Neck Gaitors Not Good Protection Against COVID-19

In a recently published study, the researchers unveiled a simple method to evaluate the effectiveness of various types of masks, analyzing more than a dozen different facial coverings ranging from hospital-grade N95 respirators to bandanas. Of the 14 masks and other coverings tested, the study found that some easily accessible cotton cloth masks are about as effective as standard surgical masks, while popular alternatives such as neck gaiters made of thin, stretchy material may be worse than not wearing a mask at all.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/mask-test-duke-co...

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Permalink Reply by David Barish on August 11, 2020 at 5:15am

This is difficult for me as I  had adopted neck  gaitors as my barrier of  choice. I will keep  them for the bike  but need to go  back to  more  traditional masks elsewhere.

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on August 11, 2020 at 5:38am

You are not alone - there are a lot of cyclists using their gators for masks. Good idea to supplement with masks when needed. 

Permalink Reply by ketoguychicago on August 11, 2020 at 12:48pm

Way before this was a thing, I was wearing a gator for sun and wind protection.  Now that I have a mask on under the gator that I still wear, nobody can see it, and I start to get looks now.  Not the usual how nice my eyes are looks, but how now I'm typhoid Mary looks.  Sigh.  Lots of people like to pre-judge and jump to conclusions even though they don't really know what's going on.  Lot of that going around lately. 

Permalink Reply by Mike Schwab on August 12, 2020 at 8:13am

https://slate.com/technology/2020/08/gaiter-study-flawed.html
Problems with that study.  Gaiters are just fine.

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on August 12, 2020 at 8:36am

Well, "just fine" isn't really accurate either. It's probably somewhere in between. Slate isn't bringing in the CDC on this, they are speculating. 

Probably the best rule of thumb is to put on the mask, bandana, or neck gaiter and blow out a candle. You shouldn't be able to blow the candle out. Also, not all neck gaiters are created equally. I have one knit gaiter and one very thin gaiter I would not wear. I wear masks with layers that were created to be masks. As someone that is higher risk, I'm not going to take a chance because a person who writes opinion pieces for a living tells me it's ok. I'll keep wearing my masks and social distancing. Don't get me wrong, I want this to be over too, I just want to be healthy when we come out of it.

Permalink Reply by Paul Lazzaro on August 13, 2020 at 6:51am

I wear a neck gaiter while biking, and only pull it over my face for the parts of my ride that may be on crowded paths.  I think the protection it provides others from me is adequate for briefly passing, outdoors, at a distance.  If I'm going indoors anywhere, I'll wear a cloth mask or a surgical mask.  But I really can't tolerate those while biking - my breathing is inhibited, I feel uncomfortably warm, the inside of the mask gets wet from condensation, and my glasses get fogged (not safe!).

Permalink Reply by ChicagoCyclist on August 13, 2020 at 6:58am

I double over my neck gaiter.  Would that help?  Is wool better than synthetic?

Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on August 13, 2020 at 9:28am

The concern I'm reading is that knit has holes. Also, if it's thin material, that too is not good. 

Double fabric is good but if it has holes, it can get through. When I bike, I use a mask and when no one is around, I pull it down. When I walk, I keep it on longer and sometimes even forget about it but in 90-100 degree weather (DC area has been super hot for over a month), the biggest complaint is that I get sweaty. It's not ideal but if it means I can go for a hike or a bike ride, I'll wear the mask.

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