OfficeDepot BYD Care N95 Particulate Respirator

Overall Result

Filtration

Breathability

Standard

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Why did this mask fail?

Review

Video Transcript

Hey, everyone. Thanks again for joining me, the place on the internet where we test all the masks in the world. Today, I am very excited. Another submission from John, John Doe, probably not your real name, the BYD Care N95.

That's right, BYD got their N95. Huge factory in China, like just enormous operation. They can do, I think, 50 million surgical masks a day. That's crazy. They were a car manufacturer, electronic car manufacturer, and they decided when the pandemic hit, "We're not going to do that. We're going to figure out how to do masks." Probably one of the most advanced mask factories in the world.

They make everything right there in the same facility, from raw polypropylene all the way to the masks, and they're really good engineers. They invented the stuff from the ground up, and they make a pretty good product, to be honest, from what I've seen. Early on, there was a lot... They were in Costco, and they were doing Costco's brand, and honestly, there was fits and starts. Some of them were not meeting standards, but lately, everything I've seen, I've been pretty impressed with. But this is the N95, man. This is NIOSH. This is the NIOSH gold standard. I'm going to read this letter I got from John. Interesting perspective, Mr. Doe. Let's go.

"To Lloyd Armbrust. Can you test the face mask and N95 particulate respirator from China?" Okay, so he sent these face masks and then these N95s. I'm not familiar with these face masks. We're going to have to test the surgical masks in another video, because it takes about three hours to change the machine over to do the different types of tests, so this is set up for N95 right now, so I'll have to do that in another video. He's talking about, "Your surgical mask is a lot better for source control," he feels. That's the whole point of wearing a face mask, very true. "P.S., our health..." I just want to read this part to you. "P.S., our healthcare facility has over 1,000 employees, and they buy the cheapest face masks ever. Please test and destroy the face mask on camera, please, from John Doe." I can't wait to do that. Here you go, in that video, as soon as I get this machine changed over.

In the meantime, I'm excited to check out this BYD mask, because BYD, like I said, has been making some pretty good masks. Look at this. They're individually packaged, N95. Now, they're doing the KN95 design, or style, but they're putting a head strap on it and they're choosing to use staples, which I actually haven't seen on a KN95 style, or we would call this a fold style. Okay, very interesting. I like that. All right, let's put it in the clamper, see what happens here. Now again, this setup is different than the one that NIOSH would use to test masks. We actually test them in the same way that NIOSH does, but for this purpose, which is just me testing stuff quickly, this is a lot faster.

This is a PFE machine, particulate filtration efficiency machine. If you want to find out more about how this works, check out that link. BYD, let's come at you. I've got to be honest, of all the Chinese masks, I like the BYD company the most. I think they were really trying to do something good for the world, and not just trying to make a quick buck. That's just my feeling. I could be wrong.

Okay, so N95 is going to have the TC number. It's going to say NIOSH N95, and they're actually printing the lot number on every single mask. That's crazy. How are they doing that? Looks like actual ink. They've got BYD embossed on there. I don't love the KN95 style personally. It's just my style. Let's check out the ear loops or the head straps. Ooh. I'm really pulling on that thing. Man. Boy, you could put a weight in there for sure. That is not coming off. Let's try this. It's got that classic Chinese plastic smell. I don't know what that is. I've got to figure that out someday.

Airflow resistance, by the way, is about 180 pascals, which is... I've seen a lot better on this type of mask, but it's still within standard. Pretty good construction. A little tighter than I personally want it to be. It's got that duck situation there, you know? Like those ducks that you'd shoot at the state fair or something, but fairly comfortable. I've had softer spun bond before, but I like the color they're using. It kind of sets them apart, so it's not horrible. Definitely a more affordable solution. I'm sure that this is one of the cheaper things that you can do. But does any of that matter if it doesn't protect you? Let's check it out.

Oh [inaudible 00:05:17]. I did not expect that, not from BYD. Okay, 83.51%. 83.51%. That is not good. That's not good. That's not good. NIOSH, just so you know, the reason why you can really trust N95 is because NIOSH randomly will buy masks and test them, and if this were to happen, if they were to find this, they would pull the label. If I was NIOSH, and this was the national testing lab, they would be pulling this brand right now. Ooh, there's a lot of factors here, like this box was already opened. They are individually sealed, and they are actually sealed, so I had to actually open this bag. I don't know. I'm actually surprised to see an N95 do so poorly. In fact, this is the worst N95 I've ever tested, so I'm not really sure, John, what's going on with these, but this is not a good result. This is not a good result.

In fact, it's so bad that I'm going to do, as I have done a couple times, I'm going to do a test again. I'm going to test a different one, and just see if there was something wrong with this. Now, we're using NACL, which is a sodium chloride salt solution here. It comes out to about .3 microns. That's good, 98%. What was the other one, 83? That could have been a fluke. You know, what they will do, when they test for standards, they'll test like 20 of these masks, and then you list all of those tests, and you're allowed to be below some of them.

So this is great. Look at this. This one is 99%, much better. Still a little worrisome, because it's not like this was just sitting in the box. I opened a sealed pack here and found it. I'm still going to give them... When we do the official count, it's going to be this 99%. But yeah, it's holding this. And actually, the airflow resistance was a lot higher before too, wasn't it? That's interesting. So there you go, 99.1, and look, it did pretty well throughout the entire test, 99.181. Breathability is pretty good.

This gives me pause though, for the first time, about the BYD brand, because I found at the beginning, when they were getting things up, their surgical masks were variable. It wasn't always consistent, and the fact that this is happening with their N95 makes me worry. Now, I'm going to give them that 99% number on our official results that we post, but yeah, that doesn't make me feel good, that I had to do a test a second time to do it. But again, N95, NIOSH is so crazy about stuff, it is very rare that you would find an N95 that doesn't meet standards.

All right, thank you guys so much for watching. Thank you, Mr. John Doe, for sending this. I appreciate you. And if you guys like this video, give me a like or subscribe, or even better, follow John Doe and send me some masks. I'll put the address down below this video. All right, thank you guys so much, and I will catch you on the next test.

Description

The OfficeDepot BYD Care N95 duckbill-style respirator mask passed our particulate filtration efficiency machine test with a score of 99.10%. A defining characteristic of N95 masks is they have either head straps or head ties (no ear loops).

Mask breathability is determined by airflow resistance, which we measure in pascals. The target for adults should be around 150, and the target for children should be close to 100. The airflow resistance of this mask is 181.12.

This mask failed an initial test with a filtration score of 83.51%, but received the score above during the second test. Given the BYD brand has had consistency issues in the past, this is a little disconcerting. We didn't care for the stapled-on head straps either.

Someone sent us this mask for testing. Its country of origin is China. Check out our video review for more details.

Mask Construction

Mask Smell

Details

Brand

Product Name

Manufacturer

Country of Origin

Style

Strap Type

Length

Width

Color

Blue

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2 comments

I was aware that BYD had a recall of certain boxes that had masks that were not qualified to pass the NIOSH standards. I had purchased an affected box in March 2021. The recall of BYD masks only affected certain lot and serial numbered boxes. Both lot and serial numbers must match the ones listed to be considered not acceptable by NIOSH standards. Here is the link to the chart: https://cdn.byd.care/D2322_Field_Action_Customer_Notification.pdf. I like the masks and recently bought more. The manufacturer has corrected the problem and I double checked the boxes I received. No issues with my new boxes.

Bonnie W.H. January 28, 2022

Do you have any test result for the BYD KN95 and the level 3 surgical masks? I have been using their level 3 and recently brought two boxes of the KN95 with the 2006 standard. Seeing your video of the BYD level 2 mask failing is making me wonder whether the ones I have are good enough. Is N95 suppose to be leap proof? I also saw a youtube video where water is leaking from the BYD N95. I have seen people sent to you for testing. If possible what is the proper way to send and to where. If mine fail, I would need to find some other ASAP. Your videos are very helpful as there are so many brands out there. It is so hard to tell which one meet the standard. Look forward to hearing from you soon. Thank you very much.

AJ January 16, 2022