Wearing all the proper safety equipment while you’re woodworking can be a pain. Depending on what you’re doing, you could be wearing eye protection, air filtration, and hearing protection all at the same time. That’s a lot of gear to remember to put on and many times all these different devices don’t play well together.
Add a face shield on top of all that, and all those layers of protective gear could get uncomfortable.
Advertisement
Stuart Says: Things can get especially complicated and uncomfortable if you have to wear safety goggles over corrective glasses. Safety goggles stick out a lot more than safety glasses, and tend to fog up much more quickly.
Sometimes the filter mask gets in the way of your glasses or worse yet causes them to fog up, or your hearing protection drives the frames of your glasses painfully into the sides of your head and leaves gaps so they don’t protect your hearing like they should. Then there’s the tangled mess all this protective gear turns into when you just try to remove just your filter mask.
The Trend Airshield Pro face shield and nuisance dust filter looks to make it easier to protect your eyes and potentially blocks some non-hazardous dust from reaching your lungs. With the optional hearing protectors, it could be an entire safety package in a single self-contained device.
Note: The Airshield Pro is designed specifically for woodworking applications. It is said to provide low energy impact protection, and the filtration is for relief from “common nuisance dusts.”
From Trend:
The Airshield Pro is a lightweight powered unit intended for full eye and face protection from solid dust, impact and chemical liquid splash.
Advertisement
The Airshield Pro protects the users eyes and face from small debris such as wood particles or wood shavings.
Typical use of the Airshield Pro is by woodworking craftsmen and hobbyists. It is not for industrial use.
Trend’s promo video does a better job showing you the all the features of the Airshield Pro than I can do by trying to describe them with just words and pictures.
I fast forwarded the embedded the video to the 50 seconds mark, where they stop telling you about all the hazards in your shop and start explaining the features of the face shield. So watch the video first if you can and I’ll hit the high points in the rest of the post.
First off, the 2.2 pound Airshield Pro fits over your entire face, not just your mouth and nose. The seal is provided by the face plate and the liner which follows the contours of your forehead and side of your face until it cinches under you chin. This face seal is easier to make and should be more comfortable than most masks and respirators.
To provide fresh filtered air, the unit has a battery powered fan which circulates air through two filters and down over your face. The filters have an efficiency of 98%, but that is a meaningless statistic without particle size. Rockler states that it’ll filter particles down to 0.3 microns. All Trend says is that the filters meet NPF50 to BS EN 12941 THP2 standards, which is suitable for working with MDF.
The user manual says:
The TREND AIRSHIELD PRO is not a respirator nor a NIOSH approved device. Using the power visor against harmful substances may result in sickness or death. This filter will not protect your lungs. Misuse may result in sickness or death.
They say that it should only be used for relief from the bothersome effects of the
common nuisance dusts.
It is repeated that:
This unit does not carry any respiratory approvals in North America or Canada.
The Airshield Pro fan is powered by a removable 8 hour NiMH battery and is guaranteed to move at least 5.6 cf/min through the filters. Fan, battery, and filters are located on top of the helmet for balance and to keep the 70 dbB motor noise away from your face and ears.
You should NOT use this unpowered. Trend says:
In the power-off state there will be a rapid build up of carbon dioxide and depletion of oxygen may occur.
According to the user manual, the battery takes 14 hours to fully charge, and will last for up to 8 hours.
The clear face shield meets ANSI Z87.1 impact ratings, and due to the airflow over the face shield, Trend says it won’t fog up. The newest model is said to have meet ANSI Z87+ high impact ratings.
Most face shields are designed to be used with safety glasses or goggles worn underneath them. It is our understanding that, in meeting the Z87 safety standard, this face shield might not require safety glasses to be worn underneath.
If you’re working in a professional setting, and want to use this, check with your health & safety officer, or OSHA rep, as to the shield’s suitabilities for your needs.
If you’re a DIYer or casual woodworker, read over the user manual very carefully to determine if this product is appropriate for your needs.
To complete the safety package, you can purchase the optional Ear Defenders. These ear muffs, snap into the side of the helmet to protect your ears from hearing damage.
They list that the ear muffs have a SNR (Single Number Rating) of 26. After a bit of research I found this is the European Equivalent of NRR (Noise Reduction Rating), which is measured in dB. The difference is that the SNR uses a slightly different frequency model. For a dry read see this explanation.
Convenience comes at a price. The Airshield Pro Face Shield costs $365 at Amazon, or $390 at Rockler, and that’s without the optional Ear Defenders, which costs $50 more.
But you get everything you need to get up and running: the Airshield Pro visor with a overlay installed, a single battery, charger, a pair of fine filters, and the carrying bag.
Alternatively, you can find a package deal, which includes the Ear Defenders, for $390 at Amazon, or $420 at Woodcraft.
Buy Now(Airshield Pro via Amazon)
Buy Now (Airshield Pro via Rockler)
Buy Now(Airshield Pro with Ear Defenders via Amazon)
Buy Now (Airshield Pro with Ear Defenders via WoodCraft)
User Manual(PDF via Trend)
First Thoughts
All this gear built in to one “helmet” might seem like it’d get a little heavy/awkward. In fact I was reading in the Rockler comments that one guy returned his because he “didn’t like all the extra weight at the top.” The same complaint is repeated in some Amazon user reviews.
I haven’t tried the Airshield Pro, but it seems to me that a few extra pounds on top of your head is a small price to pay for not monkeying around with different pieces of safety equipment.
I’m pretty good about wearing eye protection in the shop, but I’m not really good about wearing hearing protection for a few cuts at the miter saw. And I know it’s bad when there’s still ringing in my ears after the saw is off. I’m probably the worst about breathing in dust. I hate face masks and the mini-respirator style mask I prefer to use makes me want to gag after a while because of the spit build-up.
If I’m setting up for a long operation, I’ll make sure I have all my safety gear on and as comfortable as possible, but it takes a lot of time and fiddling about…especially if I have to stop halfway through to go answer the door, phone, kids, etc…
For those reasons, a solution like the the Airshield Pro is really attractive to me, the only things really stopping me from buying one is the price and not being able to test it before I lay out that kind of cash.
There’s one more added hesitation. The manual mentions that:
Ophthalmic spectacles may transmit impacts from high-speed particles, thus creating a hazard to the wearer.
Does this mean that there’s no perfect seal or guaranteed impact protection if you wear corrective lenses?
As a reminder: this product does not provide NIOSH-rated respirator protection. If you need a powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) that is NIOSH approved, you’ll have to look at other products, such as by 3M.
If you have used the Trend Airshield Pro before, what has been your experience with it?
Nathan
nice. I mean it might not be perfect but it’s a lot of steps in the right directions.
I would agree that without actual testing values and stamps it might not be for production situations in the US. but that’s just time and some money before you could pull that off. Give it a year.
I like the ear muff idea – it’s needed – but they are spendy. I’d almost cut up a set of cheaper muff you can buy at any sporting goods store and work a attachment. but either way.
trade the nimh battery for Li-ion, but again minimal. I bet they did that due to safety concerns and to be cheaper. (lack of fancier monitoring circuits and charger).
Stuart
There are better designs for industrial use, such as face shields which have remote hip-powered filter components – to reduce head weight – and others which incorporate a hard hat component.
Trend is a router technology and woodworking company, and so they probably have no interest in addressing the needs outside their specialty.
John OBrien
Stuart is right on here. The head weight issue is critical. Hip based battery packs, feeding a top-down, over-face air flow, is the only way to go, to avoid long-term neck problems and ensure use-compliance.
Filter efficiency and small micron mesh and supply of adequate number of replacements should be key selling points. I like washable, re-usable filters where possible. battery life and adapability for 110 or 220 voltage for chargers are key points too.
Steve
I think this would be the perfect use for things like sheetrock, removing old wooden siding with circular saw, and working in an old moldy house were mold literally grows up the walls.
I wouldn’t be concerned with the safety Although I would like to avoid getting shocked or burned but I would think air circulation is the way to go.
Stuart
I doubt this would be suitable for mold abatement. It is my understanding that mold spores require a higher level of filtration.
Altan
This is made for carpenters specially for the ones who work with MDF or MDF based laminate floor. The dust is not like natural wood dust. Trend is a British company and this tool is much cheaper here in UK compared to USA.
Battery powered work wear are something very interesting, this is a good example:
https://twitter.com/ToolstopLtd/status/583165513053933568
Mike I
I wonder if this would be effective when sandblasting with a blast cabinet just to filter anything that might escape the main filtration system?
Eric
“Replace, NiMH w/ Lithium, but again, minimal….” No that is huge. It has a great deal to do with the weight issue and is insulting at the price which is the real “weight” issue as it will certainly “lighten” your wallet at this price.
The real dangerous particle sizes are not those which leave you with allergies or a sneeze, but those small sizes which lodge long term deep in your lungs that this does NOT get. The warnings and disclaimers are NOT a moral or ethical exemption IMO although legal, to not engineer to the standards that are cited for industrial quality protection. Personally I would use the clumsy but effective separate components easily available online or in any big city industrial safety supply store, until an adequate device was provided which I believe could be at the same or even lower price point. Just My Opinion.
Jay k.
Same idea… for that price – no lithium…
Nathan
it’s not meant for cleaning asbestos from your old house. nor for use when removing lead paint.
it’s meant for wood working and craft work. Yes there are industrial devices in existence – I’m well aware.
But for a cabinet shop, or finish carpentry, some other jobs this would be great.
I mean how many of us working of projects at home, wear ear muffs, safety glasses, and a dust mask? I do – because at work when doing anything I wear safety equipment.
for making the toy chest I made for my kid I would have liked to have something like this product. as opposed to the combo I donned at various times in the making of the items.
Would I want this the next time I’m in the hangar checking out a composite repair on a wing to body fairing? no.
not saying I’d rush out to buy one, but it’s a step in the right direction. One of the big 6 makes this idea for say 100 or so dollars and I’d be more inclined to purchase.
Jon
“Ophthalmic spectacles may transmit impacts from high-speed particles, thus creating a hazard to the wearer.”
I’m confident this just refers to the fact that glasses frames could be close enough to the front of the shield that an impact would be transferred to the frames and therefore to your face. Whereas without glasses, there’s a gap that allows the shield to deform in the event of an impact.
Ian Random
One of those masks saved a kid in a grain silo:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/07/05/grain-bin-survival/2491889/
Hayden
3m makes remote air supply respirators the fan hangs off your belt to an apparatus that covers your whole head
Bruce
$365 for a face face shield that uses an outdated and heavy battery technology? I’ll pass. For that kind of money I can guy a proper full face respirator that actually makes code. P95 filters are almost as easy to breath through as no filter at all, plus you can change them out for OV cartridges when you’re playing with chemicals. The nice part about full face respirators is the air intake is in the face area, so it already pulls fresh air across the shield and your face without needing a fan.
John Miller
I want one of these very badly. It would be perfect for what I do on the lathe.