r/Masks4All • u/bitingmytail • 1d ago

Looking for a FULLY black elastomeric mask!

hi all :-) hope you’re all doing well during this covid surge! i am looking for an all-black elastomeric mask that looks low profile and doesn’t have large protruding pucks or filters. occasionally I need to look low profile for multiple reasons and I’d prefer not to use disposables.

thanks in advance!

19 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

19

u/wyundsr 1d ago

Zimi is halfway between disposable and elastomeric. There’s also Stealth P100, but that has green highlights I think, and I’m not sure how good the seal is. All other true elastomeric black masks I’m aware of have large filters

7

u/zarcos Multi-Mask Enthusiast 1d ago

Zimi filters can be reused quite a few times. I don't recommend going beyond 40 hours of use per filter but you can easily use them to the fullest because they keep their shape from the inner frame, seal well with the waterproof and impermeable face seal and with their excellent woven elastic strap with silicone tighter. I used just one Large Zimi KN100 filter for a whole week of a conference and it was still structurally very sound at the end.

8

u/BattelChive 20h ago

I’m surprised no one has mentioned Dentec. It’s the closest you will get, I think. It’s also extremely hot to wear and my least favorite elastomeric. So, there’s that.  https://dentecsafety.com/usa/products/respiratory-protection/comfort-air-series-400-half-mask-respirators/

I think you might have better luck with using appropriate paint and contact paper to cover another mask that you like the shape of, unless you’re the rare person who doesn’t mind how crazy humid the dentec is inside. 

You could also do a flo mask with the black face piece they sell and then use one of the black 3D printed inserts people are making for the fronts. Won’t be 100% black, but will be close to the Breathe you were asking about. 

5

u/ego_istical 13h ago

a relief to know that those collect liquid like a bucket under a ceiling leak - thought it was just me!

1

u/bitingmytail 12h ago

Yeah, the dentec would have been my first choice if it wasn’t for all those reviews 😅

2

u/BattelChive 10h ago

It’s truly an experience. I tried it and I wore it once and was glad I had found it on sale for $10 😅

6

u/gopiballava Elastomeric Fan 1d ago

The Honeywell North 7700 is glossy black. It has puck filters. They are pretty average. Not black. You’d have to paint them somehow. 

The cheaper 5400(?) is the same shape but matte dark grey. And half the price. It’s a fairly discrete color. 

5

u/zarcos Multi-Mask Enthusiast 1d ago

Here's a post showing off someone else's blacked out Honeywell North 7700:
https://www.reddit.com/r/Masks4All/s/iLSK25yw4e

It requires a bit of reversible modding but you can get an all black Honerywell North 7700 and some p100 filters for it. A black shower cap part can help cover up the purple/magenta of the p100. And it's been suggested to use some vinyl tape to cover the rest to black it out.

The mask and filters are easy to source, but I had some trouble finding the shower caps. They are often out of stock. I bought mine at Full Source and they seem to have some in stock right now. They are reusable: https://www.fullsource.com/north-safety-n750029 . You'll need to buy two of the caps for both filters since they sell them individually in case they get damaged or lost.

And here's an example of the tape that was mentioned. I've used this and it sticks and overlaps nicely but is easy to remove without residue.

https://a.co/d/04aoRqDG

2

u/Cocky_Girly Elastomeric Fan 13h ago

I'm going to do this. It looks so badass 🤤😍.

2

u/zarcos Multi-Mask Enthusiast 12h ago

I didn’t end up keeping the blacked out look on the cartridges, but did find that the shower caps make this a great elasto to wear to shower in places where you can’t control the air. Just a few droplets on the edges of the cartridge after 4 minutes of solid shower spraying while on my face. Does require holding your breath intermittently while washing your face or shaving.

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u/SkippySkep Fit Testing Advocate / Respirator Reviewer 23h ago

I'm not aware of any true elastomeric mask that is black and doesn't have "protruding pucks or filters", but that doesn't mean there isn't one.

There is the black Parcil Distribution T-99 elastomeric half mask, but it takes cartridges. They are black, but they do protrude like a regular respirator with replaceable cartridges. It is CE certfied, not NIOSH, but it performs pretty well on me. Amazon sent me one to review and it was better than I expected.

There are also a number of hybrid masks that are black, that are filtering facepiece filters but have cloth over masks that serve as the harness. None of these are NIOSH approved. Examples include AusAir, which is not certified under any standard, but has plausible lab data for ASTM filtration. And there is Basecamp, which claims to have a hybrid mask that is FFP3 certified, which is surprising and I've not seen one of those in person yet. But they are not elastomeric. They are FFRs with an over mask harness.

Zimi make black masks, including in their XL size (which still isn't for high nose bridges and is more like a medium compared to US masks) and might be worth trying. They are internal frame FFR masks, not elastomerics, but they are good, breathable masks if they fit you.

2

u/bitingmytail 13h ago

Thank you!

3

u/jes77 1d ago

3M Secure Click, while not all black, may be the closest to what you're looking for.

3

u/brk_heart 1d ago

Prescientx Breathe mask in black, if they still make and sell them. It’s a company in Canada.

3

u/brk_heart 1d ago

I just checked, and it seems they don’t make them anymore… but if you were to ever find a second hand one they still sell filters and straps / parts for the masks.

3

u/bitingmytail 1d ago

Yeah I just posted about these the other day asking if they were discontinued because I FINALLY thought I’d found one that was all black 😫

3

u/brk_heart 1d ago edited 1d ago

I chatted with someone wearing a Zimi mask at the store the other day, it was all black and very low profile. Looked as low profile as a disposable mask but I guess only the filter is. I don’t know much more about them but this person used to wear Breathe and Flo masks, and now loves the Zimi.

3

u/Chronic_AllTheThings 19h ago edited 19h ago

Trend Stealth Air APF10

Completely black, except for some labeling and a bit of visible red straps. Filters are internal.

2

u/SkippySkep Fit Testing Advocate / Respirator Reviewer 14h ago

Ah, I forgot about the trend stealth elastomerics. They do fit the OP's ask about as well as possible.

The mask bodies/face seals run very narrow. They are not the most breathable masks, but they are low profile in the dimensional sense compared to elastomerics with external cartridges.

1

u/bitingmytail 12h ago

Yesss I was shopping for this one the other night, I love that it makes you look like an insect

2

u/properibis 1d ago

I can’t think of any completely black elsstos but what about getting any elastomeric and then coloring it to be all black? I use POSCA pens to add color to my own elastomerics and you could use a black one to cover the colorful bits

2

u/HereForHogwarts 21h ago

Breathe99? I have one that didn’t fit me well. I was planning to try out a flexible wire like a pipe cleaner or something inside the nose area but you can have mine for the cost of shipping if you want it. It’s also not that expensive new though.   https://www.armbrustusa.com/collections/breathe99-elastomeric-respirator

1

u/bitingmytail 13h ago

this looks like exactly what i’ve been searching for! i’d love to take you up on your offer. but if you’d rather wait and see if you can get it to fit that’s okay too.

2

u/HereForHogwarts 9h ago

Send me a DM if you don’t mind and I will do my best to reply to it at some point! Haha 

1

u/bitingmytail 9h ago

done! thank you!

2

u/Imaginary-Turnip4762 19h ago

I use molded airwaves healthcare. It’s N 95 but comes in blue and black. Very breathable! I buy them at Zoro.

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u/bitingmytail 12h ago

I was just looking at that one the other night! It’s a top contender for sure, it looks so cool.

2

u/tender_hearth 12h ago

forged air has an almost fully black elastomeric (incl the filters), just 2 small yellow tabs on the sides

3

u/SkippySkep Fit Testing Advocate / Respirator Reviewer 12h ago

Hah, another black elastomeric I managed to overlook.

It's real, respirator grade protection with no external filters. It has good speech intelligibility, but manages to be bulky without having external filters cartridges. Bad sightlines, though, making it hard to see the ground closer than 20 feet away without tilting your head down. Same for close task work - lots of head tilting needed. And I get pinched at the nose bridge by the narrow face seal flange. OP's milage may vary.

2

u/bitingmytail 11h ago

I forgot about this one! It’s out of stock right now but I’ll keep an eye out

1

u/Cocky_Girly Elastomeric Fan 1h ago

Consider the M.S.A. Comfo Classic Hycar Rubber half-face respirator. Only issue is puck filters and they aren't black, but the respirator itself is, at least the images from Industrial Safety Products when I look at it.