[Product Review] New Philips DreamWisp

[cronkster]

Great.  Interested in hearing from you.

[cronkster]

Take a close look at the Dreamwisp headgear strap.  Compare it to a regular Wisp headgear strap.  You'll see that the Dreamwisp strap has a back portion that reaches lower on the bottom than the Wisp strap.  This extra material is what puts pressure on my spine where it meets the back of my skull.
Now take a look at the Dreamwisp top vent.  Notice how the array of holes is slightly larger than that on the regular dreamwear top connection.  Extra airstream.
Now take a look at the vent at the front of the Dreamwisp frame.  Notice how its vent slot is angled upward and is wider than the horizontally directed vent slot on a regular Dreamwear cushion.  The blowback from the Dreamwisp slot when your face gets close to a mattress or pillow is what makes one feel that the cushion is leaking.  I've got air on my wrist from the top vent,  air in my eye from the frame vent, and pressure on my spine from the strap pad.
Not good.  
And completely unnecessary on a new design.
I don't think these guys are human factors engineers.

[pcstud]

I think that our other feelings result from different experiences. I have tested many masks but I only sleep more than month with n30i or DreamWear. Probably that's why I don't complain about a belt or air leak. They are better for me righ now. I just have to get used to the different construction of the pillow and today I know that I would prefer the one from n20. I have never tested ordinary Wisp...

[cronkster]

I hear you.  But since most of what a mask does for us is done while we're either completely or mostly unconscious, we need to pay attention to the way the mask is designed and the way it performs at a time when we're  able to.  That would be as we lie in bed awake, or as we consciously take a look at the mask and analyse it.
As we know, we can be sleeping poorly and not realize it - that's the reason we have CPAP machines and masks, which function when we're unconscious.  Feelings and impressions about masks are okay, but these companies should design the masks scientifically and improve each feature with each new iteration, rather than mixing and matching whatever catches their fancy.  They're supposed to be medical devices, not just a glitzy product.
Instead of paying attention to what works and improving it, these companies produce masks as if they hire a new design team each time and tell them to start from scratch and use their imagination to come up with something new and exciting.  Another new group of $99 orders !  ......yippeeee!

[cronkster]

In other words, regardless of what your feeling or experience is, if the mask can blow air on my wrist, it can do so on yours as well.  If the frame can blowback air on me, it can on you too.  And if the wisp headstrap didn't need extra material at the bottom of the pad, this strap doesn't need it either.

[pcstud]

I'm not saying it doesn't blow from the mask - it just doesn't matter much to me (as long as it doesn't blow into my eyes). My wife can complain, but I keep trying not to direct the air stream in her direction. BTW in DreamWisp the problem is the smallest, air bothered me the most in DreamWear (n30i in the middle). 

With this belt I do not feel the problem, for me it is stable and comfortable.

[cronkster]

Your arguments here are not good.
I've already explained that what matters to you isn't a good measure of whether or not something is disturbing people's sleep (including yours).
As for your eyes, it CAN blow into your eyes, as I explained.  If you're awake, you have to avoid that.  If you're asleep, as I explained, that will make your sleep less than optimal.
Why defend 'trying' not to have air blow in your wife's direction?  The mask is supposed to perform well, not have you 'try' to have it perform well.
How can the air stream be smallest in the Dreamwisp, which I've already compared in design to the Dreamwear?  The laws of physics work the same for you as they do for anyone.  What is the science behind what 'bothers you', as opposed to what the mask is actually doing?  Are you selling a stronger stream of air, directed upward and able to blow in one's eyes if close to mattress or pillow - or at one's partner if you're not careful - as preferable?  Are you saying that this shouldn't 'bother' some people?  I think these things that produce suboptimal sleep should concern anyone on CPAP.
Why reply to my post, about actual design facts of the masks, with descriptions of your feelings? Feelings which can only be detected while you're awake, by the way. We're reviewing the mask and analysing why it should be comfortable and effective - or not - for sleeping with CPAP, not your feelings.

[pcstud]

Cronkster, I don't want to argue with you. I'm not trying to convince you that you're wrong. I'm just saying that I don't see the wrong design assumptions. The air has to escape from every mask. The bigger the mask is, the more likely it is to disperse the stream. That's why I accept that n30i and DreamWear blow quite strongly. The DreamWisp is a bit better but not as good as the classic tube masks. I don't know if it could have been done better in silicone (soft) construction. I think it's good for the hole to be as close to the nose as possible, because then less air from the lungs gets into the frame and it can be cleaned less often. 

I understand your arguments, but I accept that every mask design is associated with some compromises. ResMed has improved the DreamWear in the n30i model and redesingn the holes... but the problem didn't go away and made the mask eaven louder. I saw that in the new pillow model they made some new diffuser but I haven't tested it yet so I don't know if they solved the problem. Surely it's not easy.

[Dugy40]

this is the mask that has a sore on the bridge of my nose. it seals good. its comfortable except for the nose bridge area.

[CorruptAlligator]

Recently got the DreamWisp since the regular Wisp works so well for me. I find it more comfortable than the Wisp, but I can hear breathing through the mask. It's the loudest sounding of this design I've heard. Fortunately, I use a noise masking sounding during sleep.

Since N20 mask is recommend with pillow setting on the A10, I've used pillows setting for Wisp as well. Thus, I've used pillows settings for DreamWisp. Compared to Wisp, I notice my flow rate amplitufe is lower with the DreamWisp. I will have to look into if I should set it for Nasal on the A10. I feel like I was well rested, but I get more centrals with the DreamWisp compared to Wisp. Flow limits about the same.