Pollution Mask | Customisable | Totobobo

Some photos from Merapi, where 1000 Totobobo mask are being used by the children there.

Volunteer teaching children how to use Totobobo mask

Volunteer teaching children how to use Totobobo mask

Volunteer teaching children how to use Totobobo mask

test fitting Totobobo mask using a dummy mask

A boy wearing Totobobo mask and play

two girls wearing Totobobo mask

News photo showing people wearing cloth mask

Powerful eruption from Mount Merapi send out huge amount of smoke and ash on November 1, 2010. Photo by Sayoga

Over the last several days, Totobobo Masks has been busy trying to collect all the masks possible to give all the children in Merapi, Indonesia. Totobobo masks can protect them from the volcanic ash spewed out by the recent eruption and save lives.

“One TOTOBOBO Mask for every children of Merapi” initiative is the brainchild of Mrs Sri Widowati (Wido). Initially all she could find were small surgical masks in Singapore. For those exposed to volcanic ash, containing large quantities of airborne particles, surgical masks are not very effective. Fortunately, her friend Simon found us online and put Wido in touch with Totobobo.

Visibility is only 10 meters in the northern ring road of Jojakarta

Visibility is low and everywhere is covered with thick layer of volcanic dust in Jojakarta. Photo by Sayoga

Within hours, a donation fund was announced on Wido’s Facebook campaign, and cash started pouring in. Aid surged in through her
social networks as news about the disaster unfolded. But another problem stood in the way: transportation. Sending the masks by DHL or
Fedex to Indonesia could take several days. Valuable time can be lost if it gets stuck in customs. The most reliable way is hand-carried by
person. If the masks do not reach Indonesian children immediately, they will suffer longer. Just when that seemed to be irresolvable,
Air Asia Indonesia offered to ship 350 masks and 3500 filters to Merapi

350 pieces of masks and 3500 of filters, to be sent by Air Asia.

Special instruction and scissors provided

As of November 1st, Totobobo Masks had managed to collect 350 masks and 3500 filters. We prepared special instructions for customizing the mask for children and even included the scissors for trimming the masks to fit properly. From previous experience with similar
emergencies, we know that the ground staff have limited time and resources. The usefulness of the mask can be compromised if the
ground staff don’t know how to customize the masks for the children, or if they can’t find a suitable pair of scissors to do a good job. These little things seem trivial, but on site it can mean life or death.

Wido and her friend Din picked up the first 350 masks and 3500 pairs of filters on Friday, 29 October. They were on-board an evening Air
Asia flight from Singapore to Yogyakarta arriving the next day. According to the latest update from Wido’s Facebook, after some struggle through customs in Yogyakarta, all of the masks have been successfully delivered to the ground staff.

The volcano Merapi erupted again and everyone need a mask to cover their nose and mouth. Photo by Sayoga.

The volcano in Merapi erupted again yesterday, sending huge amounts of volcanic ash down the mountain. Totobobo masks for children is
desperately needed. We are trying our best to accelerate the production and delivery of masks in order to save the lives of Indonesians affected by this disaster. The donation account set up by Ms. Sri Widowati is still open to contribution. Please send your donation to the following account if you want to contribute, thank you.

Ultra-light air mask (Totobobo)

Kenneth from Adventure Nomad just post a detail testimonial of Totobobo mask.

Ken has been using the Totobobo mask since early 2009.

Hi Francis,

Here’s a picture of my filters after just 4 days in a bus in China! We spent 2 days driving in Sichuan to do our mountain climbing, and then 2 days more in the bus on the way back.

Totobobo filter after 4 days use in a bus in China

This is me in the bus.

Kenneth using Totobobo mask in a bus in China

There’s a write-up and a nice video on my website:

Regards,
Kenneth Koh
www.adventurenomad.blogspot.com

BY DR. RICHARD SAINT CYR, ON SEPTEMBER 13TH, 2010

Dr Richard Saint Cyr wearing Totobobo mask

From Dr. Richard St. Cyr’s Weibo

Real World Testing

I tried it around town for a bit, and the overall comfort is good. It definitely is less awkward-looking than the typical N95 with exhalation valves. I was pleasantly surprised with the seal and that my glasses didn’t fog up, although I got those mask lines on my face that other masks also cause. It’s relatively easy to keep on, with straps either behind the ear or behind the head (which always provides a closer fit).

I didn’t do any fancy technical testing with it, but on a bad, smelly day I put on the mask and instantly could no longer smell that pollution.

Also, there are a few other real-world advantages:

It’s not totally uncool-looking
It’s reusable and washable, and it?s easy to carry in a pouch (provided by them)
There are kids sizes
You can quickly cut the mask to fit better
The masks and filter refills are very reasonably priced

My Bottom Line

Totobobo didn’t pay me anything, and I get no income from them for this mention. I?m simply trying to find well-researched options to protect myself and anyone else from Beijing?s air pollution, and I?d be more than happy to review other masks as well and to publish the results. Last year I tried to find good studies on other brands, including Respro, but I found no well-designed studies on other masks. Does anyone have such information?

I think Totobobo is a good and affordable option for people. And a 135-fold drop in pollution is very impressive; even on an emergency day with the AQI over 500, the mask would bring your air to WHO-safe levels.

Erika Hansen, an Industrial design student from New Zealand, researched the use of respirators for cycling and running. Throughout her research Erika concluded the key challenge of respiratory protection design is to create a mask that people want to wear. She also listed a few additional challenges:

We invited Erika to take a look of our SuperCool and see how far it match her ideal design of a respirator mask.

After trying the SuperCool mask, following is what she has to say.

“I have to say, the SuperCool looks neat! It’s petite, slim and foldable for easy transportation. The transparency has a friendly feel but its only once you put it on that you realise how unobtrusive the SuperCool really is, to look at and wear.

Being a petite woman, the Supercool was a little long for me, which put pressure under the nose and excess material under the chin however it can be simply trimmed down with scissors. The instruction booklet enclosed with the mask could be improved if it clarified this attribute with a series of diagrams. The embossed website address confuses which way up the mask should be worn. My interpretation was that you would wear the mask with the text upright so it was readable, positioned under the chin. However the form of the mask suggests that it is designed to be worn up the other way, with the text under the nose. A clear visual in the instruction booklet could demonstrate this and save users from trimming the ends only to find that it’s upside down. However the ability for the user to create a custom fit, simply with a pair of scissors is great.

At first the SuperCool can take a bit of effort to put on but, unlike other masks I’ve experienced, you can whip it off with ease, without feeling like your being strangled by the tangled mess of straps.

On testing the super cool I have to say I was rather impressed! With personal design experience in the area of respiratory masks I can appreciate how challenging it is to design a mask that users not only feel comfortable enough to be seen wearing but actually enjoy wearing! The SuperCool will definitely benefit users who feel at all claustrophobic in half face masks that cover the nose.

I do have questions about the performance of the mask when it doesn’t cover the nose. For exercising it could be a good solution as most people tend to breathe through the mouth however this wouldn’t necessarily be the case for other users such as allergy sufferers. There is potentially a compromise in the performance of the Supercool as there is no seal around the filters however users can easily remove the covers and replace the filters themselves when required.

The SuperCool is surprisingly comfortable. I could happily wear it for a few hours at a time and occasionally become unaware of it. After half an hour of use I was left with light indents on the face but I view this as assurance of a tight seal rather than a down side.

It’s great to see that the SuperCool is latex free, a huge plus for latex allergy sufferers! The SuperCool appears to be a great mask for those wanting personal protection from particles and due to the size it would make a great travel companion should unexpected situations arise where you would benefit from low level respiratory protection against particles.”

Erika Hansen
Industrial Design
Massey University
New Zealand
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Editor note:
Thanks to Erika’s feedback, we’ve improved the instruction of the SuperCool mask and made the possibility to trim the mask more clear.
Regarding the orientation of the mask, some users achieved a better face-seal while wearing the mask in the upright orientation. Others find the upside down orientation is better. This has also been expained in the instruction sheet.
—————————————————-
Related posts:

SuperCool, the coolest cycling mask
Philippines: Cool picture of SuperCool
SuperCool respirator review by product design student
What Ross say about the Totobobo SuperCool?
Mike Mc Carthy and his experience with SuperCool mask
Protect your lungs when riding in the city

More advanced features of TOTOBOBO mask
How to customize TOTOBOBO mask to fit your face?

How to clean TOTOBOBO mask for reuse?
Buy TOTOBOBO mask

Riding in Seoul with a safety cyclist wing

A conceptual work as mentioned by UrbanVelo.
Cyclist safety is one of the main concern that stop potential cyclist to choose bicycle as a mode of transportation.
Many drivers, even some cyclist, believe cyclist enjoy the road at the expenses of road tax paying car-owners.
The “Cyclist Wing” enhance cyclist visibility and safety on the road. From the driver’s perspective, the “Wing” makes cyclist becomes 300% more visible, and therefore easier to avoid.
“Safety by number” is an important factor supported by a huge body of research finding. More cyclist = more safety for cyclist .
The “Wing” makes the visual population of cyclist in any city increased to 300% with the same number of cyclists. Driver need to drive more carefully due to the apparent increase number of cyclists on the road.

With the air-cleaning function of the “Wing”, cyclists make a tangible contribution to the environment, at the same time return the right-of-way to cyclist.
it is also a subtle reminder of the harmful pollution from cars. The “Wing” earn the right-of-way for cyclist from a social perspective.

The “Wing” will help to tilt the favor towards cyclists and turn more potential cyclist into real cyclist.

Do you think the air-cleaning-cyclist-wing concept can work in your city?

Read more :
cycling
advanced cycling mask

Totobobo mask effective protection from smoke particles

This is a common question and there is no fixed answer.

In general, the filter should be replaced more frequent if it is used for virus or during a flu pandemic.
For anti-pollution purpose, the color of the filter give an indication of the remaining effectiveness. Therefore one can decide when to replace the filter based on the color of the filter.

Test on used filters from users from India, Vietnam, USA and Singapore shows that it is possible to use the color of the filters to determine, apporximately, the remaining effectiveness of the filters. These used filter samples coming from different countries, and different shades of grey is observed. It also show the relative level of air pollution, for example, 7 hours of use turns the filter almost black and the remaining effectiveness left only with 50%. On the other hands, 17 hours of use in California turns the filter to the second level of grey and still have 70% of effectiveness remain.

Totobobo filter color chart and remaining effectiveness

Depends on individual needs one can change the filter according to the remaining effectiveness. In any case, the filter should not be used for more than 14 days after removing the pack.

Update 2018-10-30

For the urgent cases of earloop replacement, we have a better and easier solution now – just cut the pair of earloop from a normal surgical mask and you can replace the broken strap as shown in the following photo:

Surgical mask earlopp replacement

__________________________________________________________________

I received an urgent call yesterday. My friend Kenneth is flying off today to China for a 3 weeks mountian climbing trip. His want to bring along his Totobobo mask but the O-ring holding the versatile strap to the mask has broken. He need a replacement strap urgently.

Broken O-ring of Totobobo strap

Happy Kenneth with his new replacement strap- ready to go!

It was lucky that I do have a couple of extra straps around and Kenneth is also living in the same town. He drove over to pick up the straps to replace his broken one.

I heard similar incidents of broken straps recently from India. Plus another new customer wanting to buy the earloop mask with additional versatile strap (in case the earloop does not work for her child).

These few incidents are a tiny fraction of our sales, but the urgency case of Kenneth got me thinking: “wouldn’t it be a good idea to allow purchase of extra straps, so that people going for critical mission can bring along a replacement strap in case it break?”

What do you think? is it a good idea to sell extra replacement strap on our site?