De jure: KN95 is regulated by China. N95 the US. On paper, all the technical specs are basically the same.
De facto: KN95s are nearly all earloop + folded mask body. N95 is all headband because the CDC thinks earloops are unlikely to fit properly (and therefore filter properly), and has a variety of cup and folded mask bodies.
Also critical to know—but invisible—the N95 standard is much more rigorous on ongoing quality control. With KN95, you can theoretically do things like get your buddy to give you a passing test report, swap out materials, skimp on your production process, and probably get away with it. Much harder to do with N95. Therefore, most people trust N95 more because it’s a more comprehensively maintained regulation. The quality distribution of KN95 is therefore much wider than N95 - so there are some great KN95s out there. There’s also some garbage product.
Lastly, neither standard regulates the finer points of mask design, like making sure the inside liner is soft and comfortable against your face. That’s not one of the technical criteria, but is certainly something you’ll care about in hour 3 of wearing your mask on a plane!
De jure: KN95 is regulated by China. N95 the US. On paper, all the technical specs are basically the same.
De facto: KN95s are nearly all earloop + folded mask body. N95 is all headband because the CDC thinks earloops are unlikely to fit properly (and therefore filter properly), and has a variety of cup and folded mask bodies.
Also critical to know—but invisible—the N95 standard is much more rigorous on ongoing quality control. With KN95, you can theoretically do things like get your buddy to give you a passing test report, swap out materials, skimp on your production process, and probably get away with it. Much harder to do with N95. Therefore, most people trust N95 more because it’s a more comprehensively maintained regulation. The quality distribution of KN95 is therefore much wider than N95 - so there are some great KN95s out there. There’s also some garbage product.
Lastly, neither standard regulates the finer points of mask design, like making sure the inside liner is soft and comfortable against your face. That’s not one of the technical criteria, but is certainly something you’ll care about in hour 3 of wearing your mask on a plane!
More info here—https://aiden.health/blogs/resources/kn95-n95
That’s great to know, thanks!