BreatheX™ Nose Filters
For the quick cuts where the mask comes off and you hold your breath. The rip you didn't set up for, the sand before stain, the miter dust you walk through twenty times a day.
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BreatheX Woodworker Bundle 2
Over 500,000+ customers protecting their lungs.
Is this a NIOSH-certified respirator?
Is this a NIOSH-certified respirator?
No. NIOSH covers respirators that fully seal the airway. BreatheX does not seal, and that is the point: there is nothing on your face, so there is nothing to fog your glasses.
3M Advanced Electret Media, tested by LMS Technologies under modified ANSI/ASHRAE 52.2.
For regulated work, or a long hardwood session, wear your written-program respirator. The honest answer matters more than the technically impressive one.
What about mouth breathing?
What about mouth breathing?
Nose-only does not cover mouth breathing. When you are arc-welding stainless, breathing heavy through the mouth, or shouting across the shop, the air going past your lips bypasses BreatheX. For those moments, layer with a respirator. BreatheX covers the rest: cleanup, talking, walking, breaks, lighter tasks. That is 60 to 80 percent of the day for most workers.
How efficient is the filter?
How efficient is the filter?
Depends on particle size and breathing rate. LMS Technologies (modified ANSI/ASHRAE 52.2) data:
- 1 micron particles: 40 to 50% capture
- 5 micron particles: 70 to 85% capture
- 10 micron particles: 75 to 87% capture
- Gentler breathing: higher capture
3M's published data for the underlying media platform: 92 to 99% capture for 1 to 10 micron at typical low-flow airflow. The respirable range (under 5 micron) is the size that reaches the gas-exchange region of the lungs.
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How they work
INSIDE YOUR NOSE. REPLACES NOTHING.
1. Find your fit
4 sizes. Check our Sizing Quiz. Most start with Medium.
2. Insert and forget
About 30 seconds in, you stop feeling them. Weld, grind, cut, lift, climb. They hold position.
3. Check the filter
End of the session the white centre will be darker than it went in. That is what it caught instead of you drawing it in.
Who wears them
The cuts you're proudest of are the ones you do bare.
The quick rip you didn't set up for. The sand before stain. The miter dust you walk through twenty times a day. The MDF you can taste at the back of your throat. The router work in a client's living room with a tarp down. Nobody puts a respirator on for any of that.
The mask fogs. So off it comes, and you hold your breath.
Put the mask on and the lens fogs, so you can't see the line, and a crooked cut isn't an option on work you care about. Take it off and you can see, but now you're holding your breath through the cloud. Two bad choices, and you pick the same one every time, because you'd sooner breathe the dust than wreck the piece. So the cuts where you do your best work end up being the cuts you do with nothing on. Not carelessness. A design decision somebody made about a face that isn't yours.
✓ Catches fine sawdust, hardwood particulate, and the dust that hangs in the light long after the tool stops.
✓ Nothing sits on your face, so there is nothing to fog and no straps to fight with.
✓ Rips, crosscuts, miters, router work, the quick cut you didn't set up for.
Sanding is where the fine stuff comes from.
The cut throws chips you can see. The sanding throws the fraction that hangs. Run a random-orbital for an hour on oak or walnut and the shop light fills up with dust fine enough to still be airborne when you come back from lunch.
MDF is worse, and you already know it, because you can taste it at the back of your throat that evening.
Your collection grabs what is right at the tool. It was never designed to clean the room you're standing in.
✓ Catches fine sawdust, MDF, oak and hardwood particulate, and lacquer overspray.
✓ Sits under your dust collection, not instead of it. Cyclone, shop vac, boom arm, enclosure, or the box fan with a furnace filter taped to the back.
✓ Wear it standalone on the quick jobs, or layer it under a respirator for a long hardwood session.
In a client's house, nobody wants to see the respirator.
Trim work in an occupied home is its own problem. There's a tarp down, the family is in the next room, and you're cutting and sanding in a space somebody lives in.
Strapping on a half-mask changes how the job feels to the person paying for it, so most guys don't. Same on the small jobs: the one door to hang, the shelf to fit, the twenty minutes that doesn't justify the setup. Those add up to most of the week.
✓ Nothing visible on your face during client-facing work.
✓ No straps, no clips, nothing to take on and off between rooms.
✓ A full session on one pair, up to 8 to 12 hours in normal shop air, closer to 4 in heavy dust.
Where BreatheX fits when the collector is off and the mask is on the bench.
Dust collection does its job at the tool. Your respirator does its job for the long hardwood session. The rest of the day is the quick rip, the sand before stain, and the miter dust you walk through twenty times, and that is what BreatheX is for. Not a replacement. The layer between your gear and nothing.
| Moment | BreatheX | Nothing |
|---|---|---|
| The quick cut you didn't set up dust collection for | Yes | No |
| Sanding, sweeping, and walking back through what's still hanging | Yes | No |
| 3M Advanced Electret Media, independently tested by LMS Technologies | Yes | No |
| Catches respirable particles, under 5 micron, the fraction that stays airborne longest | Yes | No |
| Fits under a face shield, ear defenders, or a half-face respirator | Yes | No |
| Wearable for 8 to 12 hours with no fogged glasses and no strap marks | Yes | No |
Not compared to your respirator or your dust collection, because we are not the same thing. Collection is your first line and should stay your first line. For a long hardwood session or any regulated work, wear your written-program respirator. BreatheX is the layer for the in-between, where you currently wear nothing.
Why we built this
FROM A BLACK PRE-FILTER TO A PAIR IN EVERY SHOP DRAWER.
Somebody showed me his respirator pre-filter after one hard day. It was black. One day. Then he told me most guys don't even wear one. Too hot.
Fogs your glasses so you can't see what you're doing. Won't seal over a beard. So the good gear sits on the bench and people work with nothing and treat what comes out of their nose afterwards as normal.
Respirators work. But gear that doesn't get worn doesn't protect anybody. I built BreatheX for that gap, the stretch where the real thing is off and there's nothing in its place. Not a replacement. The filter for when it's off.
"Your lungs are the one tool you can't replace."
- Chris, founder
EVERYTHING ELSE WORTH ASKING.
Can I wear these under a face shield or respirator?
Can I wear these under a face shield or respirator?
Yes, zero added bulk. Face shield, ear defenders, half-face or full-face respirator. Nothing sits on your face, so nothing interferes
Does it restrict breathing?
Does it restrict breathing?
No cartridge to pull air through. The electret media filters by static charge rather than by packing the material tight, so airflow stays open. Pull a full breath and go back to the bench.
Does facial hair affect fit?
Does facial hair affect fit?
No. They sit just inside your nostrils, not against your skin, so there is no face seal to break. Full beard, three-day stubble, none of it matters. Which is the point, because your half-mask was never really sealing over that beard either.
How long does one pair last?
How long does one pair last?
One session, up to 8 to 12 hours in normal shop air. Closer to 4 hours when you are sanding hardwood or cutting MDF. The centre will look visibly darker at the end. Replace daily for best filtration.
Is it HSA eligible?
Is it HSA eligible?
We are not going to claim it is. This is a consumer product, not a medical device, and workplace PPE usually is not eligible without a letter of medical necessity. Ask your benefits administrator first. If they want documentation we will send an itemized receipt the same day.
What if I get the wrong size?
What if I get the wrong size?
We send the right size free. No returns needed. Keep the originals or give them to a coworker.
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