This is My New Favorite Dust Mask. I was given a box of Protect Life N95 Dust Masks in exchange for an honest review, and my thoughts from using them. I’m happy to report that they have been the best mask I’ve ever used, and Ill tell you why.

Woodworking Dust Masks

It’s really important to protect yourself when you’re working in your shop. It’s also something that most woodworkers don’t think about it until they either have an accident, or they feel some symptoms of exposure.

It’s at that point when they run to the store to buy the protective equipment that they really should’ve had from day one. While that’s better than doing nothing, it’s not as good as getting your equipment right away.

When it comes to dust masks, they can sometimes have a reputation of being uncomfortable, and not a lot of fun to wear. This new dust mask however is way different, and I noticed it right away in my own shop.

See Also: How to Pick the Best Dust Mask for Woodworking

Making New Benches for the Shop

Getting a new shop is one of the most fun parts about woodworking but at the same time one of the most miserable parts about woodworking. It is great to have, but it means a lot of work.

One of the projects that I just finished, and will post a tutorial about soon, is making a set of low-profile woodworking benches to go around the perimeter of the shop.

So far, this is the biggest shop I’ve ever had, and I didn’t want to eat up all of the square footage with benches attached to the walls. For that reason, I created a set of benches that are not quite as deep as normal benches, but still hold all of my tools.

The entire time I did this project, I wore the protect life dust masks that were given to me. I notice a lot of differences right away, and it made the project much easier.

See Also: Woodworking Tips Cards – Woodworking Safety

The Protect Life Mask Difference

The very first thing I noticed was that the air smelled cleaner. Some dust masks make the air smell worse, and they have almost a medicinal smell to them. These are way different, and I noticed that right away.

The other difference that I noticed was that over time the mask didn’t fill up with very humid air and condensation, like others I’ve worn before.

That alone is a massive difference from other dust masks, and honestly one of the reasons that people don’t like to wear them in the first place.

Nobody likes to have a wet face, with water dripping down your neck. Especially when it’s as easy as taking off a dust mask to stop the problem, it just makes it easy for people not to wear them.

I had this dust mask on for well over an hour continuously in my shop while I made dozens and dozens of cuts on my miter saw. I never had any problems breathing the air, and my face felt good the entire time.

Here’s a few other things that I noticed about this mask in particular:

• The adjustment on the nose seem to work better than others, and it was easy to form to my face.
• The straps were the perfect length to hold a mask around my mouth and my nose securely, but without being too tight.
• Breathing was a lot easier, and I didn’t feel like I wanted to take the mask off all the time.
• I was much more comfortable than normal, which is good when it comes to safety.
• Even taking it off and putting it on a few times, the mask went right back to my face perfectly every time.

When I receive these dust masks, I really didn’t think they were going to be that much better than any others I’ve used before. After all, most dust masks look pretty similar.

However, the differences were so noticeable, and right away I felt better having it on instead of the box of masks that I purchased previously.

These are also N95 rated masks, meaning they’re good for a number of different chemicals that you might be exposed to while woodworking. My other masks were not rated, which means they were only good for particles in the air.

See Also: How to Pick the Best Respirator for Wood Finishing

First Aid Kits Too

The company also sent me one of their first aid kits because they’ve noticed that I recommend keeping a first aid kit in your shop. I’m going to write about that one in the future, but upon initial inspection the kit is pretty darn cool.

There’s lots of stuff that you would normally use in a woodworking shop, which is great. Things like adhesive bandages, and stuff for small cuts and abrasions. They still have some of the other major first aid items, but hopefully you don’t need to use those as often.

This is the perfect kit to store away in your shop for when you have a minor accident and need to take care of yourself. It looks like a last a very long amount of supplies too, which is another bonus.

See Also: 16 Great Tips for Setting Up a Workshop in the Garage

Your Action Assignment

I don’t normally assign people to buy something, so this is a little new for me. However, I really want you to give these masks a try. They have been so much better than any other mask I’ve used before, and I’ve used quite a few.

One of the big problems with safety is that people stop doing it when it’s not comfortable. These are the kind of masks that will keep you comfortable, which means if I can get you to buy a box, I can get you to be safer in your shop.

That’s the really big win here, making it easy for yourself to be safe. Over time, airborne particles will win if you don’t protect yourself, and your life will be a short. Don’t let that happen over a $20 box of dust masks.

If you have any questions about my new favorite dust mask, please post a question  and I’ll be glad to answer them. Happy building.

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