Weighing in at 2.2lbs and operating on a rechargeable battery, the Trend Airshield Pro should last an average of 6 – 8 hours between charges.  While I’ve never timed it to the minute, this range is rather accurate in my experience.  The dust collection it very good, with Trend estimating a 95% efficiency (though not NIOSH approved).  I’ve put this helmet thru the ringer, as they say, while building furniture that requires a lot of sanding with an angle grinder (a VERY messy and dusty situation).  While I can often still smell the wood being cut, I’ve yet to come away with the sawdust boogers since purchasing (and wearing) the mask … a good sign that it is doing the job.

Overall, the mask is fairly comfortable.  Snugged up on your head appropriately, the mask is well balanced and doesn’t typically interfere.  The few times I’ve had issues with the mask I found that it was not secured tight enough.  The issues I ran into in those circumstances were the mask falling off when leaning over, or dropping down into my field of vision.  It is also worth mentioning that though the mask is very light (2.2lbs), that is still 2.2lbs more than your neck is used to carrying around so the first day, or two, there was minor pains in my neck as it adjusted.  Luckily, after a few days the body adjusted and that’s no longer an issue.

Nowadays I use the mask for other tasks, such as turning on the lathe — especially during the sanding activities.  The filtration system not only keeps my lungs clean, but the mask also sends a nice cool breeze down the front of the face.  In the summer that little bit of air is a welcome treat, and in the winter it’s not so noticable (I suppose because the air is a heated and being circulated?).  There are times though, especially in the dead heat of the summer, when I have to give the mask a 10 minute timeout to let me cool off … while it’s cooler because of the breeze it provides, that doesn’t help the top and back of the head that is trapped under the plastic frame.

The Ear Defenders are an accessory item for the Pro mask.  They hook onto the side of the mask and when snapped down into place, provide decent protection for the ears.  While they function well, I probably wouldn’t buy them again.  They are (1) over priced for what they are and (2) not as snug to my ears the set I use more often.  However, with that said there is a great convenience in having them attached to the mask, so in some circumstances I still attach them for use.  One cool thing about the Ear Defenders is that you can “snap” them in the upward position, off the ear, when not in use.

Specifications:

• Airflow min: 5.6 cf/min
• Airflow fully charged: 7.06 cf/min
• Size of headband: 20-1/2″ to 24-1/2″
• Motor sound level: 70 dB
• Battery: 8 hr
• Weight: 2.2 lb
• Charger Voltage: 120 v
• Eye protection:ANSI Z87.1 (low energy impact)
• Respiratory protection (reference only): NPF50 to BS EN 12941 THP2
  Not NIOSH approved

The helmet / face shield:

The ear protectors:

The storage bag (a bit of a joke around here):

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The AO Safety WorkTunes are great.  Not only do I get my music close at hand — and no more blaring radio trying trump the machine noise and waking up half the neighborhood — I also get the added protection of protective ear muffs.   It’s amazing how much less stressful shop time is when your ears are protected, and how much more enjoyable it is to have the music playing at an acceptable level.  Another cool thing is that WorkTunes can stream music from your MP3 player (iPod, or whatever you have) via a connection on the bottom of the muffs.

Few purchases in my shop has been so quickly obvious winners.  Within a week of purchasing these I was wondering why I waited to long.  Every tool in the shop is now more tolerable (from a noise perspective) and I am more productive (less environmental stress means I can spend more time in the shop).

There is some room for improvement, but not enough to keep me away from the product as-is.  The items that I would improve would be the placement of the volume button, or at least the style of it.  It’s a easy-to-use knob currently and sits low on the ear muffs.  This would be good, but often times my shoulder rubs it and either cranks it up, or turns it down really low.  I am constantly fidgiting with this.  The other improvement would be removing the antenna that sticks out the top.  A minor nuisence, this gets in my way when I try to put a face shield over the unit for further face protection.  And the third minor complaint is that they don’t provide you with the cord needed to get your MP3 player hooked up … that would have been nice.  Instead I had to spend a hour running down to RadioShack to locate what I needed.

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