I commend the effort but these types of masks offer very minimal protection at best.

Well from all that I have read, the masks are mainly for those that have a cough, or sneeze. And they are quite good at protecting your snot droplets from entering the air, or landing on some surface to be picked up by an unsuspecting host. So the basic protection of the non 95 masks, is to protect others mostly. It of course would protect you from a direct blast from someone too, which happens in my 5 person bunker here all the time.

And since it is cold and flu season to go along with Covid19, there are a lot of people coughing and hacking. There were 100's of them in the senior Costco line yesterday, some of them that way every single day I would suppose.

Don't need a mask, maybe some running or cycling shorts!!!

Common cold sure, COVID19 not so much. I'm married to a nurse so I've heard all about the benefits of each type of mask.

https://www.livescience.com/...new-coronavirus.html

Can wearing a medical face mask protect you against the new coronavirus? It's a question many people are asking, including pet owners who are putting canine face masks on their dogs.
If it's a regular surgical face mask, the answer is no, Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, told Live Science.

From your article you linked, and what I just said in my last post;

People sick with COVID-19, however, should wear face masks to reduce the risk of infection to people around them, according to the CDC. Health care workers and those "taking care of someone infected with COVID-19 in close settings (at home or in a healthcare facility)," should also wear face masks, the CDC reported.

People are free to wear whatever they want, but it's documented pretty much everywhere that these common masks serve almost no purpose in protecting against COVID19.

People also don't know how to take the masks off without infecting themselves so again, without the proper equipment and training the benefit is minimal.

I ordered 6 today. And I will wear it when at the grocery store, running errands, etc. Even if I am now in the grandparent age group, I have no intentions of dying to save somebody else's 401K ;-)

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DFL > DNF > DNS

That's not true. There is little evidence that they work on COVID-19. That is different than saying they serve almost no purpose.

This Lance article, Rational use of face masks in the COVID-19 pandemic, outlines the the range of thoughts around the world on masks, as well as lists some of the studies testing efficacy.

The policy differences by country is interesting. It's just pure correlation (not causation) by this point. But it's interesting that the countries with strong "mask culture" are the ones that are kind of kicking COVID-19's ass. China, South Korea, Japan. And still no one can understand why the latter two countries have such "flat curves". They're not taking extreme quarantine measure. They're super high-density in places - like NYC is. They have lots of old people.

That manufacturers are using their production lines to make equipment to help is a good idea.
De Soto would be wise to have someone in the medical field look over the model and it's effectiveness.
In a country as prone to litigation as the US is, this would be any business concern.

One other thing I have been struggling with over the past few weeks.

As any individual may be shedding the virus up to two weeks before symptoms appear and more infections are happening from the local community than from travelers it may be sensible to wear a mask now, at all times when you enter anywhere, such as a shop, business or residence for any reason. Along with gloves or a disposable medical gloves or using a hand sanitizer after using or touching anything the general public might also use or touch. Wearing a mask, provided it is sanitary, may be sensible and certainly will put others at ease.

There are institutional and housebound seniors dying from community caused infections. They are literally the canary in the cage.
Here in Canada it started with a Seniors home and a dentist who had been to a convention....

What is it that makes something that satisfy a particular ASTM rating? Is it porosity, pore size, or something else?

I don’t need it to meet that certification per se, but i’d be more willing to buy it if it stated something like “we determined, using whatever technique, that our mask have avg pore size of x, porosity of y, and some other attribute z; masks having these characteristics generally would pass ASTM specification ABC, though we cannot guarantee that it does"

As it stands, its efficacy is anyone’s guess

The policy differences by country is interesting. It's just pure correlation (not causation) by this point. But it's interesting that the countries with strong "mask culture" are the ones that are kind of kicking COVID-19's ass. China, South Korea, Japan.//

I too have noticed that, and read several articles asking the same question. And to get back on my main point, the mask is absolutely effective if you are sneezing or coughing. Kind of doesnt matter what is causing that, it is just protection from you to the rest of us. I will however wear the mask in my everyday contacts with the outside world now. I wore one with gloves when I had to grocery shop yesterday. What is the downside really? I still do everything to protect myself if I had no mask, so it we do find out later their is some deterrent affect, then great. If not, nothing, I like those odds, only a win or draw..


And to liability, I think that was addressed in the latest bill being passed. It has much larger implications that Emilio and his little companies masks. And as far as I can see, no one is making any outrageous claims, other than it is a mask that blocks some stuff, pretty obvious and plain..

^^^This.

Most tech fabrics are designed for breathability. As such, they are fairly porous. The main benefit would be as a "baffle" to reduce the velocity/range of coughs from the wearer.

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ECMGN Therapy Silicon Valley:
Depression, Neurocognitive problems, Dementias (Testing and Evaluation), Trauma and PTSD, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Monty is trying to (1) do a solid for a pioneer in the triathlon industry that happens to make great products, (2) help promote an item that will have at least a small degree of effectiveness in stopping the spread of this horrible virus.

And, yet, it triggers a chorus of contrarian douche bags that have to crap on the product and demonstrate their own heightened medical knowledge.

STFU and help Emilio help others.

Most tech fabrics are designed for breathability. As such, they are fairly porous//

Yes, of course. But Emilio is not stupid, in fact quite the opposite. There are 3 layers of that fabric, so certainly not nearly as breathable as one layer would be. And he has a pocket where you can put in an extra layer of something else to make it even more of a barrier. Here is the description in case anyone has not looked for themselves;


This protective face mask is made with three layers of Skin Cooler™ 90 fabric.
Skin Cooler™ fabric is non-absorbent, and masks are made with three layers of protection.
The mask has durable stretchy laces that allow you to tie it behind the head or behind the ears.
It is reusable, machine washable and dryable.

This mask has a pocket pouch where you can place an additional flexible, or non-permeable layer of protection (not included).

They are useless because 90% of the people are idiots and have no idea how to use them safely. I was in a grocery store a few days ago, it was pretty comical. People are holding the masks on using their hands, taking them off to chat with other people, wearing them on their forehead temporarily and then putting them back on. Total shit show.

If you have half a brain they are effective and there are studies that prove it.

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What's your CdA?

Bought 2 of these. Thanks!

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What's your CdA?

Sure, but it's not hard to learn how to use them properly.

And DeSoto customers are, like the children of Lake Wobegon, all above average.

Kudo's for an entrepreneur trying to keep the lights on during a period of time that no one in the United States has experienced. I've made multiple purchases from Desoto and regardless of the effectiveness of the mask, my respect level has raised another notch.

They are useless because 90% of the people are idiots and have no idea how to use them safely.//

Good thing we are all 10%'s here.. (-;

But you are right, and when my wife went out to get some school supplies at the local dollar store, I gave her a lengthy tutorial on how to wear gloves, and a mask. I think a lot of people just put on gloves, then turn off their brain. The gloves only protect your hands, after that, they are the same as not wearing them. If you use them properly, they just help you avoid washing your hands or doing the purel thing. The masks are even more complicated. That's why I like that this one is washable, I burned through most my paper ones as they were intended, single use..

to be fair, breathability in itself is not an issue. The virus (either as particle per se or in a droplet) has a diameter, and pores smaller than that diameter would block transmission. For instance, pores in the original Gore-Tex is 1-6 microns. The virus particle per se is apparently an order of magnitude smaller and would pass through that. But there are also similar fabric (that is to say, ePTFE) with smaller pore size. No idea if one could breath through it though (or whether it could adapt to contours the way a surgical mask could)

Emilio is a top notch guy who sells top notch clothes. I just bought a skin cooler top (which I have been meaning to buy for at least 3 years), cute running shorts & a hat.

I didn’t buy the mask. I don’t know why. But I can see how wearing it would protect others. Wearing it also sends a message, “let’s not share a virus.” That’s good.

Anyhoozle, I hope others give Emilio some business. The guy and his brand are part of the history of triathlon.

Hello Monty and All,

Good idea. I have two on order.

While it would not be a good idea to get a mask if it would deprive a health care provider of the mask .... I figure health care workers are not buying these masks as they are not 95's.

A mask is a good thing in my view because if not ..... health care workers would not wear them ... and Japanese have been wearing them for 60 years or more and look at all the old people that live there .... most of any country in the world.

I am putting some activated charcoal in my mask pocket so it will not only kill incoming virus but also eliminate noxious toilet and human odors steming from the toilet paper shortage.

It will be a win win.

I was thinking that for future aerodynamics .... and looking cool ..... perhaps inserting activated charcoal filters into each nostril and dumping the mask.

For humans with small nostrils ..... the charcoal filters could extend beyond the nostril .... streamlined of course.

You may think this is a far fetched idea .... but think back to James Bond .... he escaped drowning one time because of the compressed oxygen cylinders in his nose.

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Cheers, Neal

+1 mph Faster

In science "effective against" is different to works in many situations.


Supplying enough pro masks for health care workers who work close proximity was a concern so lots of articles to slow panic buying on those. Plus also great topics for clickbait...

Outside sneeze range the easiest way to get a virus inside is touching one on a surface then touching your mouth, nose or tear ducts. People touch thier face all the time and a mask and (sun) glasses can reduce that risk factor

Like someone said, wearing one definately reminds you and people around you about cross contamimation and to wash hands

It might be handy to have a few so you can rotate them since they are probably not disposable...not wearing them too long, Keep in sealable plastic sandwich bags, wash them in diluted bleach(chlorine is anti viral)... wash hands and face after removing too

A very brilliant eye surgeon explain to my why this type of mask IS EFFECTIVE for protection. Virus particles are indeed smaller than the pores in this mask, however, virus particles are not normally airborne without being attached to a fluid particle, that is likely larger than the mask pores, and extremely unlikely to get through 3 layers of material. That said, the biggest benefit is limiting transmission. As also mentioned, be smart in handling a mask, wear gloves or sanitize hands with alcohol before contacting the mask.
Huge thank you to Monty for calling for support of Emilio, for all he has done for us, he has certainly earned our support!

Thanks to DeSoto for making the masks.
Before that came out, I decided to make my own.
I have two N95 masks left over from fire season (I’m a news reporter), and I wanted to save those for those now rare occasions when I need to be working out in the world.
But for daily use, social distancing walks around the block or picking up groceries where I can stand away from people, I’m using my own cotton mask.
I made six of them so I can throw them in the wash, dry on hot and iron to sanitize it.

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Sharon McN
@IronCharo
#TeamZoot
Clif Bar Pace Team 2003-2018

the handoff!



to your point, and just per my intuition, it seemed to me that if the virus is embedded in droplets - which is what I've been reading - that it's the airborn or surfacebound droplets that carry the virus payload. the N95 filter is for particles that are airborn, rather than traveling the galaxy inside a little spaceship of water.

if you are infected, and the mask keeps the droplets from disbursing into the atmosphere through your cannon of a sneeze or cough, good. if the mask keeps an incoming droplet from making its way past layers of fabric, also okay.

i could imagine a droplet drying. leaving viruses on the outside layer. and now the virus isn't in a droplet spaceship. now the virus is a little spacewalker, which is small enough to move past the layers of fabric as you're sucking in oxygen. that's a problem, perhaps.

so i'm intrigued by the concept of a pocket, inside of which you'd place a filter. sort of like your coffee machine. the grounds stay out. the water moves through the filter.

in this case, what's needed is the material for the filter, so that when you suck in air, you aren't sucking in little spacewalkers.

in my mind's eye, i see a test. the sort of test they'd do in a village in the jungle, where you have no high tech lab. in this test you'd place a semi-permeable membrane - the filter - and you'd try to move very small molecules, not viscous, with low or no surface tension, through a filter. is there a fluid that would act as a proxy for a virus? place the fabric, paper, whatever the filter is, in a collander, pour that fluid overtop, see if it makes it through the filter.

if that won't work, then i'd go to work rigging up a test that uses gas instead.

and with that, help, folks! emilio has been making facemasks since, oh, monday or tuesday. 3M has been at it a little longer. i'm pretty sure he'd love to have the brainstorming crowdsourced.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

Saw this on FB, Emilio made the evening news!!

https://www.facebook.com/...s/10223190573017018/

well shi!t howdy! as we say up here in cowboy country.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

I was thinking what to put in the pouch to make it a lot more effective, and I had an idea. What if you went down to Home Depot and got one of those air filters we all put in our homes, the ones that go in the ceiling to trap particles before going to the heat/air? They have different levels, so just get the highest grade one, and then you could cut little squares that fit perfectly in the mask. One big filter would make a ton of that size too, and that is what they are made for, letting air in and trapping particles..

Anyway just a thought, someone can poke some holes in my theory if they have better information..

I don’t see why people are complicating it. This isn’t to give to people in the ICU it’s to give to other people who don’t need the higher protection. Then you can ration the other levels of masks to more high risk groups. No one is saying they should use this in an isolation room.

If you want to debate how the virus transmits etc take it to the Lavender room

Help out Emilo and his employees

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All I Wanted Was A Pepsi, Just One Pepsi

Team Zoot, Team Zoot Mid-Atlantic

The current thinking is that the virus does not survive very long on 'soft' surfaces. 'Hard' surface like door handles appear to pose a much larger risk of transmission. Therefore trapping the virus in/on a mask can be effective in reducing transmission because it means a higher proportion of the virus will die before being transferred into the environment. From rough estimates I have seen even trapping the virus for ~10-20 min on the mask may significantly reduce the transfer of viable virus because they die off so much quicker on soft surfaces. This is not true of all viruses which is why the health advice on masks isn't so clear. However it may be that with COVID-19 masks are specifically useful in reducing transmission and that includes designs like the DeSoto ones without fancy filters.

Hey Dan,


Thanks for your well thought out input. I am trying to find solutions and answers as I have ideas for some other versions. This is all happening while my staff is making the pocket version. Is there a chance that someone on this forum may work at a filtration testing lab? I would be very happy to send masks for testing, especially if we can test possible filter options at the same time, and as long as the testing is of particles much smaller than the .3 micron limit for which the N95 mask is found to be 95% effective.


From my research I have found the Covid-19 Virus is COVID 19 has a diameter of 60–140 nm = .060 - .140 microns According to an article in the Journal of Heat Transfer the average diameter of water droplets in a steam turbine are between 0.2 and 1.0 microns. So on the high end size of the virus is still smaller than the low end of water in the form of steam.


Is there anyone on the forum with the expertise and resources to determine what other substance or element, heated to the point of evaporation, falls between the size range of Covid-19?


PS: If any of my findings are wrong, please correct me.

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Emilio De Soto II
Maker of triathlon clothing, T1 Wetsuits, & Saddle Seat Pads and AXS since 1990
emilio@desotosport.com http://www.desotosport.com

I think what your are describing is a half face respirator.
They work very well but OSHA requires that you be fit tested for use.

First of all, what Emilio is doing here is seriously cool. There's a mask shortage, and he has fabric, machinery, and employees, so he pivoted to supplying the need, helping patients as well as his employees and their families. Well done, my friend.

I have some basic-level knowledge of filtration, both medical and HVAC. I am by not by any means an expert and I don't work in the medical field (or in a testing lab), but I can see from these posts that there are some concepts that might be useful.

The analogy of coffee grounds is used above by dan, and Emilio takes the concept a bit further when he talks about virus size and filter pore size. Since coffee grounds in filters and spaghetti in colanders are part of our everyday experience, it is natural to assume that viruses in surgical masks work the same way, but they don't. At the microscopic level, the viruses entrained in the airflow are very tiny and far apart, and the openings in the filter are huge. Viruses fit through the openings. Particles are trapped in the filter media when they directly impact a filter fiber. Imaging a rock tumbling down a hillside in a meadow. As long as gravity pulls it, it will continue to tumble through the meadow. Now imagine the rock tumbling through a sparse forest. If the rock happens to hit a tree, it stops, even though gravity still exists. If the path of the rock is long enough and the forest is big enough, the rock should eventually hit a tree and stop, even though the openings between trees are large. In the same way, tiny particles are trapped by fibrous filters with large effective pore diameters. Once stopped, particles don't tend to disentangle and continue their journey even though air is still flowing. Emilio's design, with a porous fluffy fabric and using three layers of it, does seem like it has a good chance of being effective. But there is no way to know without testing, so he's on the right track looking for someone in a testing lab.

There is much, much more to it than the above, and I'll add a link to an article below. Regarding testing, there are many parameters including air velocity, humidity, etc, that wouldn't really matter if the entrapment mechanism were pores-smaller-than-particles, but which matter quite a lot when the entrapment mechanism is impingement.

For Emilio and dan, and anyone else who wishes to read further, see:

https://blogs.cdc.gov/...blog/2009/10/14/n95/

for a start.

I am far from an expert, but it's my understanding that viruses do not aerosolize as standalone particles in the air. They attach to water droplets or dust particles. I'm also not sure that using the size of a steam is relevant. The water vapor that people exhale is not anywhere near as "energetic" as steam - I believe it's closer to aerosolized water droplets than true steam.

So trying to beat the N95 filtration size may not be useful. They might have known what they were doing when they picked 0.3 microns.

It might also make it harder to breathe through. I know that really hardcore mil-spec masks have to use canisters to vastly increase the surface area of the filter in order to reduce the pressure required to pull air through. Even some N95's have one-way exhale valves to make it easier to exhale. Which suggests they may be near the limit of what's tolerable.

I'm just guessing here, though.

I just tried ordering 3 masks and my credit card info isn't being accepted. Wish you all the best.

Hello Steve B,

Great information. Thank you very much. To be clear, we are NOT using is not porous fluffy fabric. I do get your point though, and I am seaching through my collection of fabrics, some which are totally impermeable, in order to create my next device.

If you know or anyone reading this know of any testing labs and a contact person, preferably west coast-located, please let me know.

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Emilio De Soto II
Maker of triathlon clothing, T1 Wetsuits, & Saddle Seat Pads and AXS since 1990
emilio@desotosport.com http://www.desotosport.com

My order went through fine yesterday.

thanks for the heads up - ordered 5

Also it isn't necessary to 100% filter out everything. We need to get transmission rates down. Sure it would be nice to get them to zero but what we really need is to get them to below 1.0 (each person infects on average less than one other person). If everyone, meaning 100% of all people, wore even rudimentary masks when they went out in public this would help, even if it's not perfect. As you mentioned earlier, the most important thing is for the asymptomatic but positive people to wear them (and for the symptomatic people to fully quarantine). So yeah we don't need N95 on everyone. N95 are in short supply and also people don't like wearing them (though during the fires I discovered I could easily ride with one if it had the valve). But, if everyone just wore a cloth mask like a bandana, or something like the Desoto mask, when they went out it would help. And cloth masks are easily washed and reused. The fact that we are quarantining and not doing this simple thing yet is a travesty.

I hope they make colors other than white soon! My biggest use is wildfire smoke - but I’d love to have a few on hand. I have one cloth one you can drop a filter into.

I was reading up on diy masks and have found it very interesting that the articles I found from Asia emphasized non-absorbent material while most instructions from the us specify cotton. It makes a lot more sense to me to use non-absorbent material.

From what I’ve read vacuum bags are among the household items that filter the best so you could cut some up.

Just bought 4, two each for my wife and myself. As a cancer patient on chemotherapy, we have to be a bit more concerned than the average people on the street. The DeSoto masks are, in my opinion, better than the paper ones they hand out at the clinic (better coverage, more material between the outside and inner environment), and it won't take much to be more comfortable than a paper mask that gets damp in minutes and proceeds to sticks to the wearer's face for the duration!

Just ordered some for my family.

I ordered a bunch for everyone in our company. You could go to HD or Lowes and cut up a 1" pleated filter to insert in the mask to help with filtration. Standard 1" pleated filters have a MERV 8 rating which is good down to .3 microns. An N95 mask filters down to .1 microns. A merv 11 filter will filter down to .1 microns if you can find one at HD.

i have two. these are comfortable. CO just mandated masks in public and they should be non-medical as they want to make sure the medical masks are in sufficient supply for medical and first responders...Looks like many other states are moving to this, too. these are perfect, comfortable options.

I have ordered 10 masks from desoto for office staff and family

Am an MD in primary care and am running short on surgical masks, and just have a few 95's left. Circumstances over-all beyond belief and description.

n95 is rated to .3 microns as are hepa filters

There are multiple brands of hepa rated vacuum cleaner bags and are available at Home depot and Lowes

My local vacuum cleaner shop is selling individual hepa bags to insert into cloth masks. They are even selling 2 ply cloth masks with an opening between layers to insert a filter.


The desoto solution seems great, 3 ply, comfortable, washable, can insert a hepa filter cut from a vacuum cleaner bag, can easily replace the filter, and the mask form fits. Obviously not the best for icu and direct contact with known symptomatic patients, but offers an option for other circumstances. The way things are going it may be the option for icu...

I ordered some masks and I like this idea of inserting vacuum cleaner filters in the pocket.

my 2 masks got delivered yesterday, thanks desoto

What are your thoughts on the safety of having a HEPA filter that close to your mouth? Is there material (fiberglass, etc??) on a commercial (vacuum, etc) hepa filter that could separate and be inhaled, and be very bad for lungs?

not too concerned

the "filter" cut from the hepa vacuum cleaner bag sits in a pouch with fabric separating it from your mouth. That should trap debris shed from the filter.

I think the mask itself will serve the purpose of protecting others from your excretions without an additional filter.

I was looking for a way to offer further protection of the person wearing the mask from others who may be shedding the virus.

I spoke to an infectious disease expert about the use of the filter/mask. He thought it would be as effective as the n95.

Most recent info I've seen from a variety of sources is that cotton fabric is now emerging as the preferred medium for non-medically certified filter material. Do you have cotton in the shop, or is it all synthetics? If you could make these with cotton you could 1.Show that you're up on the latest research, and 2.Also sell me a few!

But it doesn't seem like there are very clear answers to be up on -- cotton as a cloth is better than some synthetic cloths in terms of virus life, but cotton becoming saturated is a shortcoming... some studies suggest the design (of non-medical masks) may be more important than the type of fabric.

nevertheless, a lot of people seem to want his. as is evidenced by what is on our front page today.

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Dan Empfield
aka Slowman

My wife has been sewing up some masks, using the "blue shop towel" method. Fortunately I had huge Costco bail of these in my shop from before the pandemic. Very easy to make vs. cutting up AC filters, etc.

I just can't see how this is the case. In a former life I used to be a member of our company's volunteer emergency response team. There were quite a few hazardous chemicals in the labs, and the local FD really had no idea or interest in properly dealing with spills of these chemicals, so we were the first line of defense in an accident. We used to practice and certify quartely on the use of PPE, up to and including SCBA gear and full hazmat suits. One of the things we had to do was an annual fit test for whatever PPE we were certified to use. That involved wearing a mask and doing various things like talking, exercising, etc. while they measured for leaks around the mask seal. It's pretty eye-opening to see how little it takes to get one of those masks to leak if it's not propery fitted and you're not careful and clean-shaven. It doesn't take much of some of those chemicals to have a really bad day.

My understanding is that N95 masks require a similar (though admittedly less rigorous) fit test to ensure they fit each individual properly. I just can't see how Emilio's (or anyone else's) sewn fabric mask, with or without a HEPA filter, can achieve a good enough seal to be equivalent to a properly fit N95 mask. Now, that's not to say that Emilio's masks are no good- I've ordered a bunch for our family and extended family and they're arriving today. But, it would be a HUGE mistake IMO to assume you have N95-like protection with these masks by adding some HEPA material to them.

Similar to you, I, too am a bit sceptical about that claim. At least some N95 respirators operate on more than principle of size exclusion, and these respirators contain fibers having electrical charges (aka electret fibers), and these electret fibers also help with the filtering. Conversion of regular polymeric fibers into polymeric fibers bearing static charges is far from trivial.

That said, similar to you, I've also ordered a few mask from De Soto, as the masks would fill in for occasions when we aren't around too many other people (e.g. taking a walk or perhaps even a bike ride).

Love my desoto gear and totally applaud desoto making masks. Must be getting a ton of orders so just wondered what kind of shipping lead time folks are seeing who ordered recently. Desoto saying at least 72 hours to ship on the desoto mask page and 4 days on facebook (as of april 4) Wishing best to all. Thanks for any updates

Took a week

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Favorite Gear: Dimond | Cadex | Desoto Sport | Hoka One One

I ordered my masks Thursday of last week and received them yesterday. 8 days for order to be processed and shipped from San Diego to Mobile, AL via postal service.

UPDATE: As of today, April 15, 2020, All orders are now shipping within 24 business hours from the time of order. This does not include saturdays and sundays so that our staff, who has been working 7 days a week for over 3 weeks, can have weekends to rest.

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Emilio De Soto II
Maker of triathlon clothing, T1 Wetsuits, & Saddle Seat Pads and AXS since 1990
emilio@desotosport.com http://www.desotosport.com

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Proud member of FISHTWITCH: doing a bit more than fish exercise now.

Just bought some. Understand the science but the skin cooler fabric is just so comfortable that I expect I will touch my face less and thus mainly protect others and then myself. Got pairs for the wife and kid as well. I'm a cheapskate but will buy DeSoto bc the quality really is insane.

Just ordered four masks. Pulling for Desoto to navigate thru these difficult times!

Thank you to you and everyone who has ordered. Please continue to spread the word.

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Emilio De Soto II
Maker of triathlon clothing, T1 Wetsuits, & Saddle Seat Pads and AXS since 1990
emilio@desotosport.com http://www.desotosport.com

I have two on the way. Always been happy with the brand so happy to support and have another good product.

The Desoto masks were not a good fit for me. I work as a hospital chaplain and have only been able to use surgical masks (tie behind the head) due to the size / shape of my head.The common yellow procedure masks won’t stay in place for any length of time because they are too stretched out - continually comes off my nose. With the Desoto mask I barley have enough material to tie the straps. When tied, it pulls it so tightly that the mask forms significant gaps to the sides of my nose and won’t stay in place when speaking.

Hello sir, We appreciate your feedback, but why not take a shoe lace or string and tie it to the straps of the mask and make it a more customized fit? or tie the sides and wear it around the back of your ears?

See photos on our product page here:

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Emilio De Soto II
Maker of triathlon clothing, T1 Wetsuits, & Saddle Seat Pads and AXS since 1990
emilio@desotosport.com http://www.desotosport.com

Thanks for the suggestions, but no luck. My wife and I had a good laugh trying the different tie methods. There just isn’t enough material between nose and chin for me. The masks work just fine for her.

We received our masks lat Monday, and I took them out yesterday to be laundered before wear.

Quick question re: suggestion on wearing them while exercising. Any suggestions on how to drink from a bottle while wearing the mask?

Thanks Emilio! I ordered six masks and two of the buffs. Arrived today and seem to worker great, not gotten sick yet!

Joined ST just to say thanks! I may have to try out some of your bibs soon!

Unless you are running or riding with someone who does not live with you, you do not need to wear a mask while running or cycling. As for drinking while on the bike, I do so by lift up the bottom of the mask.

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Emilio De Soto II
Maker of triathlon clothing, T1 Wetsuits, & Saddle Seat Pads and AXS since 1990
emilio@desotosport.com http://www.desotosport.com