A true N-95 can be more effective than the other stuff if one's top priority is protecting his/herself from catching COVID-19, but from what I can gather after talking with people who had a lot of prior experience with wearing them before the pandemic hit, they really have to be "fit tested" on a person's face to know for certain that it's really keeping out all that it can. For some folks, the material can kind of irritate their skin even in a climate controlled environment and many of them swear if there isn't a deep imprint of the perimeter of the mask on a person's face even two hours after removing it from a 6 to 10 hour shift, then it might not have been on tight enough to fully utilize it's capability.
I gave up on the one's the company hands out. They just can't hold up in the heat and humidity to last even half a shift. The one's I have used the most have neck loops which I use at work more than the ear loop ones but they are so thick with two layers that it's tougher to breathe. I think anything with an adjustable "nose clip" is a plus in that it can help create a tighter fit. Lots of folks I see like the gators as they tend not to retain as much heat but I tried one and couldn't keep it from coming off when I had to talk to someone. I doubt many of us ever encounter something that works perfectly with the kind of work we do. I put it on when I deliver into a business and I rarely ever use it when I'm doing the resi stops. Once I'm sweating. I need breaks from wearing it for sure.
would come off and stay off all day once I was out of the barn
