Protect your lungs when riding in the city

Cycling is a mode of transportation of growing popularity and relevance in an increasingly green-oriented world. Worldwide, increasing numbers of commuters forgo motor vehicles and set out for work on bicycles. While riding a bicycle is a healthier alternative to driving a car or sitting on a bus because of the physical activity it entails, poor air quality in urban setting counteracts those benefits. Heavy motor traffic spews noxious gasses and loads of fine particles into the air and right into the lungs of bicyclists. Aerial pollution causes severe short- and long-term damage to the lungs and upper respiratory tract. Cycling in congested urban environments with high levels of airborne particulates poses considerable problems. In order to ride safely without breathing in harmful smog and soot, a protective mask that filters the air you breathe is the best solution.

Things to consider:

An ideal mask for cycling use incorporates a number of important considerations specific for cycling to ensure maximum effectivity:
• Comfort
• Filter
• Ease of use
• Cost
The mask should form a tight seal to the user’s face so as to limit airflow to the filters exclusively. The filter should be capable of keeping microscopic and plainly visible particles, as well as noxious fumes, out of the wearer’s mouth and nose – Not only to keep the lungs clean, it should even help to retain the quality of teeth whitening. Wearing the mask should not inhibit the breathing of the user during vigorous exercise, nor should the mask result in wearer discomfort around the bridge of the nose, around the mouth, or below the chin. Cyclists need to breathe more heavily than pedestrians, and high resistance masks (that typically do a better job filtering the air) increase strain on the lungs. An ideal mask for bike riders would strike a balance between filtration power and breathability.

In a cycling workout blood is pumped vigorously through the body and heat is generated. A mask that traps heat is a major problem, because it reduces the intake of oxygen and makes breathing more difficult. Unfortunately, most masks on the market are heat-traps.
After a long ride, one’s mask is sweaty, damp, and dirty, and the last thing you want for the next ride is to put on a filthy mask with who knows what growing on it. The filter should be quickly replaceable, and the mask itself should be easy to clean. There’s nothing worse than exercise equipment that smells.

For cyclists, quick and easy attachment and removal is critical. While riding in traffic, a rider should be able to take off the mask with a single hand and in a single motion and vice versa, so as to minimize time and distraction. Also important to consider is weight. Anything heavy or cumbersome will only make riding more laborious and difficult than need be. Most importantly for commuters is the cost factor. For those who ride everyday and need a mask for protection everyday, the mask and accompanying filters should be reasonably priced and easy to come by.

Other neoprene masks, like the cyclist-intended Respro mask, are heavy-duty equipment that make a dent in your wallet. In addition they are heat trapper and get smelly quickly yet not easy to clean. All the more so, it is larger and more difficult to carry around. While it is a top grade product for professional use, the everyday person would find it too much for everyday use.

Why Totobobo ?

While there are a whole slew of different masks out there offering a range of protection and comfort and price, only one provides the equilibrium of each of these factors that best benefits cyclists: TOTOBOBO

• Design: The mask’s special design and unique material allow the wearer to custom fit the mask to their face; it is held firmly onto the face by a pair of ultra-elastic and flexible straps. They are stronger and longer lasting than rubber. The material is an elastic polymer that is comfortable on the skin. One mask fits all, and can be trimmed with ease to fit any age, shape, or size. When not in use, it folds up to fit comfortably into a pocket. As for weight, it is a meager 20 grams.

• Seal: The TOTOBOBO mask forms a snug seal to the wearer’s face to ensure exclusive airflow through the filter. Unlike other masks, the TOTOBOBO mask combines high airflow with high filtration. The patented “body valve” design allows low resistance exhalation so that you uninhibitedly take in clean air with each breath.

• Simplicity: Whereas other protective masks need to be professionally checked for a proper seal that takes time, the TOTOBOBO mask is quick and easy to check for a safe seal to the face. Both children and adults can use the same mask, one mask fits all!

• Filter: The filters are European designed and of the finest quality, capable of keeping out particulates as small as .3 microns. Using static electricity to snag the particles as they enter the filter, the TOTOBOBO mask keeps out everything from motor vehicle and industrial exhaust, cigarette, woodfire, charcoal and incense smoke; biological components such as pollen and mold spores, dust mites and cockroach allergens; fine fibers such as asbestos; to common soil particles and dust.

• Health: The mask is anti-viral thanks to Biocote®, a silver-ion anti-microbial agent— an important consideration when the heat and humidity of the interior of the mask is taken into account. You can further ensure the cleanliness and safety of the TOTOBOBO mask. The mask is easy to clean with soap and water. Best of all, it is reusable. After each use, just replace the filter. The rest of the mask can be used many more times.

• Cost: As for economy, the TOTOBOBO can not be beat when it comes to bang for your buck. Compared to the leading competitors on the market, the TOTOBOBO is unparalleled when it comes to value. As the chart below indicates, the TOTOBOBO mask is more cost effective than any of the leading alternatives. And when it comes to purchasing replacement filters there is simply no comparison.

Prices comparison

Dust Bee Gone : USD 35
I Can Breathe _ : USD 22 …… Filter : USD 5
Respro Sporsta : USD 50 …… Filter : USD 20
TOTOBOBO __: USD 20 …… Filter : USD 1.6

Better yet, the TOTOBOBO mask is reusable, unlike many other masks of its kind. Buy a mask once and just replace the filters when needed. Save money and time

User testimonials:

Cyclists worldwide swear by the effectiveness and usefulness of the TOTOBOBO mask when it comes to riding in inclement atmospheres. Here are the testimonials of a few elated customers from around the globe.

Herve Bonnaveira and Goska Romanowicz of Develotour pioneered an interesting way to measure and visualize air pollution. On a yearlong bicycle trek across the continent, the couple traveled through several Asian countries. They visited a number of major Asian metropolises and experienced firsthand their respective air qualities. In each locale they wore TOTOBOBO filtration masks to protect their lungs from the polluted air. They wrote to us saying:

“The TOTOBOBO anti-pollution masks came in very useful in India! We’ve tested the masks in Delhi, the Indian countryside and Calcutta – used one filter for a day’s cycling in each place – and we got varying shades of brown….even far from cities and factories the air is very polluted.”

Herve and Goska appreciated the high quality of respiratory safety they enjoyed by using the TOTOBOBO mask on their journey. When they lectured to students along their trip about air pollution awareness, they also informed them of the TOTOBOBO mask’s unmatched quality and value.

Nagaraj Pudukotai of Bangalore, India tested out the TOTOBOBO mask for his daily commute to work by bicycle. The air in Bangalore is terribly polluted, and within forty five minutes of use the filters were already black! Thankfully, however, that pollution remained in the filter and not in Nagaraj’s lungs. He commented that

“It is very effective. It seals your nose and mouth completely, although you can smell intense odors like that of petrol exhaust and diesel exhaust when you are very close to a vehicle, the emissions do not get in your lungs.”

Montgomery Tufeld of New York City find the TOTOBOBO mask invaluable. Riding around the city daily on his bicycle delivery route, he comes across a lot of smog and dust in traffic. Before starting to wear a pollution mask he would come home every day with a sore throat and blackened mucus from all the soot that had accumulated. He tried a number of different brands before hearing about TOTOBOBO. Since changing he has never been more satisfied.

“The mask fits better than anything else on the market. It is snug and comfortable, and easy to put on and take off when riding through traffic. I barely notice it is there.”

Choose Totobobo for cycling safety

Around the world cyclists are adding another article of safety equipment to the standard helmet and gloves: the pollution mask. When you’re looking for a mask to ward off pollution, look no further than TOTOBOBO.