FIGS FIONx Protective Mask: a comfy mask with replaceable filters
If you are sick of wearing cheap, hospital issued masks, then the FIGS FIONx may be the right mask for you.
The FIONx Protective Mask is the second product review that I have done from the FIGS brand and something that I was excited to review. I had mainly been using cheap, hospital-provided medical masks during work and around town on my off days and was getting sick of the ear “string” rubbing behind my ear. I had seen a physician wearing the FIGS FIONx mask at work and liked the appearance of it, so I ordered one online at the same time I ordered a pair of compression socks.
First Impressions
I put the mask on straight out of the bag and immediately noticed 2 things: 1) the mask is super soft, and 2) it didn’t fit me. Now let me explain this a little bit further. On the FIGS website, they offered this mask in both a S/M fit and a M/L fit. Normally, I would have picked a medium-large size but their description of the sizes said that the S/M was meant to wear normally, while the M/L was meant to wear over and N95 mask. While I would normally buy a M/L since I have a bigger head, I went ahead and followed the website because I knew I was only going to wear this without an N95 and I didn’t want it to be too big. Other than the size, the mask seemed really high quality out of the bag and I really liked the colors.
Comfort/Fit
Like I said above, I ordered the wrong size and thus the mask is really tight around my ears, even pulling my ears forward when I put the mask on. I did end up rigging it with an “ear saving” device and a couple rubber bands and it actually works pretty nicely. With this setup, the mask forms nicely around my face and the bendable nose wire allows for precise adjustments to ensure a proper fit. One thing I noticed on the Figs website is that even the M/L size has the exact same size ear loops. So I’m not even sure that the M/L would fit me any better than the S/M because the actual cloth portion fits great, it’s just the short loops that end up pulling on my ears tightly. I really wish Figs would have designed this with adjustable ear loops (which I’ve seen on other brands of masks) to ensure a nice fit for those of us with bigger heads.
Construction
The quality of materials used in this mask are clearly high quality. Just putting the mask on, you can immediately feel the softness of the mask and the form-fitting shape of the mask. One additional feature the FIONx mask has that others don’t is a slot on the inside of the mask where you can insert replaceable filters. Figs provides 3 replaceable PM2.5 BFE (Bacterial Filtration Efficiency) activated filters offering 95% bacterial filtration efficiency with each mask. The only issue I have with this is that they advertise the “wear time” for each filter to be 12 hours. For a nurse, that’s 3 shifts and now you are out of filters. They do sell extra filters, but at $5 for a 5 pack, I highly doubt many people will shell out the money for replacements filters every 5 shifts. Nonetheless, a good option if the extra protection is worth it to you.
Conclusion
I was really excited to get this mask and hopefully replace the cheap surgical masks I had been using at work. Unfortunately, the sizing issue has made it really difficult for me to consistently use this mask at work. I did manage to rig it up with a plastic ear-saver and a couple rubber bands, but this makes it cumbersome to take off and put on, and I usually end up just throwing on the regular surgical mask like I used to. If you have a smaller head/face structure and want to give this a shot, I would definitely recommend it. If you have a bigger head, try the larger size and let me know how it works out for you! Unfortunately, this item isn’t available through Amazon so I don’t have a link, check out the FIGS website if you’re interested in buying. Scroll below for more pictures.
