Show threadTraveling OSM Salesperson Problem ✊🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇺🇦Dec 2

@sleepybisexual As someone who upgraded from a 6200 to a 6502QL (and wears a respirator for as long as I’m outside the house), the latter is a vast improvement in comfort and build quality, and the Quick Latch feature is life-changing.

3M also has some models with speech diaphragms, like
the Secure Click HF series,
the Ultimate FX FF-400 series, and
the Secure Click FF-800 series.
These make it easier to be heard without needing to take off the respie. I haven’t used them, but independent YouTube demos of the intelligibility sound pretty good, so I hope to be able to afford one someday.

Also, with just about every robot entity going for a 3M 6000 series, it might want to choose a different series, or even a different brand. Special mention - @mztx for its very unique choice of visor.

#contraPPE

Traveling OSM Salesperson Problem ✊🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇺🇦Sep 4, 2025

I kinda want a full-face #elastomeric #respirator…it will probably draw even more stares than the half-mask, but it feels good to be insulated from “the outside”, and I kinda want the same for my eyes. I also like the idea of applying a dark film to the visor (as documented by @1 on its blog) to hide more of my face.

But I imagine it will be a total PITA to don and doff for drinking water, or eating something, or talking to people…

Surely someone somewhere has tried to make a hydration port for these things?

And what about a little microphone which connects to a Bluetooth speaker to improve communication? (The speaker could be anywhere outside the mask e.g. worn near the neck or chest…)

EDIT: someone privately mentioned that there are respirators with drinking tubes and voice emitters (those were terms I wasn’t aware of!), and mentioned the MSA Millennium series. Thanks!

I since noticed that the 3M Ultimate FX and 3M Scott respirators have these features too. (For anyone who needed that information.)

#contraPPE

Show threadTraveling OSM Salesperson Problem ✊🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇺🇦May 30, 2025

Just tried putting on the 3M 6502QL. First impressions?

I like that the top buckles are placed on the head cradle. That makes both fastening and unfastening easier. On the 6000 series, the buckles are so close to the facepiece that it was always a bit awkward to unfasten them, especially with large filters like the 3M P100 2091.

The Quick Latch works well and brings the facepiece down well below my chin. I can doff the mask without removing any head wear (like my hat), and I can eat without risk of getting the mask dirty. In comparison, while you can try the same thing with the 6000 series, in my experience the mask never went below my chin and there was always danger of food going into the mask. And of course, the 6000 series doesn’t offer such an easy one-handed operation.

Update - the reason the Quick Latch brought the facepiece down below the chin was because I had the head cradle too far back on my head. With (what I think is) the correct cradle position, the facepiece goes down around the chin - so it’s about the same situation as the 6000 series, except it’s a bit faster with the Quick Latch.

A downside of the Quick Latch design is that the straps somewhat impede your vision. Your point of view in the mask slightly resembles being in the cockpit of a dune buggy. It may be possible to fix this by adjusting the head cradle…I’ll investigate.

#respirator #mask #elastomeric #contraPPE

Traveling OSM Salesperson Problem ✊🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🇺🇦May 30, 2025

I may end up regretting this, but today I went and got myself not only a pair of 3M P100 7093 particulate cartridges (₹1020), but also a 3M 6502QL half- #mask #respirator (₹2430).

I can tell you from merely holding it that the build quality is radically better than that of the 3M 6000 series, and inspires much more confidence. The head cradle and the elastic strap are much more robust than those on my 6200.

Here’s hoping it will also be more comfortable when worn in the apocalyptically hot and humid summers of #India .

#contraPPE