend is a one stop contained unit that has the filter, battery, fan and who know what else within the frame of the mask. The Triton, on the other hand, carries the batteries, fan and filters on a belt with a weird looking hose going up to the nylon shroud that is attached to the bottom of a fairly normal looking hard hat that has ear muffs and a full coverage shield.
Off I went to Woodcraft Suppy who just happened to have both in stock. My initial take as I was driving to the store was that the Trend was by far the front runner given it's simplicity and the fact that it didn't make the wearer look like a refugee from a slasher movie.
I must have attracted some perverse sort of attention as I spent about 20 minutes wearing each of the units while browsing through the store. I was surprised at the result of my little test.
The Triton still get high marks for looking bizzare, but it was significantly more comfortable than the Trend. In addition, the face seal on the Trend didn't match with my face very well while the Triton made it clear very quickly that the only thing getting into the face area would be the piped in air from the belt unit. The real kicker was the fact that the Trend (with the business pieces up above the eyes) was top heavy to me. I kept feeling that my forehead was on the brink of bouncing off the surface of the bar (not a device for having a drink at the local pub unless one seeks whatever protection that would come from having the mask hit the bar before you do).
For the most part, I am sure that the distinctions I've drawn between these two masks are subjective and due to my own sense of what feels comfortable. This is one of those areas where everyone's milage will vary.
I didn't have a chance to wear the Trend "in action" so I can't comment on issues such as airflow or noise. The Triton charged for 15 hours and provided what seemed to be adequate airflow so long as I didn't try to jog a mile or two. Noise was minimal since the moving parts are on the belt. I could hear a slight "whoosh" or air movement.
All in all, I think I have done a good thing.
Here's a picture I got off a "Jason vs. Freddy" movie poster. Notice how much it looks like the actor is wearing a Triton.