[Equipment] AirFit P10 headgear tip

[JJJ]

I have been using an ArFit P10 for well over a year. It works well for me, but the headgear is [expletive]. The cushion and its holder last a long time, but I'm lucky to get the flimsy elastic headgear to hold up for more than a few weeks. By then it is so stretched out that it has no more stretchiness at all. Well, now I have a solution.

I have a friend who is a genius with a sewing machine, and she also has sleep apnea. I showed her my stretched out P10 and she suggested getting some real elastic from a fabric store to make a replacement headgear. I bought some elastic about 2cm wide (3/4") and cut a piece an appropriate length to go around behind my head and connect with the cushion holder. Then I take the piece and dip the ends into some oil-base paint or varnish about 3cm (1.5") and let it dry. Finally, I take a razor blade or similar sharp tool and cut slits in the ends where there is varnish - like making buttonholes. Now I can remove my bad headgear and hook my elastic into the cushion holder to replace it. 

I made one of these about four months ago and it's still going strong. Oh, and I just use one strap, as I found the one that goes over the top of the head to be useless anyway. The genius part was to use varnish to stop the ends from unraveling and give them strength.

[Cpapian]

Sounds like a great solution. ....... do you have pictures to show us?

[JJJ]

Sounds like a great solution. ....... do you have pictures to show us?

I made a drawing, but I can't upload it here, and I don't want to put it on a website somewhere. You'll just have to imagine it.

Just think of an elastic ribbon with a cut ----- in the ends. sort of like this:

 ---------------------------------------------------
|      =====      |
 ------------------------------------------------

The part between the | and the | is the end that is dipped into the varnish. The === is the cut. And oil base varnish is better than latex, because it soaks into the fabric better. Let it dry overnight so it's dry all the way through. And I forgot to mention that I had to cut the old headgear off the cushion holder. 

Or if you're a genius with a sewing machine like my friend, make it a real buttonhole and forget about the varnish.

[mrmagloo]

Yes, the P10 headgear is a real disappointment. I found that stabilizing the split straps helps alot to maintain consistency in performance. I made up some supports mentioned here: http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Thread-...adgear-Mod, that helped me alot. To counter the stretching, I found those sizing clips work pretty good, if you use them on the sides instead once the headgear starts to stretch and your leaks increase. From then, just a little tweak when the bands get loose again, and I can get these to last pretty long.

Your idea sure looks interesting. I'm pretty surprised that some enterprising person hasn't come out with a more durable aftermarket headgear for the P10. I know, lots of people complain, but otherwise love the mask, so you might be on to something.