Pollution is becoming more and more of a prevalent problem in the world, especially in the UK with the growing populace and trend of owning several cars per family. The Respro Techno mask is an anti-pollution mask designed for cycling, jogging or walking in an urban environment. It filters out nasty pollutants that cause discomfort and also leave you feeling more out of breath than you would in clean air. Specific the Respro Techno mask is capable of filtering out the following airborne pollutants:
- Hydrocarbons including benzene and pyrene
- Nitrogen oxides
- Sulphur dioxide
- Lead oxide, and black smoke
- Sub-micron particulates including pollen dust, rape seed dust, irritant dusts and clay dust.
Pretty impressive, right? I value my health above everything else, and you cannot put a price on your own wellbeing, so I was thrilled to know that the Respro Techno could filter out all of these contaminants from the air that I was breathing when I go out cycling.
Wearing the Respro Techno mask
To make sure that I could feel the full benefits of wearing the mask I left at 9am (Rush hour) for a challenging 11 mile cycle ride along a busy road and back right beside a rape seed filled field to test the filtering capabilities of the mask to the fullest extent I could think of. I usually have problems with my nose and throat from the car exhaust fumes along with mild hay fever.
Just before I left, I donned the Respro Techno mask and fastened the velcro at the beck of the mask, and tweaked the metal nose piece then it felt like a perfect fit almost immediately with next to no adjusting. It comes in two sizes; Medium and large, I’m using the medium as the Respro team advised me that this is the best fit, and they sure were right! If in doubt, ask them; They’re the experts! The Respro Techno itself is extremely comfortable to wear and doesn’t cause any irritation to my skin which is great as I’ve avoided masks for the past few years for this very reason.
Hitting the road with the Respro Techno mask
After lumbering my bike down the steps from my house I started cycling in a fairly quiet part of town and I already noticed the difference in the air that I was breathing!
Ten minutes into my ride I hit the first busy road that was also on a fairly sharp hill, speeding up to around 10MPH I’ve got to admit I did get a tad out of breath due to my average body, but despite wearing the Techno I felt no breathing resistance and the air flow through my nose felt unrestricted, clean and extremely pleasant. After around 30 minutes of cycling up and down hills through heavy traffic my respiratory system was clear.
Next I turned a corner and onto a badly surfaced road that’s just next to a field of rape seed which normally makes me sneeze in bursts of five to ten as I have to draw so much more air due to cycling along the poor surface. I did have my doubts about whether the Respro Techno mask would filter out the rape seed dust and leave me free from suffering, but it sure did! The last several miles were just as wonderful as my first and before I knew it I was home and I wasn’t suffering from the effects of hay fever, unlike when I was not wearing the mask! This is the best product of this kind that I’ve found.
I’ve since taken a ride through the big city areas on my bike whilst wearing the Respro Techno and it is perfect; I didn’t get a sore throat from the airborne pollutants from the automobile traffic!
As you can probably tell, I’m in love with my Respro Techno mask. You can read more about the different types of Respro masks as well as the Respro Techno here.
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