Airmotion Woobi Plus Mask

VERSIONS / OTHER NAMES
There are 2 main versions:

1. Woobi Play, the smaller one for children. It seems to have been released earlier and is more common.
2. Woobi Plus, the adult version, only comes in one size. This is the one I'm reviewing here.

This product is confusing, which is unfortunate for its marketing because it's sold under a few names. First of all, who makes it? When you search for it, 2 of the top websites (1 2) say Kilo Design created/designed it for/in collaboration with "Singapore health-tech startup Airmotion Laboratories". So Airmotion didn't design it, they're manufacturing and marketing it? But the packaging doesn't mention Kilo Design at all, not even in the design awards. The only hints of Kilo Design's contribution are the European design awards.

But the packaging also says "designed in Singapore".

As you can see from the pictures, there are 2 versions of the packaging, English and Chinese. The English one came directly from Airmotion. The Chinese one came from China (Qoo10). I expect the product to be the same inside. From the AliExpress reviews, it looks like the Chinese one has an additional small catalog.

It's also sold by Xiaomi, but Xiaomi doesn't seem to be involved in any way other than selling it. The AliExpress reviews of the Xiaomi one show the same Chinese packaging, with no Xiaomi logos.

Hmm I just realised a lot of things Xiaomi sells aren't designed or made by them, they're just distributing them.

WEBSITES
https://www.airmotionlabs.com/product-page/woobi-plus
https://kilodesign.dk/work/woobi/

PRICE AND AVAILABILITY
Official price USD42, about USD35 on AliExpress, I got it for USD38 on Qoo10.
Shipping from China is very unreliable right now, mine was stuck at the airport for 10 days. Airmotion's official site ships from several countries. They had stock in Singapore so I got it in 1 day!

SPECIFICATIONS AND STANDARDS
Rated to American N95 or European FFP2 performance (Test: GB2626 & Certification: KN95)
Filters last 15 hours or 14 days
I can't find anything about flow rates or resistance or test certificates.

WHAT'S IN THE PACKAGE
From the website:
• 1 Woobi Plus Mask
• 1 Woobi Plus Elastic Sports Strap
• 1 Woobi Ant-Slip Silicone Head Pad - this is very effective and useful!
• 1 Extra Set Colour Caps - that's 1 big (intake) and 1 small (exhaust)
• 2 Micro-HEPA Air Filter
• 1 Storage Pouch

That's accurate for what I got. Both HEPA filters came sealed in individual green capsules. I opened one and put it in the mask before this picture. So, you get 2, individually sealed, filters. I also got a simple postcard.

DESIGN
Well, you can see for yourself. It has a unique, smooth design. The main thing I like about the design is it doesn't look that much like a respirator, if you're worried about wearing it on the streets.

One thing I don't like is, it's short. If you look at the pictures, it only reaches halfway between mouth and chin. Industrial respirators seem to reach or cover the chin. Actually it doesn't really affect the comfort or sealing. Maybe you can't open your mouth as wide.

FIT AND SEALING
Sealing is very good. It doesn't require the strap to be very tight.
You can test the seal by blocking the valves (good for general public without fit tests)
Main problem is it's a bit pinchy on my nose, making it hard to breathe. Wearing it higher up works better. But wearing it higher interferes with glasses (you need to wear eye protection as well, you know?), depending on your glasses. They're almost interfering with mine.
The silicone pad for the hair is a very important and successful part of the design. A problem with all respirators - hair is slippery, the back of the head is rounded, the top strap tends to slide down. If you look at industrial respirators, they have a sort of cap/plastic loop that stays on the top of the back of the head. Woobi addresses this problem, which I've never seen a "home use" respirator even try before.

And it works! And it's even removable, if you need to change the strap, or find a better respirator that lacks this!

COMFORT
Breathing resistance is kind of high. I've been fitted and worn N95 masks before so I know what they should feel like. This is harder than the 3M 8210. So not that good in this aspect. Are the adult and child sizes using the same size filter?

DISASSEMBLY AND WASHING
I don't like the fabric elastic strap because it's hard to wash and dry and keep clean, which is what we're all trying to do these days.

This is as far apart as I can take it. As you can see, the valve holders pop right out. I can probably take the yellow and green valves out too. Everything is washable/doesn't absorb water except the filter and elastic strap. Elastic strap is washable too. Good and important for hygiene.

SPARE PARTS
Only spare parts they sell are the filters. The mask itself comes with an extra set of caps, but you can't buy more. Seems like they should sell the elastic and valves too. I know industrial respirators sell almost every replacement part.

MODIFICATION
The exhalation valve cap is kinda noisy. Not the valve itself, I think the holes in the cap are too small. And it's not that important, ok it keeps the valve clean and protects it, and it holds the strap loop on.

I'm testing replacing it with just a piece of cloth.

Update 8 April 2020
I noticed a few more things. Firstly the adult and child versions seem to have different straps. The adult has an elastic fabric strap and the child size seems to have a silicone strap. A good thing I've noticed about the strap - even when you adjust it, there are no dangling ends, because it's attached to itself (like those messenger/sling bags). It's much neater and more hygienic. The strap secures by looping around the intake filter. It's secure, but a bit asymmetric because the intake and exhaust valves are different sizes. You can sort of dangle it around your neck if you don't want to wear it or carry it, but this may not be secure. I've done it and it's never come off. Because the strap is only attached to one side, it's very long when you take it off. Just something to note.

Filters last 15 hours at AQI of 200, which is at the extreme end of moderately polluted, so they'll last much longer in normal air.