Armbrust mask testing
Security and privacy
protective equipment testing
SHOW HN2022
Legend
Armbrust mask testing
I bought and tested the filtration of every mask on Amazon
armbrustusa.comHow HN took it
28 positive, 66 neutral or asking, 4 mixed, 29 critical, out of 127 comments about the project. Thread score +0.02.
Design: 1 for, 10 againstExecution: 3 for, 8 againstPerformance: 2 for, 6 againstDocs: 4 for, 4 againstIdea: 1 for, 0 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Comprehensive, impressive testing data
From 3 comments
Wow, this is fabulous! They spent almost $5000 to buy and test every mask available on Amazon. If you click on a mask it will take you to a page with the test details. More…
nkurz on HNThanks for this comprehensive test! Here's a (translated) test from half a year ago of the German "Stiftung Warentest" (similar to the US "Consumer Reports")…
MailNerd on HNLloyd, I very much appreciate all your work and efforts put into this testing! I stocked up on the Powecom masks very early after seeing all their thorough testing and backing…
BTCOG on HN
Objections
Methodology page unclear on pass/fail criteria and construction/smell
From 1 comment
Small note on the methodology link: I thought it was a 404 dead link because when I opened it in a new tab it was a 404 (turns out it's a pop-up modal). I don't think what's…
dwohnitmok on HN
Filtration tested on material only, ignoring fit and side leakage
From 2 comments
The page claims over 99% filtration by some dinky earloop surgical masks, which seems impossible unless they are only measuring the fabric and not the mask as a whole. It…
BugsJustFindMe on HNNot exactly.. it really depends on the situation. For example an ASTM 2 or 3 surgical mask fabric has a filtration of 98%+ On my face I have a leakage of about 21% or PFE of 79%…
lloydarmbrust on HN
Mobile layout and table had bugs
From 2 comments
I'm not seeing anything but a list of mask names with no other information. Has the site fallen over? (Chrome 96 on MacOS 11.6)
kps on HNThis is great, and thank you for going out of your way to do this. There seems to be some minor issue (I think) with the table you present on the page. I just watched the test…
MrDresden on HN
Requests
Add scatter plot of resistance vs filtration
From 2 comments
Anyone have a scatter plot of resistance vs filter efficiency? Watching each review would take forever. I want to explore the results visually.
jmpman on HNThis is a good idea... we can put this together for you.
lloydarmbrust on HN
Show worst filtering masks and affiliate links
From 2 comments
Can you also list the worst filtering masks? Or the masks that let air through with the least resistance?
hhsbdbdbdbdb on HNConsider adding (affiliate) links to ones that did well, ordered by availability or price. Why Amazon doesn’t do this is beyond me.
hedora on HN
Questions
Why is a KN95 with 99.87% filtration marked fail
From 2 comments
I'm a bit confused by the listed results. For example one mask is listed a KN95 and has a fail although filtering is stated as 99.87%. Isn't a KN95 specifically rated to hold at…
sschueller on HN@lloydarmbrust , I’m curious about the fail rating for masks where Standard = KN95 is fail? Specifically for masks that claim to be KN95 and filtration values are high. How do…
Tagbert on HN
Alternatives named
Project N95 clearinghouse
From 1 comment
Project N95 is the National Critical Equipment Clearinghouse for personal protective equipment (PPE), COVID-19 diagnostic tests and critical equipment. Edit: stupid typo on url,…
another_comment on HN
NIOSH respirator test data
From 1 comment
For another set of data, NIOSH, the official US government agency tasked with certifying respirators and other PPE, has tested and released a large set of data, including masks…
jerlam on HN
Aaron Collins mask test spreadsheet
From 1 comment
Related, for those who havent seen, is Aaron Collins collection of mask test data https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1M0mdNLpTWEGcluK6hh5LjjcFixwmOG853Ff45d3O-L0
donavanm on HN