[Product Review] F&P Evora nasal mask

[djont57]

I have used this mask for 3 nights & I really like it. Coming from the N30i I am having much less leaks & a lower AHI; plus it's more comfortable & seems to be more stable as I roll over.

[b.e.wilson]

Is this mask as quiet as the F20 or P10, do you observe? At least so quiet that the machine is louder than the perceived loudness of the mask?

[wstahlm80]

I don't have an F20, but I believe it is quieter than my P10

[slowriter]

I need to vent:

It's that time of year for parts resupply. I asked for the Evora fit pack mask, but my typical Bleep dreamport refills.

Rep said I couldn't do that, according to insurance company rules; that mask and pillows needed to be the same if in the same shipment.

Has anyone else run into that?

In any case, I should be getting the Evora soon.

[Winterfrost]

I am wondering how well this mask works for side sleepers. Does the headgear stay in place? Also, I have long hair which makes hats and things slide upwards along the back of my head. With my P10 headgear I can position the lower band UNDER my hair so it stays in place better. Would that work with the Evora? (I want to change away from the P10 as I get a lot of leaks with it, plus the pillows hurt my nostrils and cause pressure sores.)

[Winterfrost]

So, I ordered an Evora fit kit and have tried it several nights. I really wanted to love it but it's not working out. 

It is indeed very quiet as many have said (much quieter than my AirFit P10 For Her - the Evora is nearly silent), but the firm plastic that supports the silicone cushion digs in to my skull at the left side of my nose and hurts. 

I'm also having issues with the lower edge of the cushion leaking against my upper lip. Obviously it's not silent when that happens. That wakes me up - I spent far too much time waking up to fiddle with it. It's a small leak that doesn't show in my data, but as it's waking me up it's a problem.

The baseball-cap style doesn't work very well with long hair, either. It's supposed to be one-handed to put on but tends to catch on my hair so a lot of two-handed tugging and adjusting is necessary to get the backstrap to settle down where it's supposed to be and move other hair away from my face where it got trapped under the headgear. And then it doesn't stay there - twice I woke up to find that I wasn't wearing it anymore - the backstrap had slid up the back of my hair and the headgear popped off.

Adjusting the straps tighter to prevent leakage did work, but then it pulls upwards on the nose. The next morning my nose was sore for hours.

[slowriter]

I finally got the Evora in.

Compared to my N30, it's quite similar, but the Evora has greater stability and less (for me, really no) leaking, at the expense of somewhat beefier headgear (though still lightweight).

[PsychoMike]

Ok....been a while since I was last on, but I can contribute a review here.

F&P classify the Evora as a nasal mask on the packaging, but it seems a bit more like the next generation of the Brevida nasal pillows than an actual nasal mask. Let me explain...

The Evora nasal interface is still a way to hook you up to your cpap via your nose. Gone are the "prongs" from the Brevida and other contemporary nasal pillows, having replaced them with a "gap" for the nose like what is found in F&P's Amara View or ResMed's F30 full face masks. The Evora retains the Brevida-esqe inflatable seal that partly envelopes the nose to provide some stability, rather than putting a seal against the face around the nose, like most nasal masks.

The headgear is new and F&P claim it is like a baseball cap...set and forget. After several days use, I can see how this analogy came to be. Once you have found the right set-up, you can almost flip the back part of the headgear on your head , pull the mask into position and the headgear drops into place akin to a cap. It may not be for everyone,  but it seems to work as advertised for me. I have noted that there are very minimal marks from the headgear in the morning, and that is a definite improvement.

The venting system makes use of "laser cut micro holes" outboard of the mask itself. It is not the same as what was on the Brevida, rather it is more like the first-generation ResMed F20: as series of small holes partly ringing where the short tube comes into the headgear frame. It is quieter than the Brevida without the grey diffuser attachment, but louder than the Brevida with the extra diffuser. I think F&P need to take a page from ResMed on it and add an integrated foam/fibre diffuser filter before the holes, even if it means adding some more holes...if you like anything "above" the holes (I.e. you side sleep and the exhaust can hit the pillow or you draw up your covers), it gets far louder than what I got used to with the Brevida.

So...how does it do in actually using it? Well, I have a big nose....most pillows and nasal masks tend to put undue pressure on the tip of my nose as a result. In fact, I don't  usually have a lot of room between my nose and the mask with full face masks either.  The Evora manages to avoid the tip of my nose and does its inflation trick around the sides quite well. It's not quite as stable as a full face mask or traditional nasal mask, but it is a bit more stable than most nasal pillows I've had.  It took a little trial and error to fine tune the fit of the headgear to eliminate a vast majority of the leaks (and it isn't easy to tell if what is left is an actual leak or reflected air from the vent holes), but my machine says the leaks are acceptable (haven't fired up Oscar to have a look yet).

Overall, I think F&P did a pretty good job with the Evora...it needs a little bit of fine tuning (the vents, some people might find the short tubing on it a little short compared to other pillow masks), but generally a good evolution in this part of the nasal frontier

[Perchas]

Today I ordered a friend of mine who is an airline pilot in Miami to bring me to Madrid via Buenos Aires a Dreamstation to replace the previous one of the same model that I use and that is already giving failures.

I have also ordered this mask that I did not know F&P Evora, I am using the Brevida of F&P and really has been the best I've used, although I had to reform the harness making me a different one and has been a success.

I hope it exceeds the expectations of this new mask,

[sonicboom]

Proper venting of a CPAP mask is extremely important in order to expunge your exhaled CO2. If not vented properly there is a high potential to regurgitate CO2. Brevida does a better job of venting (w/o the diffuser) than the P10s. I'm wondering, after reading the comments here, whether anyone has noticed a problem with CO2 regurgitation with the Evora since there aren't many venting holes.  Symptoms of CO2 regurgitation may include:

Dull headache.
Weakness.
Dizziness.
Nausea or vomiting.
Shortness of breath.
Confusion.
Blurred vision.
Loss of consciousness.