The SIP Airtight Drinking Valve looks like yet another useless mask gimmick, especially when they show it on a leaky surgical mask. But could it really work?

I'm a bit late to the party in testing this valve. Amanda Hu and Barry Hunt on Twitter have tested the valve and are happy with it. So I decided to go a step further and compare using the SIP valve in your N95 mask to drink using a straw to just putting a straw under your mask to take a drink, testing with a PortaCount mask fit testing machine. Is the SIP valve really better at keeping respirator-grade masks like N95s from leaking?

And, at the end in an extended dance-remix length bonus round for mask nerds such as myself, I torture tested the SIP valve with 100 insertions of the supplied small diameter straws, and then 100 insertions with regular-sized bendy straws and tested with the PortaCount machine.

The key to understanding the test results numbers is that they are a "Fit Factor", which is how much cleaner the air is inside the mask than outside. If there was a concentration of 100 particles/cc outside the mask and 1 inside, that would be a fit factor of 100. 100 is the fit score required to pass an OSHA mask fit test. Higher numbers are better.

The tests:

2:30 Stock 3M Aura control - FF 382
4:50 SIP Valve closed - FF 332
5:45 SIP Valve drinking with the supplied small straw - FF 34
8:04 SIP Valve with a plugged small straw inserted in the valve #1 - FF 105 (I think the mask was leaking a bit at the nose bridge)
8:28 SIP Valve with a plugged small straw inserted in the valve #2 - FF 230
9:14 Drinking using a bendy straw under the mask - FF 4.6
13:32 SIP Valve – After 100 Small Straw Insertions - FF 209
14:12 SIP Valve – After 100 Small Straw Insertions + Cap - FF 387
13:45 SIP Valve – After 100 Small Straw Insertions #2 - FF 433
15:30 SIP Valve – After 100 Small + Large 100 Straw Insertions - FF 213
16:45 SIP Valve – After 100 Small + Large 100 Straw Insertions + Cap #1 - FF 331
17:00 SIP Valve – After 100 Small + Large 100 Straw Insertions #2 - 238
17:14 SIP Valve – After 100 Small + Large 100 Straw Insertions + Cap #2 - 400
17:27 SIP Valve – After 100 Small + Large 100 Straw Insertions #3 - 320

If it works, the SIP valve could be a good way to be able to stay hydrated on long trips while still minimizing risk. I tried to give some good approximations of real-world use in my testing.

There was some variability in the test results in high scores between around 200-400 I'm not really sure what that was about. All of those scores were good, passing scores, and sometimes just how the mask fits on your face can affect the fit factor between tests. The difference between a fit factor of 200 and a fit factor of 400 is a 1/4 of a percent leakage, so it's pretty easy to fluctuate that much.

The SIP airtight drinking valve works in any kind of filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) such as an N95, KF94, KN95, FFP2, etc., but you'll get the most benefit from it if you use a mask that fits really well. N95s have headbands, which can help them fit better than earlobe respirators. But either way, good fit is the key to getting the most from your respirator-grade mask.

This is the official SIP site:

https://sipmask.com/

Keep in mind that if you alter an N95 mask it will no longer meet NIOSH or OSHA requirements. Installing a SIP valve, or even just tying knots in the headbands to tighten them for better fit, negates the N95's certification and the mask can no longer be used to meet OSHA requirements for mandatory respirator usage at work. It is totally legal to modify your mask however you want for your own use outside of required use in a workplace, but the modifications could make your mask work better or worse, and you might not know which without testing.

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/resou...