Amara View or Resmed Airfit F30 full face masks

[nadprok]

I had used the Amara View for several years and really liked it . Had no problem with it at all . However when the Resmed Airfit F30 came out 
I thought I would give it a try . I have used it for over a year now and just love it . It is the best mask I have used to date . I like the quietness of it as well as the fact that it doesn't blow air into my eyes . The amara view tended to do that .
The biggest thing I like about it is that my AHI is cut in half with the F30 . With the amara view I always had an AHI of around 1.0 . But with the F30
I am always below 0.5 . Also with the F30 I have had an AHI of 0.0 nine times in the past year . Why ? Who knows .

[PhoebeAnn]

Which size F30 did you use? I use a Medium or Large in most I've tried, but I think the Small F30 will work. I'll find out tonight.

[hegel]

I've had all of two nights with the F30. I really like it. (actually the first night I tried it I only lasted two hours due to leaks. Working the straps has fixed that.) Two nights is too small a sample size, but it's what I've got.

I also used the Amara view. I stopped because of leaks. However --long story short--due to recent experience with fitting full face masks, when I recently dug my old View out, I got it to work pretty well. Not as good as the last two nights with the F30.

before all this I switched to the F20. It gives me a great seal and works well. It's comfortable enough once I learned how to work the straps, but I really want to use a half mask if possible. i'm hoping the F30 works out.

So, my early impression is that the F30 gives a better seal than the Amara view, due to its design. But individual faces vary.

PhoebeAnn, I'm told by someone here that the F30 only comes in small and medium. I find the medium a bit small--on the verge of being too small. If feels smaller around the mouth than the medium F20.

[Big Guy]

Yes, the F30 AirFit only comes in small or medium.

[PhoebeAnn]

Well, the Small F30 that I used had crept up to my mouth by midnight, so I swapped it out for the F20 AirTouch (Large) for the rest of the night. I've had very good luck with leaks with the F20, but I need a size Medium-and-a-half. I think I'll spring for a Medium F30 and see what happens.

I notice with the F20 Touch - with the memory foam seal - leaks more and more as the night wears on. I wake up an tweak a strap or 2, and the leaks go away. But by morning, it's so tight my nose is killing me. Maybe the Velcroed strap could be replaced with an elastic of some sort, to maintain constant pull on the mask even as the memory foam forgets.

This is getting old. I think there's a market out there for an outfit who will take a mold of your face and make a mask that fits you, with an inexpensive replacement seal.

[hegel]

Death Masks 'r' Us could branch into a new sideline...

I feel your pain. I had a new bag under my left eye this morning, despite using the F30. I thought I heard, here or elsewhere, that air blowing into your face can cause these. Can anyone confirm or deny this? I didn't have any leaks according to the MyAir tracker and i didn't notice any. Sheesh!

the silicone F20 seals perfect for me but causes redness.

I wonder why manufacturers don't come up with a half mask that uses those prong thingys the Airfit p10 uses. This latter mask never gave me eyebags--but I'd have to start mouth taping to get it to work. May be in my future. I guess you don't get a glass of water in the night with this method.

[PhoebeAnn]

I wonder why manufacturers don't come up with a half mask that uses those prong thingys the Airfit p10 uses.

Great idea; I loved my P10, but finally had to admit I was a mouth breather, and chinstraps itch like crazy. I'll bet you could glue a pair of prong thingies from a P10 to the platform of an F30 or Amara and you'd be good to go. Is there a non-toxic glue for silicone? I've got a bunch of old P10 prong thingies... looking for glue now.... Update: lots of glues that might work. Not cheap, but worth a try. Stay tuned.

[PhoebeAnn]

I've tried close to a dozen masks over the last month. I thought I had finally settled on the F20 AirCushion, but last night it gave me a world of grief, so I dug out an F30 for tonight. I had to take an afternoon nap, so I tried the F30 a little earlier. Fit well, didn't leak, and I got little happy faces on the ResMed AirCurve ST. So, that's my mask for the near future. Tonight at least.

[PhoebeAnn]

PhoebeAnn, I'm told by someone here that the F30 only comes in small and medium. I find the medium a bit small--on the verge of being too small. If feels smaller around the mouth than the medium F20.

Yes, F30 comes in only Small and Medium; I'd like a Large as well. I often wake up with the lower edge of the F30 in my mouth, but it's still sealed. I find it tricky to adjust. You have to hold it comfortably in place, adjust the straps to fit it there, turn on the PAP, and tweak the straps until the leaks go away. I used to sleep on my side, and large leaks developed during the night. But I now sleep on my back, and don't have that problem. The mask is very sensitive to minor displacements.

[hegel]

PhoebeAnne, whatever happened to your experiment with gluing the P10 prongs onto an amara view or f30? 

the F30 is working brilliantly for me, after two weeks. I'm very happy and this is my new mask until it's not! 

I also started using a neck collar at night. This has helped! And now I wonder if I can't go back to my P10 while using the cervical collar to keep my mouth closed and solve my mouth breathing problem.

but I'm sleeping well with the F30 and so I'll put that experiment off for a bit.