Look for authorized distributors. Unfortunately there's been an issue with counterfeit product being sold at the largest retailers ....
De jure: KN95 is regulated by China. N95 the US. On paper, all the technical specs are basically the same.
De facto: KN95s are nearly all earloop + folded mask body. N95 is all headband because the CDC thinks earloops are unlikely to fit properly (and therefore filter properly), and has a variety of cup and folded mask bodies.
Also critical to know - but invisible - the N95 standard is much more rigorous on ongoing quality control. With KN95, you can theoretically do things like get your buddy to give you a passing test report, swap out materials, skimp on y...
We started a site to make N95s available (aiden.health) because it's been our belief since March that N95s/respirators are the only masks that really work, and everyone should have access to them when we're in the midst of a public health (e.g. everyone health) crisis.
I've found the muddled advice regarding masking to be quite confounding, and the refusal of retailers to sell N95s to also be counter to the public interest.
Quite simply, masks need to fit, filter, and also be breathable. Filtering vs. breathability is the real design challenge with mas... (read more)