I always find myself lowering it below my face to grab a quick dose of fresh air before it suffocates me
Does anyone have specific brands they recommend? Of the non-candle-extinguishing type
So I have done a little experimenting with this because I give a daf shiur and lain during the week and on Shabbos and YT, so for what its worth here is what I found:
Surgical masks are the lightest but they dont stay on for an hour long shiur or for seven aliyos on Shabbos.
Cotton masks can be a bit stifling, but allow me to project better than KN95's
KN95's dont allow me to that loud, but give the most room to breathe and keep me cool because of the duck bill shape.
So I lained both days RH and what I did was I wore the KN95, then the cotton mask for laining and then immediately switched back to a KN95 after I finished laining. The cotton mask allowed me to amplify and I had the immediate cooling when done.
I do wear the KN95 when giving daf, but it seems to be less of an issue for people to hear me since unlike when I am laining, I face the tzibur when giving shiur.
Finally - my AC is a teacher in Beis Yaakov and she uses a mask guard under a cloth mask which keeps the mask from stifling her, but also does not ruin the seal.