by bill38 on 1/25/24, 11:07 AM with 147 comments
by matsemann on 1/25/24, 3:48 PM
However, I use the Lung Plus variant often when cross country skiing. When it's -15C and below, pushing myself for an hour or more outdoors can make me cough all evening. Lots of people have cold induced asthma from training too hard outdoors in their youths. But with this I'm fine.
Also, the main point for me isn't necessarily the temperature, but that it retains more moisture. -15C can feel vastly different in humid Oslo, compared to the dryness of the mountain pass Hardangervidda. This feels like it "helps" avoiding dry coughing.
I don't really like the mask variants. If covid thought people with glasses anything, it's that masks fogs everything up! My Lung Plus mostly fogs if I'm standing still, then I breath straight ahead and into my glasses, otherwise it's fine. My girlfriend however recently bought a "OXYO one", which is the same concept. But it has more of a "snorkel" bite piece, and moves the air to the sides instead. So it's a bit smarter in that regard.
I guess looks is the main drawback. And how the saliva freezes, heh, look at the icicle in my picture. This is me the other day in -24C:
by fredthedeadhead on 1/25/24, 12:55 PM
by mkoryak on 1/25/24, 1:04 PM
Getting dressed in the winter was always an art and I often thought about making some kind of a clothes chooser website that took into account the temperature and a bunch of other factors.
I wish I had known of these masks. Keeping your glasses not fogged up was always a challenge.
Winter biking in general is no joke around here because of the weather and the drivers. I started to wear a camera after I got hit by a car... see: https://youtu.be/2hJ_hzjlQsw?si=28yM2wmbCiQuOlJ7
by btbuildem on 1/25/24, 3:52 PM
Majority of face coverings seem to have the same weakness: moisture. Exhaled breath dampens them, and if that's not gross enough, as inhaled breath pulls cold air in, they freeze up.
The best solution I've found is the 3M Aura valved N95 respirator. It's breathable enough so that even with moderate to high cardio activity I don't feel short of breath. The exhalation valve routes most of the warm moist air out -- while condensation drips off the valve, the filter material remains relatively dry and does not freeze up. This, combined with a helmet, balaclava and wraparound ski goggles makes for a pretty impervious getup [1].
The heat exchanger feature is an interesting one. One idea that immediately comes to mind is using body heat to warm the air intake. A piece of avalanche safety gear called Avalung [2] could provide a starting point (eg, if worn under winter clothing instead of on top of it). I imagine other solutions from industries where people work in hazardous air conditions could also be adapted.
Personally, I'd love me a little DIY hazmat rig that can effectively filter intake air, neatly deal with the exhale moisture, while rocking that post-apocalypse punk aesthetic. The era of insidious airborne pathogens seems to be upon us, and with the climate upheaval, the oppressive forest fire smoke of last year will seem quaint so very soon.
1: https://i.imgur.com/CheNY96.png (earlier iteration before the valved Aura)
by londons_explore on 1/25/24, 1:30 PM
Design 1:
A high thermal mass piece of porous material, which air flows in and out through the same holes. As air is exhaled, the material warms up. As air is inhaled, the material gives collected heat to the incoming air.
Design 2:
As above, but there are two sets of paths through the material. The paths are in a checkerboard pattern so there is good thermal conductivity between them. One set is for incoming fresh air and the other for used air. One way valves ensure air travels in the correct direction through each hole.
Design 1 is great for keeping both heat and moisture (air will be pre humidified on the way in). However, it has the downside that all of the air in the tubes will be re-inhaled in each breath. Effectively your lung capacity will be reduced by the volume of the mask.
Design 2 is more mechanically complex, gives you very dry air to breathe in, and will be prone to clogging with condensation, but has the advantage that you aren't rebreathing any CO2 laden air. And just 2% breathed back in causes "complaints of drowsiness and poor air"[1]
[1]: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/chemical/carbondioxide.htm
by avar on 1/25/24, 2:56 PM
It requires tightly fitted clothing and folded clothing layers, and a bit of practice, but by doing this you can breathe pre-heated air, as it's been passing over your body.
As far as modern solutions go, USB charged heated socks and other actively heated clothing has become cheap and light in recent years.
1. Yeah it's not that cold there compared to further inland, but usually windy as hell. I'd mostly use this to avoid inhaling snow.
by cainxinth on 1/25/24, 1:30 PM
by p1mrx on 1/25/24, 2:32 PM
Somebody suggested adding a sloping nose/mouth shield, and I said what I really needed was a heat exchanger... nice to see that they actually exist.
by zwieback on 1/25/24, 5:26 PM
And don't get me started about windchill...
by maxglute on 1/25/24, 3:09 PM
by GenerWork on 1/25/24, 1:22 PM
by Fricken on 1/25/24, 2:04 PM
Last August however I attempted to cycle from Edmonton to Vancouver but was shut down due to wildfire smoke. My next chance to attempt is again in August, and I don't expect the smoke conditions to be any better. I could go for a cycling or sports specific PAP.
by 0xbadcafebee on 1/25/24, 5:27 PM
by xarope on 1/25/24, 1:35 PM
It's surprising how warm the air gets, I actually had to take it off at times whilst working hard.
by binary132 on 1/25/24, 6:19 PM
by Metacelsus on 1/25/24, 4:32 PM
by vinni2 on 1/25/24, 9:40 PM
by KennyBlanken on 1/25/24, 5:33 PM
It's called "your nose."
by vdaea on 1/25/24, 1:46 PM
