3M 9210+ NIOSH Aura

Overall Result

Filtration

Breathability

Standard

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Review

Video Transcript

Hey everyone. Welcome back to the place we are testing every single mask in the world. Today we are once again testing user submissions. Thank you all for sending your masks to me. I've got a ton to get through, but specifically I want to thank Daniel. Daniel, thank you so much, got your letter and I will read your letter really quickly.

My name is Daniel. I firstly would like to thank you for testing the efficiency of various masks currently on the market. I'm dramatically reading this, by the way. You provide a valuable source of information that helps to protect the public and our loved ones. Daniel, you are a great writer, especially when you're praising me. Anybody who's praising me is a great writer. We recently purchased four dozen 3M 9210, also known as the gold standard Aura masks from a seller on eBay.

The 9210 model incorporates safeguard product authentication, which allows the end user to validate the authenticity of 3M products by submitting a pair of codes on the 3M website. The masks were sent to us individually wrapped with only the lot code, rut roh, printed on the inner fold of the mask. The seller has been sketchy about providing the secure code, sellers, making it impossible to validate their authenticity. We also notice that the plastic packaging and the printing on the front of the mask do not seem quite right compared to a batch of authenticated 3Ms 9210s that we have on hand. This guy's a 3M 9210 expert, isn't he? My wife is currently pregnant and unvaccinated due to a preexisting condition. Sorry to hear that. We intend to use these mask to protect ourselves and visiting family once our baby arrives next month, so it's really important to us to know if these masks are real or counterfeit. Could you please kindly test the efficiency of the sample and post the results on your YouTube channel?

Why yes, Daniel, I can and I will. And sorry it's taken so long. We've been certifying our lab here, so I haven't been able to get to it. But this does look kind of like the 3M, but actually I'm going to say it's probably a fake just by looking at some of the details. Now we actually have tested 3M Aura before from another user submission. We had an eight year old write in to test it. And that may have been a fake, but it had the highest test score that we ever had, which is a hundred percent. Now I wasn't being fair because I was using the surgical mass test, which is slightly different. And if you want to find out how it's different, you can check out this link here I'm going to show you. We have now set up this rig to test for N95s.

And so we're going to do that in just a second. But before we do that, because I only have one mask here that I can test, I do want to point out a couple of things. 3M is all about quality control. And you can tell by the way that the packaging was cut here and here that this did not go through quality control. Another thing is in the way that this is cut on the back, the way that this is made by something called a horizontal form filled packing machine or a flow wrapper. And I just don't believe 3M would let this out of the door looking so shoddy. I mean, so maybe what this could be is an authentic 3M, but that authentic 3M, these were like ones that they were going to throw away because they were packed incorrectly and someone stole them off the line. The other thing that is weird is the color of the straps. I think I'm used to those being a darker color, but I could be wrong on that. So I'm pretty excited to test this thing. Let's open her up.

It does have the right, 3M has this really custom cool nose foam on the top there. And so it does have that. And it has like a really, really nice aluminum wire nose band. All right. So I'm going to open this up. I'm going to put this in our test. I've said this before, this is not the official way that NIOSH would do this test, using a TSI machine. This is just so I can do it faster and so I don't have to get my hands all sticky with beeswax, which I don't like. Look at that, done. I'm ready to test. It's so fast, so efficient. All right, I'm going to put this in the clamp and we will let it rip. This is a PFE machine, particular filtration efficiency machine. If you want to find out more about how this set up differs from our surgical masks, check out that link up there.

All right. So we're just going to do this live here, folks. I don't have any masks to play with. I don't have websites to go to. I will say this one thing that 3M does before we really jump into it. So this authentication system that they have, even if your mask passes that authentication system, they're going to ask you who the distributor was. And 3M has a list of distributors that they use. And if you have purchased one of their masks, like the Aura, from someone who is not an authorized distributor, which they would not be on eBay, I can tell you that right now, then they're going to say that it's a fake. So I've come across legit, legit, from 3M masks and 3M still said that they're a counterfeit because they want you to buy it through their distributors only.

All right, so let's go back to the machine here and again, we're just going to do this live. I don't have anything else to show you. So this is a two minute test. Again, NIOSH test is different. They're going to do this for 20 minutes. But look, I got places to be, right, I can't do tests all day for you guys, come on. First thing I'm going to notice is that like, dang, look at that airflow. That's awesome. The airflow resistance, hundred pascals, beautiful. That's a breathable mask. That's like one of the most breathable masks that we've had in this machine. And look, look at that efficiency. 99.93. Wow. That's really good. I mean, I saw some things on there that said that this wasn't maybe real, but I'll tell you what, if it's not real, it's a good fake. What I think it is, is again, I think it's something just by the way the packaging was kind of messed up, I think it's probably a real mask.

And what they did was they made a bunch of those things in their flow wrapper and it didn't meet, it's what we call and what NIOSH would call a nonconforming product. So basically it's something that they rejected as not sellable. And then somebody, probably someone who just worked on the factory floor, I know that these are now assembled in the United States. It's the only mask that 3M is making in the US. They're hiring like crazy. It's probably somebody new on the scene. Maybe the janitor or something. And they're like, they see all of these nonconforming products in a bin and they're like, they're going to throw them away anyways. I might as well sell it to somebody who can sell it on eBay or something.

But I do think, and we'll go back to it again, I do think it is going to protect you. That's my personal opinion. Because 99.929, that's pretty good. So maybe not an official 3M mask, but it's going to do the job. All right, Daniel. Thank you so much for sending this in, for typing up that beautiful letter. Really appreciate you. I hope you enjoyed the test.

I hope your wife has a good pregnancy. My wife was due last year in May. And it was like right when COVID was getting crazy and it was very, very scary and that was before the vaccine. So I could tell you that my heart goes out to you for that. And I hope the pregnancy goes really well. Thanks so much for sending it in. And if you're joining and you have a mask you want me to test, send it in. Got my machine back. My lab is ready to go and I'm ready to test your mask. So I'll put my address below and you can send me those masks. Thanks so much. And I will catch you on the next test.

Description

Submitted by a user, This 3M 9210+ mask gained high marks from our testers. While this is a certified N95 mask, its done in a boat style that is more similar to a KF94 than a typical cup-style mask. As one of the largest U.S. manufacturers, 3M has a track record for quality, with 99.93% filtration according to our tests.

It's worth noting that this mask's packaging seems off, as do the color of the straps -- indicating that they may not have come direct from the manufacturer. Remember, the best way to ensure you're not getting counterfeit masks is to buy directly from the manufacturer or an official distributor (check the manufacturer's website for that information).

Mask Construction

Mask Smell

Details

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Length

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Color

Blue

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1 comment

How come the store said they are out of N95 face mask I have been to Meijer, Walgreens and CVS , How could I get some of this mask direct from your company, I am 73 yrs old and has walking problem can u just please sent some on Face mask N95 army my address 30419 Westmore Drive Madison Hghts, MI. 48071 I really appreciate it very much and thank you kindly.,Remedios Helm

Remedios. Heln January 31, 2022