- What's up guys, Nick here, from CPAP reviews,
great to be with you again,
coming to you today from Melbourne, Victoria
in very cloudy Australia.
Now, we've had a lot of bush fires lately,
but yesterday there was this super storm
that came through,
and there were just golf ball sized hail storms,
just coming out of everywhere.
So windows were getting smashed, cars were getting smashed.
My mother-in-law, God bless her,
got hit with one, unfortunately, of course,
and yeah, that shook her up a little bit
and had a few windows broken as well.
So it's been a bit scary here.
But today, I did a video a little while back
comparing, it's probably a couple of years now,
time flies, but I did a video comparing
the travel CPAP machines that were on the market
at that time.
Things have changed up a little bit now,
there's a few more offerings,
but the three main ones I wanna talk about today,
and I'm just gonna go through specs
and just some general differences,
and I'm also gonna give you a bit of a guide,
so you can go and look at that
and it'll go through all the different specifications
side by side, so you can see how they all stack up,
which is really neat.
There is another model, the Transcend machine,
I just, I just thought I'd give you the three most popular,
four is probably a bit too much, just to take in.
And to be honest, I probably don't think
it's worth your while going that option,
I think it's a little bit overpriced
and it doesn't really deliver the goods.
So I thought we'd talk about the three main offerings
and that way it just makes it a bit simpler
and a bit more convenient for you.
So the ones I'm gonna talk about,
the new Z2, great machine,
the AirMini, which has been around for a little while now,
and the Phillips DreamStation Go.
It's a travel unit,
but obviously a little bit bigger than the other ones,
but we'll go through that in a minute.
So first things first,
what I thought I'd do is just give you an up close
so you can just get to see how they look
and then we'll go onto some other stuff.
All right, let's do it.
All right, so this is the little Z2 unit here,
just spin it around for you
so you can have a bit of a looksie.
There's a little filter cap on the top,
a screen there.
So this is the lightest out of the three,
coming in at 299 grams, very similar weight to the air mini.
The AirMini, slightly smaller,
by little bit, see the filter cap there.
So it's slightly smaller, same sort of width,
and height,
just a little bit small there, no screen,
that's coming in at 300 grams,
so weight-wise virtually the same, all right?
But you can sort of say how they,
how they look there together.
And then the last one is the Phillips one,
the Phillips DreamStation Go.
You can see there, obviously the size is quite quite larger,
and obviously weight is a bit of a difference as well,
so this comes in at 843 grams for the unit.
So 300, or 299 versus 843, quite a big difference in weight,
and you can quite, you can feel it in the hands,
it does weigh quite a fair bit different.
So there's just a bit of a,
bit of a look around so get to sort of see
how they look up close and personal.
All right, put 'em back down.
All right guys, let's talk about price.
Now, it's very important because many of you
have already spent thousands of dollars
on your normal machine,
and this is probably gonna be a secondary unit
for most of you,
so price is obviously gonna factor into your choice.
Now, I'm gonna go through it with the retail price,
which is what the manufacturer set as their goal price,
and obviously the discounted online pricing
you can probably find 'em for.
So the AirMini, retailing at 2100,
yeah, 2100,
2100 bucks.
But you can pick 'em up for about 1500 bucks online, okay?
Now, the DreamStation Go,
2400, all right?
That's the retail price for this bad boy.
And you can pick him up for about 1700,
so it's not, it's not cheap.
I know, trust me, it's a lot of money.
And then your Z2, you're gonna be able to pick that up,
the retail at, as it stands, one one nine nine,
so close to 1200 bucks there.
And you're probably gonna,
that's probably what you gotta pay with the Z1,
we didn't find it was discounted at all online.
And you're probably gonna pay the same with the Z2.
It's mainly to do because well-priced to begin with,
you know, 2400 and 2100,
it's really, really high for what you're getting,
so the retailers have to discount quite heavily
to move them, because it's probably
a bit of an unrealistic price.
Being at 1200 bucks,
it's a realistic price for what you get.
And because of that, the resellers are able to move them
at that price,
they don't have to find they have to cut their margin
to move that product, all right?
So that's how it sort of works, anyway.
Some of the differences between them, okay?
So we'll start with voltage,
I think that's an important one.
So they will all work from 110 to 240 volts.
So if you're going anywhere in the world,
you will be able to just get that plug
and plug them in anywhere in the world.
But in terms of DC voltage, so battery power voltage,
you got 24 volts,
24 volts
and 12 volts.
Don't ask me why some of them go for 24 volts,
there's obviously a reason for it,
but being 24 volts,
if you want to use them, these two
with a, like a,
a DC source,
like plug it into your car or your boat or your caravan,
you're gonna have to get a DC converter cable.
Now I'm not, don't know what their prices are,
probably a hundred bucks, something like that,
but you have to get a DC converter cable.
That will convert the 12 volts up to 24
so that it matches the voltage of the unit, all right?
With the Z2, it's a 12 volt machine,
which means you don't have to do any conversions,
it's straight in, plug it into your cigarette port
and it will work.
You can get batteries for these 24 volt ones,
but they are 24 volt batteries,
which means they're really only gonna work
with 24 volt products,
you're not gonna be able to use them with anything else.
With this one, you can get a 12 volt battery
and it will work with any other 12 volt,
you might have a camping lantern,
you might have anything, you know, an air inflator,
whatever you got,
you'll be able to use it with this machine,
but you'll also be able to use it
with any other 12 volt appliances,
camping appliances you might have as well.
So that's the voltage is very important
when it comes to getting a travel machine.
Some of them have screens, so these two,
the Phillips and the Z2 have screens,
which means that you can adjust settings and stuff
straight through the actual device,
by pressing buttons and so forth.
With the AirMini, there is no screen.
If you're wanting to change settings and so forth,
you need to do so with an app that they have,
the AirMini app, you can turn it on and off,
straight on and off,
so once you have programmed those settings,
you can obviously just turn it on and off
with your finger on the button there, but no screens there.
Now, some of you, I know my old man personally,
he's just not into smartphones, he doesn't like apps,
he doesn't like all that, he's very old school,
he was a butcher and he just hasn't grown up
with any of that stuff and he can't get into it.
So some of you will want a screen, all right?
And if you do want a screen, these are your two options.
It's convenience, sometimes you don't wanna,
you know, you won't have your app with ya,
you won't to have your phone with ya,
whatever it is, it's handy sometimes
you just wanna change something on the screen.
But you can also change them with apps,
so they all have their own app,
they're all great with data,
you can sync it up via Bluetooth, they all have Bluetooth,
sync it all up and export it to your doctor,
do whatever you need to with your data.
Or if you just wanna check and make sure that, you know,
you're getting a decent night's sleep
and your apnea's under control,
you're gonna sync your data and away you go.
When it comes to humidification,
the DreamStation goes your only one
that has like, you can get
an external humidifier for it, okay?
So this is like a full size humidifier
where you add water to it.
These two machines, the Z2 and the AirMini
use what they call HME,
so heat moisture exchange filters.
A little filter, it uses the moisture in your own breathing
to create the humidification, okay?
The other thing with those HME filters,
they won't be as effective as a full standalone humidifier.
So if you're someone who wants a travel unit,
but you're also wanting, you know,
really good humidification,
then this is probably the one to go for.
But in saying that, it obviously makes it a lot bigger,
which kind of defeats the purpose
of having a travel machine to begin with.
So my advice to you would be this.
If you don't have a machine and you're wanting kind of like
a machine to use beside the bed that has a full humidifier,
but at the same time, maybe wanting a travel unit,
you might look at a DreamStation Go
because you have that option of clicking it in
while you're at home,
and then when you go, you know, it's 840 grams,
which is obviously a lot heavier than these,
but at the same time, it's still reasonably portable,
if that makes sense.
If you don't need humidification, you're fine without it,
and you want a travel machine,
you can obviously use these as standalone machines as well,
so they can be used for everyday use,
there's no reason they can't be,
it's just, they don't have
that full humidification functioning.
So some people just have this beside their bed and boom,
and then when they go, they just pick it up,
chuck it in their backpack and away they go, okay,
you can use it with it.
So with these two machines,
you can use any masks pretty much, all right?
99.9% of the masks on the market, you can just grab 'em.
They got the standard connection,
they take a standard 22 mil hose, you just whack it in.
And so if you've got your mask at home already
with your DreamStation or whatever other machine you got,
or you might have a, you know,
a Fisher & Paykel or a Eson mask and you love it,
you can just plug it in and away you go
with these two machines.
With the ResMed AirMini they're the first,
this is the first machine
that has never not taken a universal mask fitting, okay?
So since the dawning of the CPAP era
all masks have worked with all machines,
now that we have this machine here,
there's only a couple of masks that actually work with it.
So if you've got your favorite mask,
you might not be able to use it,
or you probably won't be able to use it
unless it is one of those three masks that fit this device,
all right?
So that's a very important point
if you're thinking of getting a ResMed.
And obviously their masks and so forth,
generally cost quite a lot of money as well to go with it.
So just, very important point, that last one.
Noise, now I'm gonna do a complete video
on the actual noise of the devices.
They are a little bit noisier,
than your general big size, full size units.
Those full sized units, if you take 'em apart,
they normally got a lot of like
sound reinforcing stuff in there
to minimize the noise factor.
Being so small, there's not a whole lot of area
where you can put extra stuff in them to begin with, okay?
So they are generally a little bit noisier.
It's not a big deal, I don't think, at all.
And from all the feedback I get, people normally say,
yeah, look, it's a little bit, but it's fine, okay?
So that's the takeaway point there.
But they obviously differ a little bit in noise,
and I'm gonna do a full video on that,
I've got my decibel meter,
I'm just waiting on a few part components to arrive
so I can give you that full noise demonstration there.
Same, each machine set to the same level
with my decibel meter, same mask, same conditions,
and you'll be able to get the full finalized results.
The documentation I have so far is just between these two,
and this new Z2 is quieter than the AirMini.
I guess take away points for ya is,
obviously price is important,
this is the cheapest by about 300 bucks, okay?
Just bear that in mind.
So review wise, they're all really, really good.
So, AirMini, out of 438 reviews,
it's been around a lot longer than the others,
average of 4.4 out of five.
My saying is always, if it's over four, you're doing well,
you've got a good product.
All right, so out of 438 reviews.
DreamStation Go, 59 reviews, 4.7 out of five,
brilliant.
Z2 Auto, 46 reviews, 4.5 out of five,
now this hasn't been around as long as the DreamStation Go,
but it's already getting a lot of reviews.
4.5 out of 5.
So review wise across the board,
they're incredibly good products, all right?
So that's something just to note in general,
across the board, very good products,
getting excellent reviews by customers like yourselves.
All right guys, take home message,
so if you were to call me up tomorrow and say,
Nick, I'm heading overseas on holiday,
I wanna get a travel CPAP machine machine,
look, what's your honest opinion,
which one would you go with?
I'm gonna advise you to go with the Z2 Auto,
and the reasons are as follows.
So in my eyes offers the most value for money
out of the travel CPAP range,
is $300 less than its nearest competitor,
the AirMini, but it's also the lightest,
one of the smallest, one of the quietest,
works with any mask, and it's the only 12 volt machine,
which means it just works so well with traveling,
camping, caravaning, touring, all that sort of stuff,
and I just love that functionality for me personally.
The ResMed AirMini,
probably getting to the end of its product cycle,
it's been around quite a long time now,
and it only works with those set few masks,
which I just hate,
I hate that idea that you can't use your favorite, you know,
Philips mask or your favorite Fisher & Paykel mask,
and it doesn't have a screen.
Okay, so the DreamStation Go,
and I love the fact that you've got that humidifier section
that you can sort of click on,
It's a bit heavy and a bit big for my liking,
and I think it sort of defeats the purpose
of having a travel CPAP machine,
you want it real small, real light, real portable, okay?
And guys, just remember there is that link
in the description of the video
to the travel CPAP comparison guide
which we'll go through step by step,
all the different specifications,
so you can make a good informed decision for yourselves.
But as always, look, thanks for watching the video,
thanks to all my subscribers.
And yeah, look, if you're in the market
for a travel CPAP machine, the reviews are great,
whichever way you go,
so you're gonna be a very happy customer
and most of them offer the free trials,
so you can try them out for yourself,
see how you find them.
But yeah, take care and all the best for the future, bye.