I do use my mask for everything.  Light weight and easy to breath through makes it less tiresome to wear.

So currently I use a face mask when I turn, and a respirator when I sand. My respirator doesn’t fit well under my face shield so I don’t use it. I’ve been having issues with allergies for a while and my wife (the smart one 😁) seems to think my allergies coincide with my lathe purchase, so with that, I’m looking at getting a different mask. I’m looking at the one from Trend Airshield  or the Power Cap.  From a comfort/ protection point of view what do you think or is there another one I should be looking at?

Thanks,

Gordon 
 

I had a Trend for several years and last year got the Peek Power Cap. I like it much better. Battery lasts a long time. It is just a bit more comfortable. 

I use a Trend but modified it to have a belt pack for power. That reduced the weight on my neck and the charge lasts for days. I really like it. 
Paul

I use the same one as Handy Dan. I used this mask during the Covid Pandemic, and never got covid, and was never questioned as to why I was wearing that kind of mask. I figure if the "powers that be" see no need to question it, it must be a good mask. I have never had a reason to question if it works properly or not.

Edited December 26, 20241 yr by PostalTom
Left out "was".

I put in an RL 160.   I have never been comfortable with something on my face
But when I did wear a mask it was a 3-M half face soft mask 

Edited December 26, 20241 yr by Cliff

Lew, if you can swing it look at the Sundstrom sold by woodturners wonders. Pricey but well worth it IMO. I've had mine for a year or so. Well made, light weight, and very effective. Has built in ear protection that is easily removable when not needed.

On 12/24/2024 at 6:16 PM, Gordon said:

I’m looking at the one from Trend Airshield  or the Power Cap.  From a comfort/ protection point of view what do you think or is there another one I should be looking at?

Based on recommendations I ordered the Power Cap from Peke Safety at the end of Dec. apparently they had a back order from the UK. Just got notification that it’s shipping today. I’m pretty anxious to give it a try. 
thanks everyone for your help. 

On 12/27/2024 at 6:32 AM, Steve Krumanaker said:

Lew, if you can swing it look at the Sundstrom sold by woodturners wonders. Pricey but well worth it IMO. I've had mine for a year or so. Well made, light weight, and very effective. Has built in ear protection that is easily removable when not needed.

Somehow I missed this, Steve, thanks for the information.

I have really good results with the 3M disposable that has a breather valve.  Valves get contaminated, just like the filter media so it's easier to toss them than maintain them.  Most plastic rubber products also have a limited lifetime, though in my experience it's a couple years around here (dry mountains & desert), usually longer in the east (or different formulations for such stuff when I was a kid).  When we used to do remodeling and building I used those masks around insulation too.

 

I generally don't get leaks around those masks, but then I also only get a few uses out of them before they are loaded up and thrown away.  I keep the one in use in a plastic leftover container in the shop to keep it clean.  Mostly use them at the sanding machines and duplicator, sometimes the planer when I had straight blades in it instead of a spiral carbide head.  Those seem to make less dust.

 

I sand a lot of walnut, so I can tell when the mask is leaking!  Distinctive smell to walnut dust.  I actually like the aroma of almost all wood dust, just some of the exotics I don't really like (desert ironwood is the worst).