Just the bowls so far. The happy masks are more of the KN95 shape- I haven’t seen if any “real” N95s come in that shape? Or if there’s only the duck bills. I haven’t worn one of those since nursing school but it was a big sensory trigger for me lol, i think it must have fit weird somehow but I don’t specifically remember.
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I have a long face and like the kf94 shape, have you tried that? The 3M Aura is an n95 in that shape, though I haven’t been as happy with it as the kf94s I’ve tried in the past so far as staying in place over my chin. But it still works pretty well for me and definitely seals.
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Okay, ty! I’ll give that a try. I haven’t tried anything except 2 sizes of round ones and my happy masks.
I can’t get seals with round masks either – I have a very Roman nose and round N95s have no damn space for it. I have much better luck with the KN95s shaped similar to the Happy Masks.
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I’ve heard that term but didn’t really know what it meant- looks like I may have some of that going on as well. My nose is definitely ummmm “strong” you might say. That would explain a lot as well, why I feel like there’s a gap OR the mask goes into my eyes, even with pinching the wire in a bridge.
Ty for the input you guys!
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My nose is definitely prominent. 
Oh my god the mask hitting me in the eyeballs. I am so over that part – surgicals are like super attracted to my corneas, just wanna be all cozy in there. KNs are okay. My cloth masks fit perfectly but are also, unfortunately, made of cloth.
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Yes the surgical masks can bite me 
naturally that’s what PPE almost always was up until the pandemic. I hates it, precious.
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I’ve been moderately happy with the Powercom KN95s, though they do get awfully close to my eyeballs and my nose sticks out more than it really wants to accommodate. I have to tie the ear loops shorter or use the head strap style. It’s what I used to get on airplanes over the holidays, and I didn’t get (detectable) covid! There is an N95 mask that seems to be similar with maybe more space for the eyeballs, but it’s $$ and the powercom ones have been good enough.
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Had husband dig in for a fresh batch of opinions, and it looks like the Happy Masks are still holding up well in testing. Since they’ve been such a good fit for my face, I’ll probably just keep rolling with what I’ve been doing! I had a little angst spin coming out of isolation and being afraid I would Typhoid Mary my town without knowing it. (I waited longer than CDC requires, I was just worried about spreading).
Thanks all!
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Another mask question - Kiddo likes this style but the straps on the side seem to pop off really easily. There’s not a great way to reattach them that wouldn’t be irritating on his face. Any recommendations on similar style masks that are more able to stand up to a kid that’s accidentally rough on things? I have it on a lanyard so he doesn’t lose it during the day, but twice now he’ll feel like his mask is stuck and he yanks on the lanyard and the strap-mask connection is what gives. We’ve been ordering from Vida.
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I mean, if you can get one, the kid happy masks are like THE desired mask for that reason. Don’t fog glasses, easy to talk in, reusable, N95 testing equivalent.
ETA assuming he’s old enough to not lose it.
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I found this to be really interesting. I knew that cognitive problems in a pandemic are normal but this talks a little about why. Particularly found the “sameness of days” issue interesting; apparently it’s harder to encode memories when we don’t have anchoring events that are more unique than the standard work/eat/sleep treadmill?
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This also explains a LOT about being a stay at home mom.
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Or an elder caregiver. Explains a lot about my mental state when I was doing that.
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Indoor dining… how we feeling about that? Still real not safe, or a risk that we just slowly adjust back to?
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I have done it a half dozen times since last July. However, I have also only done it in Seattle, which has a vaccination mandate for eating inside, so the risk lowers. (I’m also vaxxed and boosted, have no risk factors, and no one in my circle in Seattle is immunocompromised/unvaccinated, so that also changes the risk management calculus.)
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I did it in finland before omicron, where the vax rate was very high (^80%) and vaccines were required for dining indoors after like ~6PM or something arbitrary. The outdoor temperatures were ~-4F/-25C so dining outside was not really practical.
I was only ever doing it outdoors in Portland last summer (pre-delta). The weather in Portland now is such that there’s far fewer outdoor dining options that look attractive.
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I feel fine dining inside, we’ve been doing it maybe once a month for a while now. I’m willing to take the risk to eat inside. Most people around here are vaccinated. I’m vaxed and boosted. But in all honest I’m not avoiding much of anything these days so I have a feeling my risk tolerance is pretty high.
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My boundary right now remains “masks indoors when around strangers, always, no exceptions” since omicron is so contagious, so I am personally not doing this yet.
Unless it’s “indoor” dining where the restaurant has their front windows wide open, which obviously is not feasible at this time of year. I did do that a couple times over the summer/fall though, figuring the ventilation was probably good enough to dilute whatever virus might be in there.
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