[Product Review] Resmed AirFit P10

[TyroneShoes]

I am not sure the characterization of the headgear has been that it is "flimsy". It is light and simple, but "flimsy" seems to infer that it might break easily or slip around or not stay tight enough. In my experience, that has not been at all the case.

I think the complaints on the headgear is that the "one-size-fits-all" approach may have been a little over expectant. One size does not fit all, although it comes very close to that. I still think there needs to be more adjustment capability, and this is what the consensus seems to be.

In my case, I just manually stretched out the headgear for 20 seconds every night before putting on the mask. After a week or so I didn't need to do that anymore.

One improvement that might not be as visible but I personally feel is a major improvement is the pillow itself. Compared to the FX (my only available point of comparison) the curve is more "negative", meaning that the pillow hugs your nares with more surface contact, which I believe contributes to the mask staying in place better.

That actually may be contributing to perception that the headgear is too tight, because if you make the FX too tight, for instance, you also get more nare contact, but at the price of it being with more force. So the immediate perception with the P10 when switching to it might be that it is tighter, when it really may not be.

As for the tubing, I have been experimenting with something for the past week. Just before I put the mask on, I twist it a full 360 degrees, which puts a little starch in the tube at the point it joins the mask. I find that this gives it a bit more structure, which seems to work better for me in how the tubing lays out towards the hose hanger.

What I am seeing a lot of in the main forum is that the replacement schedule for this type of mask is suggested to be 2 to 3 months. I am just at 3 months, and it does not feel like I need a new one, but I am seeing more leaks, so maybe that is accurate. Not really knowing, if I had to take a wild guess, I would expect the mask to last for a year or more, so I find the schedule surprising, but, live and learn. I will get my sleep doc's take on this Thursday, and since only non-pros have commented on this so far, I will let you all know what my doc says about this.

[PaytonA]

Been on cpap since march 1996.

BEST MASK EVER.

Definitely not a glass half full kind of guy!!

[TyroneShoes]

...What I am seeing a lot of in the main forum is that the replacement schedule for this type of mask is suggested to be 2 to 3 months. I am just at 3 months, and it does not feel like I need a new one, but I am seeing more leaks, so maybe that is accurate. Not really knowing, if I had to take a wild guess, I would expect the mask to last for a year or more, so I find the schedule surprising, but, live and learn. I will get my sleep doc's take on this Thursday, and since only non-pros have commented on this so far, I will let you all know what my doc says about this.

FYI, my sleep doc recommends 3-6 months for mask replacement. My DME sends a new one every 3 months like clockwork.

[AshSF]

Been on cpap since march 1996.

BEST MASK EVER.

It says a lot coming from someone who has used CPAP for 19 years.

[OpineCone]

That actually may be contributing to perception that the headgear is too tight, because if you make the FX too tight, for instance, you also get more nare contact, but at the price of it being with more force. So the immediate perception with the P10 when switching to it might be that it is tighter, when it really may not be.

Tyrone:

Nares is one of those irregular plural words with an unexpected singular: naris. It may seem strange until you notice the same pattern in some other Latin words. For example: parenthesis (singular) and parentheses (plural).

So one nostril is a naris and two nostrils are nares. And I guess nostril contact would be naris contact, which looks decidedly weird - but maybe we will all have to get used to it!

I hope you find this helpful.

OpineCone

[OpineCone]

...What I am seeing a lot of in the main forum is that the replacement schedule for this type of mask is suggested to be 2 to 3 months. I am just at 3 months, and it does not feel like I need a new one, but I am seeing more leaks, so maybe that is accurate. Not really knowing, if I had to take a wild guess, I would expect the mask to last for a year or more, so I find the schedule surprising, but, live and learn. I will get my sleep doc's take on this Thursday, and since only non-pros have commented on this so far, I will let you all know what my doc says about this.

FYI, my sleep doc recommends 3-6 months for mask replacement. My DME sends a new one every 3 months like clockwork.

My DME checked my insurance today and told me I can have two replacement pillows per month, a new hard plastic assembly every 3 months, and one headgear every 6 months.

[PaulaO2]

This is the Review Forum. Please try to keep posts to reviews of the product however tempting it may be to comment to a comment about a comment that someone else commented about.

[mikeh99]

This is the Review Forum. Please try to keep posts to reviews of the product however tempting it may be to comment to a comment about a comment that someone else commented about.

Huh? lol
Nicely put.

[lab rat]

Put it this way I was part of the clinical trial when resmed was developing the swift fx. And when it came out it was perfect except that they seemed to completely ignore everyone's complaint that mask air vented at high velocity on one's partner non stop.

Enter the P10 which has the gauze style air outlet. It makes the mask pretty much everything I asked them for.

I even went back to the fx for a couple of nights last week and the air outlet is not only annoying but makes the mask much louder than the P10.

I'm sure their next series of clinical trials this year will allow them to develop a P10.1

[SuperSleeper]

My Initial Thoughts on the AirFit P10

Well, it's closing in on one month since I ordered my AirFit P10 mask, and here's my thoughts:

1. My wife loves it because it's nearly silent. (okay for me too).

2. There is no noticeable air blowing on her during the night, unless you get within 3 inches of the exhalation port on this mask. Pretty amazing.

3. My AHI has gone down more a full point (from an average of 2.5 to an average of 1.3, roughly.

Having said all that, I would give this mask 5 stars.... until we come to the headgear....

4. The headgear is completely and totally inadequate-- poorly designed and lacking in durability and adjust-ability. Yeah, it worked great for the first week, and the headgear fit snuggly and comfortably on my head. But heck, after 7 days or so, it just loosened up so much that it was a struggle to keep a good seal on the nasal pillows. Yeah, washing the headgear helped a bit, but didn't bring the straps back to the "new mask" tension. The stupidest thing about the P10 headgear is that there is no way to adjust it, period. That, to me, is a deal-killer. Resmed, in their attempt to go the "small and light" route, has essentially made a mask that (for me anyway) can't be used more than about 2 weeks without making major changes to the headgear.

So, there it is. I'm giving this mask 3 stars out of 5, only because of the stupid, stupid flimsy, small, inadequate and unadjustable crappy headgear. Which is really disappointing, because if it had come with a sturdy, durable and adjustable head gear system, I would give it 5 stars.

My interim solution for tightening up the headgear is to take up the slack using two safety pins, and even then, the headgear is overly minute and lacking in durability, I feel. For a $100 mask, I expect a lot more.

This 5-star mask with 1-star headgear is sort of like putting a brand new Porche 911 engine inside a rusted out 1968 VW Beetle.

I'm using it still, because it keeps my wife happy and my AHI is lower.

But I'm not satisfied.

I sure hope there's a AirFit P10 Version 2 coming out that has better headgear. (wider, more durable straps that are also adjustable).