Without testing, I would assume the imitation filters have similar performance characteristics to the “fraudulent” [1] ones NIOSH recently tested. They did better than I would have expected, but the differences were still significant. Maybe the imitations have a use case for particularly cost-conscious users, or for those who want a stockpile for friends and neighbors.
The fraudulent models generally included NIOSH markings (e.g., P100) that were not authorized. As far as I know, they did not include fake 3M markings.
Amazon has a pretty significant problem with counterfeit merchandise. It’s essentially a flea market. Personally I wouldn’t buy anything there where safety is an important consideration.
3M lists dealers on their website, those are probably fine to buy from? Though Amazon is on the list, so perhaps 3M is not concerned about fakes on Amazon. Or maybe you just have to make sure the seller is Amazon itself.
Amazon also sells imitation ones that don’t say 3M and are probably not certified: example. They’re much cheaper, and could even be worth buying.
I don’t have any special knowledge on whether the ones that say 3M are also not 3M, but I’d doubt it?
Without testing, I would assume the imitation filters have similar performance characteristics to the “fraudulent” [1] ones NIOSH recently tested. They did better than I would have expected, but the differences were still significant. Maybe the imitations have a use case for particularly cost-conscious users, or for those who want a stockpile for friends and neighbors.
The fraudulent models generally included NIOSH markings (e.g., P100) that were not authorized. As far as I know, they did not include fake 3M markings.
Amazon has a pretty significant problem with counterfeit merchandise. It’s essentially a flea market. Personally I wouldn’t buy anything there where safety is an important consideration.
Do you have an alternative that you would use?
3M lists dealers on their website, those are probably fine to buy from? Though Amazon is on the list, so perhaps 3M is not concerned about fakes on Amazon. Or maybe you just have to make sure the seller is Amazon itself.