My F30i full face has finally arrived. Have you owned a F30i before?

[plakky]

I find with the F30i I need to have the nose piece "cradle" my nose. Like the N30i does. Think of cupping your hands under your nostrils.

This means setting the mask a bit higher than you would think.

I have the F30i and N30i masks, like them both, and swap them with the Dreamwear versions which I also like.  Always looking for tips from other people!

I agree with the need to have both the F30i and N30i really up firmly (but comfortably) under your nose.  I kept tightening the straps, but finally switched the frame to a smaller size and that made the biggest difference.  (Wrapping the top of the too-large frame with some thickish fleece helped snug it up under the nose in the interim.)

I also turned off the "Smart Start" feature because I could never quite get the hang of it in the middle of the night if I had to take my mask off briefly.  Would find myself huffing and puffing impatiently to "Start" the air up again. 

[S. Manz]

Ok, so I found another little tidbit that may be of help.
The F30i HeadGear fits the DrW frame and full face mask perfectly, but the DrW HeadGear will not fit the F30i frame and mask.
The secret is the way that Resmed has designed the little blue magnets that latch on to their other half on the sides of the mask.
Resmed's have aa circular shape and smooth in the middle with small lips that surround about 60% of the circumference of each little circular blue magnets.
The dimensions seem to be the exact size as the DrW's so the resmed headgear works perfectly well with the DrW frame and mask, whereas the DrW magnets have a little spike in the center of each magnet which need to fit inside a corresponding hole in the center of their other half. F3i mask magnets do not have a hole in the middle so a DrW HeadGear will not fit a F30i Frame and mask combo.
Either case, if you have magnets for both masks, then headgears from both manufacturers will work fine on both masks.
Just thought I throw this in here in case people want to save on buying HeadGears.....These darn things aren't cheap

[SevereApnea]

@ plakky, you said:

"but finally switched the frame to a smaller size and that made the biggest difference."



I sometimes lie awake at night, half asleep and think of silly things like: should I try a smaller frame size? Nah, silly idea. Some other day, perhaps.

Not such a bad idea maybe, thanks for sharing your success!

I suppose it depends on the size of ones' head and the shape of the nose.

I guess this will change the vector/direction of force holding the nasal part of the F30i in place.
Just hope it will fit my head. Come to think of it the Std frame is quite loose and with the top mount hose, this can pull the frame backwards when moving in your sleep.

I'm glad you found this helped you, and thanks for sharing.

I will give this a go.

[S. Manz]

Downsizing the frame makes good sense. I wish there were places where people could just go to test drive masks but I guess potential foot traffic won't justify the cap.Ex.
Until Walmart decides it makes good business sense to add a "Mask outlet" to their collection of other outlets like their Pharmacy, RX Glasses and Western Union, I'll be ordering mine online and at Amazon when I can, due to their awesome return policy.

[hegel]

I wouldn't be comfortable with a mask swap marketplace in this age of covid.

Supplier number 1 has a terrific 30 day return policy. Sweet!

I use to work in retail. I don't abuse this sort of policy. Really, businesses other than Amazon (which bled money for decades and may still) can't afford irresponsible abuse of return policies.

[S. Manz]

Ddue, for consumers the last thing on their mind when they are parting with hard earned cash, is whether the retailer is making money:-)
Having owned more than one business at a time, I can tell you with a high degree of confidence that "Return Policy" in retail is one of the most important elements of success .. A great return policy that does not subject the customer to haggle with some bad tempered employee over whether or not they can get their money back for an item that is worthless to them, is what makes consumers either "trust" or forever say goodbye to that business. 
Any Tom, Rick and Harriet can do retail, but not everyone can become Jeff Bezos. Why?....His Return policy is partly the "reason" that people trust this company and have made it the most successful retailer in the world and when I'm going to spend my money on a mask, the last thing that should come to my mind is whether or not the "retailer" is going to make money because I don'y give a fig....all that I care about is getting value for my money:-)
Have a great day.

[NelsonM]

Four nights now, most of the important numbers in OSCAR are about as good with the F30i as with the F20. AHI, time in apnea, SpO2, etc. I'm sleeping about as well with the fancy new mask as the old one. The one visible difference is in leak rate; I'm definitely getting more leaks with the F30i. (Also a few large leaks, something I never had with the F20). I don't much care about that in practice; my goal is to optimize my sleep, not how much work the CPAP has to do. I don't see any evidence the leakage is causing mask pressure problems or OSA events.

Here's the graph of leak rate over the last 10 days or so. Last 4 bars are with the F30i.

   

Had a new unwelcome problem with my F30i last night; a high pitched whine, loud enough to wake me up. Half asleep so unclear on the details; it was probably fairly quiet but amplified by being pressed against my head. Went away when I tapped the front of the mask. My best guess is one of the valves on the front of the mask was vibrating in an awkward way. There was also a lower pitched hum an hour or two later that I think also came from the mask. But it was quiet enough I ignored it and slept through it. FWIW this is only the fourth night I've worn the mask so it's not normal wear and tear.

Interesting news about compatibility with the DreamWear mask equipment.

[hegel]

Bezos bled money for decades. No independent retailer could have lost money like that year after year, hand over fist, and survived. Bezos had investors and a new platform.

Our independent bookstores had a generous return policy and a portion of our customers who didn't give a fig abused it. All they cared about was getting free books. We lost money on them. We had to modify the policy and make it more limited due to that.

Still, recall that I like Supplier #1's 30 day return policy very much! I do my research beforehand and so far haven't had to use it.

[plakky]

To add to the info from S. Manz above about the Full Face headgear for the Dreamwear and the F30i being interchangable if the magnets are swapped, Amazon sells the magnets separately for both masks for about $5-$6.  (Handy to have on hand anyway, IMHO, since it seems the magnets could be easy to lose after/during cleaning.)

Also, if someone thinks a smaller F30i/N30i frame might help their leaks but is hesitate to buy the (pricey) frame without knowing whether it will work or not, do try cutting a strip of fleece or other soft fabric (from an old sweatshirt, say) and wrapping it around the top of the frame to create a snug fit between the top part of the frame and the top of your head. A couple of large stitches with a needle and thread will hold it in place, or even a couple of big safety pins on top (not advised but it worked fine for me!).

[S. Manz]

Indeed I am too (getting more leaks) than with my DrW full face. Strange because I thought the smoother and shinier silicone pillow would make for a better seal, but that is obviousely not the case.