[Product Review] F&P Pilairo Review

[SkiSmuggs]

I have a discount offer for this mask from RPM so I may give it a shot. Currently using Aloha and Swift FX. I actually enjoy rotating my pillows and mask.

[tokyo43]

I've been using the Pilairo for 5 years now.

Pros:
Very Quiet
Super Light
Soft pillows
Seals well

Cons:
Hose is always in the way*
Strap looses tension around 4 weeks
Head gear pressure points (cheek area)


*With my old mask the hose was attached to the gear at the top of my head.  
That was super nice as I could roll over without repositioning the hose.
Note that I use bungy strap to attach the hose to a slider on the headboard.  
With the Pilairo I have to manually twist the hose elbow the other direction and move the hose over.

[Fats Drywaller]

Cons:
Strap looses tension around 4 weeks

Just now I was looking at the Pilairo on the F&P web site, and I see a possible way around that problem, maybe, for anyone who is still using the Pilairo, which is an earlier version of what became the Brevida. The Brevida uses an improved backstrap that has velcro adjusters in addition to the elastic. So the strap doesn't wear out until it really wears out; the elastic stretching is not a problem. You just take up the slack with the velcro. That better backstrap can be bought separately, but I don't know whether its plastic clips are the same dimensions as the Pilairo's. For anyone who wants to investigate this so as to preserve an existing investment in a Pilairo and its replacement pillows, the Brevida's strap has clips that are 9/32 inch wide (the slot on the frame is 5/16 inch by 3/16 inch) and 1/16 inch thick. Those dimensions are 7mm, 8mm by ~5mm, and 1.6mm.

(P.S.: Another minor problem with it, having nothing to do with the mask itself, is its name, which is often mis-read as "Pilario". So on the web sites of some suppliers, you need to misspell the name if you want to find it. It was a bad choice by the F&P marketingdroids, but I guess they couldn't foresee that.)