Shawmut N95

Shawmut Protex N95 Particulate Respirator - Cup Style

Overall Result

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Filtration

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Breathability

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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're looking at American-made N95s. Very excited to look at the Shawmut N95. This is the Shawmut, the brand name is Protex.

Lets open the box and put it in the clamp. All right. So I like the box. It's not the tallest box I've seen, but it's a good height. I don't know why height matters. I'm just saying it does right now. Not a soft touch box though. And when you open it up, it's got nice thick plastic. It is not sealed though. Again, with these cup style respirators, it's best not to apply extra heat source to them. They've got in the box here too the really nicely printed instruction pamphlet. All right, let's put that back here.

Now, again, talked about this, but the setup that we're using is a little bit different, kind of made it up. This is the NIOSH version of this requires you use bee wax and it's just kind of annoying. So this is my way to test things very very quickly so I can just move things in and out. It's not an official test, but it has the same exact results. How, you say? Math, math. And let's let her rip. This is a PFE machine, particulate filtration efficiency machine. You want to find out more about how this guy works? Check out that link. And we'll also explain how this setup is a little bit different than what we've done with our surgical masks if you've seen those before. All right, the first thing you're going to notice in here is this airflow resistance, very important number that needs to be under 250.
But if you're looking at what I'm looking at, this is incredible, this is incredible.

103, 103. That's better than my surgical masks. That is a super, super breathable. We just did my mask and we've done Demetech's and this is the most breathable N95 that we've seen, but we're not looking at the PFE just yet. For that I don't want to give away anything. Let's take a look at the website. So you can find these on Shawmut's website, so it's shawmutcorp.com. You can also find them on our website if you'd like as well. While we were waiting to get the approval for our NIOSH N95, which can take years to get, we've decided to start offering other American manufacturers on our website. Because a lot of people coming to me like, Lloyd, I need a trusted source. We'll hook you up. Let's take a look at the box.

So let's open this up here. They call this the all day comfort system. And I think the reason they call it that is because the airflow resistance is so fricking good, like 104. That's better than my surgical masks. So I'm mean, wow, very, very impressive Shawmut. I like that. Let's open this up. This is the other thing I really like about their mask. I don't know I just like like the look of it. It's got this nice spun bond on the outside. This is not rated as a surgical respirator. Demetech is the only one that I believe in our bunch that is rated as a surgical respirator, but it does have the... If you were to put this through the surgical test, it would pass it. It just hasn't gotten that certification. That could take another year to get on top of everything else.

Looks nice, feels nice, breathes nice. Does it fit nice? Let's try it. First of all, do this test. Wow. I don't know what this, it's like this rubber kind of stuff. These are awesome. I love these things. I mean, they're yellow, which I kind of like gives like the construction feel, you know? So, I like that. These things are not breaking. Not at all. Let's put this on. It's a little bit more awkward than some of the others to do. I know, I know I'm not donning it correctly. I always get emails. Look, I'm not really a surgeon, okay.

So I put that on. Pretty good fit. I could tell immediately the breathability is good. And I like the feeling of the aluminum. It's hard to explain. It's like a better quality than what I'm... It's better than ours. It's like very thick. I'm going to have to ask them what they're using. That fit is so good too. And your mileage is going to vary if you like this kind of style but like, I like this mask, it's really the mask. I just feel like it feels very fit, even though I'm wearing a beard, and I like this material for the straps. It's a good mask. I know I've said that. I keep saying that. All in all man, nice job Shawmut. That is very impressive.

Now a little bit about Shawmut. Now, like all, like a lot of the new mask manufacturers, they started during the pandemic, right? They the answered the call. We needed masks, they made them. But what's different about Shawmut than a lot of the new mask manufacturers, this guy included, is that they have been making medical fabrics for like decades. This company is over 110 years old. So when they rose to the call, they said, hey, the fabric in that's probably why the breathability is so good. And why the, well, we won't get to the PFE just yet. That's probably why it's so good because they're making all of that fabric in house. So they're making it in house. They're vertically integrated, one of the very few mask factories that's vertically integrated. Now we are also vertically integrated so I know hard it is to make your own fabric.

The difference? They've been doing it for like a hundred years, so they're probably probably better than me at it, probably. So, vertically integrated, that brings the cost down. And just having everything under one roof like that is just so efficient from a manufacturing perspective. So this is really the answer for America to be self-sufficient when it comes to masks is a product like Shawmut. So I really appreciate it. I think it's a great product, it's a great company, been around for a while. Super excited to partner with them to allowing us to sell them on our website. But does any of that stuff matter? The story, the background, any of that stuff. Does that matter if their mask doesn't test? Well, let's see, remember it has to be better than 95%. Boom, nice. 99.131. 99.131. And man, with that breathability, that is a really good mask my friends.

All right. I hope you enjoyed this. I've been kind of blown away. I love when I get in the lab and I put something in the clamper and it like, it blows me away, like how good something is, or how terrible it is. But in this case, we're talking about American-made quality. I really enjoyed making this video and seeing the results of this. So thank you guys for watching and stick with me. Again, we're testing all of the American made N95s and I want you to see them. I want you to see every single one. I'm going to be checking because I'm weird and I have access to your computer. That's not true. Catch you on the next test.

Description

The Shawmut Protex N95 respirator cup-style mask passed our particulate filtration efficiency machine test with a score of 99.13%. A defining characteristic of N95 masks is they have either head straps or head ties (no ear loops).

Mask breathability is determined by airflow resistance, which we measure in pascals. The target for adults should be around 150, and the target for children should be close to 100. The airflow resistance of this mask is 106.28.

This mask is one of the most breathable N95 masks we've tested. An all-around impressive mask.

This mask's country of origin is the USA. Check out our video review for more details.

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1 comment

The mask seems well made. It is the first mask I have tried that did not fog my glasses. As a retired nurse I always had to have a small size mask to pass fit testing, but decided to try this. Unfortunately it is way to big for me, so family members will be using these instead. If you have a small face, they may not fit.

Mary V January 14, 2022

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