HDM Z1 Auto Travel cpap real world review.

[arburns7487]

Thank you, I truly appreciate the response. I'm eager to see your future post. I want the portability (z1 or z2), tired of lugging heavy remstar + (even tried leaving the humidifier part behind, didnt notice much weight drop, so clunky. The VA gave me the u it, not like I had a choice, like your home unit...feel like mine is old. I use the full face mask 431 Fischer& playkel @13.0cm) all over europe. The fact a new updated model z2, is about to release seems like great timing for myself.

I plan on a long long flight to Australia/China and must use the cpap to be rested or it is like drunk sleep, without the booze, on no machine. I would definitely like to cause least attention using it on a plane. So many reviews have oh you can bring it on a plane, like no kidding. Not many actually use it on a red eye or long flight.

Sorry I'm rambling on and on. Thanks for your responses.

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[jsmit86]

If traveling by plane, the battery may be a necessity. There is a possibility that you could just use the AC adapter if you are in biz class or First. (Hey... I can dream...)
But one weird design of the Z1 or Z2... the power adapter plugs in directly above the tube adapter. I'm not sure how easy it would be to plugin the machine, route the cordes and the tubing especially in coach... if you have access to A/C. At least with the battery pack, that's all contained in a "package". Look at the pix online to understand further. I have a tough time sleeping on planes anyway. I'm lucky to get 2-3 hours even on a 12+ hour flight. If I end up doing overseas travel again, I'll have to decide if using the unit on the plane is practical for me. If I'm in coach, I'd be concerned of people climbing over me, etc...

Don't get me wrong, I think the unit is as good as it will get, but just wondering how use on a plane is from a practical standpoint.

[arburns7487]

Oh I hear you. No if I going to use it, I'd be in business or 1st. I'm a big guy now, post Marines. I slept kinda in premium Econoy from ft Lauderdale to Barcelona, 9 hr flight and I had a 24 hr layover. I made mistake flying Boston to Amsterdam and not sleeping when I had only 24 hr layover. Most other times i don't mind not sleeping to London or anything . I have never used any cpap on a plane. I'm just thinking ahead to massive flight lengths were I'm gonna need sleep. If i get 4hrs, I'd be happy, if its restful sleep. I play poker, soimused to being up 30 hrs at a time, but sometimes my body passes out etc from exhaustion)

I know some airlines may require advanced knowledge (during my Google & YouTube searches) if you are trying to actually wear it in flight. Worried about liability if you are plugged in. Most all reviews(seem to be mainly sales reps online).

I will want the extended battery if I'm trying to use it inflight, that way they cant refuse me using it, if confronted(which I doubt would happen). Yes, they have outlets, but you don't know the draw on power etc....normally just the unit, minus the battery part would be good enough, I'd think, for hotels.

I don't really go "camping" anymore. Travel aspect vs what I have now would be good for sleeping over friends places.

I agree the unit is only going to be so good etc. Yes, I was trying to find out also how people liked or disliked the powershell extended battery. It alledgedly gets 8.9 hrs @20cm with zbreathe 3.

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[realshelby]

Follow up review:

I recently went on a trip with the Z1. Spent 6 days with it on the road. Unpacking and repacking.

First I can say the humidifier doo-dads help a little. But I ran without them and was just fine that way too. So, if you don't have one it still is good.

The travel hose is worth every penny and then some for having a compact package. It does greatly reduce noise as stated earlier.

I am running this with the P10 which has been relegated to my travel pack. Perfect mask for this purpose!

Quiet? Still some noise with this. But the muffler, travel hose, old humidifier make it usable. Two things you can do to make it not keep your partner or room mate from hearing or at least being bothered by it. I have found that putting it in the drawer of the night stand at the motel and closing that up to where the hose can just come out works very well to mitigate noise. Second, if you can turn the rooms air conditioner/heater on to a constant fan setting that too covers up the noise pretty well. Again this isn't so much that it is LOUD, but that it can be disturbing due to its change in noise when inhaling vs exhaling. Think Darth Vader noise. As delivered even Darth Vader couldn't stand it! But it can be made to work very well. I am completely satisfied that I have a compact, easy to set up unit for travel!

[jsmit86]

The new Z2 has substantially reduced, but not eliminated the noise issue.
Putting the unit in the nightstand drawer is a good suggestion. I put a towel on top of mine when I used it for 3 days a couple of weeks ago.
HDM could make a big improvement by letting you turn EPR totally OFF. The higher the EPR (Z-Breathe) is set, the more of the whining noise you will get.
Overall, I am happy with the unit.

[realshelby]

I wonder if the muffler/Qtube they send with the new Z2 is most of the noise reduction? It does help the Z1 enough that you want to have one. The single best improvement to the Z1, and I would expect from the Z2 as well is the travel hose.

[jsmit86]

I used the q-tube muffler on the Z1 as well.
It helps a lot, but the Z2 is quieter regardless of with or without the q-tube comparing apples to apples; Z1 without vs. Z2 without, or both using the muffler.
Another great feature of the Z2 series is the Auto on/off feather. I have that on my Resmed unit, and that was a big part of why I opted to pay the additional $$ for the Z2 Auto vs. the Z1 Auto. I figured that if even if the noise was not better, I'd be glad to get the auto on/off.
As it turns out the noise level is lower, but not totally eliminated. If they ever update the firmware to allow EPR off, I think that would be a huge improvement.

[pdrhound]

so HDM lady lied to you about EPR being able to be turned off ?

[jsmit86]

so HDM lady lied to you about EPR being able to be turned off ?

Yes- the lady I originally spoke with said that you could turn EPR/Z-Breath off. That's not correct.

I spoke with another rep a couple of times. They have received multiple requests to allow Z-Breath OFF.
At a minimum, this would require a firmware update. It's also a possibility, that due to the machine design, that you can't turn it totally off for some reason.
The last rep I spoke with confirmed that the design team knows about the request, but she had no info as to whether they can or will make the modification.

I also have a bit more real world update on use.
My Resmed unit failed a couple of weeks ago, and it's out for repair. Due to that, I'm using the Z2 Auto as my spare.
Since my wife has tinnitus, she is pretty sensitive to the whining noise.
My first attempt to mitigate the remaining noise, was to put the unit down near floor level in a cubby in the bottom of my night stand. In order to do that, I needed to use the 4' hose that came with the unit, attached to the Q-Tube muffler, and then to a 6' hose. Using that setup, I was struggling to get enough air. I tried to up the pressure a bit from 8-12 to about 10-14 for a couple of nights, but my AHIs were somewhat high.

I set my pressures back to normal, and change the set up. Z2 Auto ---> Qtube ----> 6' hose. I then placed the unit inside the night stand drawer, and closed the drawer leaving about an inch to allow the hose to exit. Using that set up, worked great. The noise is not really audible at all to me, and my AHIs are as low as 1 now.
I'm using the Nitelog app to check this, and it's not great. HDM is allegedly re-writing that app. One anomaly is that when I see high AHIs on the graph, it's usually when I'm actually awake. The software must interpret my breathing pattern as Apnea/Hypopneas.

All in all, I'm pretty impressed with the machine. My wife only complained about the noise the first night when I had the unit under the night stand.
Since putting it in the drawer, no complaints, but to be fair, we are also running the portable A/C in the room now, so that would probably mask the noise even if I left it on top of the nightstand.

Since I'm sleeping well, and the unit is very travel friendly, I'd strongly recommend considering it for those who need a travel friendly unit.

[arburns7487]

Thanks for sharing your experience....

On your z2 auto, did you contemplate the regular z2 vs z2 auto?

Do you own the extended battery shell?

Also is the travel hose any better than your own 6' hose?

I appreciate all your responses....

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[jsmit86]

Thanks for sharing your experience....

On your z2 auto, did you contemplate the regular z2 vs z2 auto?
No - I wanted the AutoPap function - same/similar to my ResMed AirSense™ 10 AutoSet™

Do you own the extended battery shell?
No - currently no plans to need battery.

Also is the travel hose any better than your own 6' hose?
I don't have that travel hose. IMHO, the normal slim 6' hose does not take up much space in my roll aboard bag. In fact, I actually took a standard 19mm hose on my trip.
I purchased that hose due to comments that it was better at noise reduction than a slimline hose. With the Z2, that is not really a problem for me anyway.

I appreciate all your responses....

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[arburns7487]

Good to know...

I thought the slimline 4ft travel hose comes with the new z2 as well as muffler. I just want anything lighter than my remstar auto (its is set in constant 13.0). It is very heavy and bulky. Just tired of dragging it everywhere.

I was leaning toward the z2 regular, so it would just be set at my 13.0 pressure.

Also was leaning towards the extended battery for a few reasons. Normally I would think batterybusnt needed for my life, but I experience white water rafting and had to camp out, no outlets, yet there where lights...2 nights was miserable, lucky booze helped..lol

I also was thinking about the battery mainly for long flights (Macau via Hong Kong & Australia/New Zealand). I plan to fly business class so I can lay down and not be seen wearing it. Also though if battery, they cant refuse me using it, due to liability concerns with power. I have seen everything about bringing it on flights (yes its a medical device, doesnt count as carry on etc...I have yet to see or hear anyone saying they used one on an actual flight. I mean dont people use them at all on long haul flights? I understand coach or upright seats, visually most might not, but someone has to have flown business/1st class and used one).

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[jsmit86]

Good to know...

I thought the slimline 4ft travel hose comes with the new z2 as well as muffler. I just want anything lighter than my remstar auto (its is set in constant 13.0). It is very heavy and bulky. Just tired of dragging it everywhere.
The Z2 units do come with a 4' hose. That's not the same collapsible travel hose referred to in some of these posts. The 4' version that ships with the unit would be great for airplane use, but perhaps not ideal for hotel use. In my case, I take a 6' slim hose. It's easy to pack, and I loop it over a pillow that stands upright against the headboard. That allows the hose to come from above so if I do turn over in my sleep, there is not any issue with having enough hose.

I was leaning toward the z2 regular, so it would just be set at my 13.0 pressure.
You could do that if your RX is just for a set pressure. You could also order the auto unit in case you decide to input a range in the future.

Also was leaning towards the extended battery for a few reasons. Normally I would think batterybusnt needed for my life, but I experience white water rafting and had to camp out, no outlets, yet there where lights...2 nights was miserable, lucky booze helped..lol

I also was thinking about the battery mainly for long flights (Macau via Hong Kong & Australia/New Zealand). I plan to fly business class so I can lay down and not be seen wearing it. Also though if battery, they cant refuse me using it, due to liability concerns with power. I have seen everything about bringing it on flights (yes its a medical device, doesnt count as carry on etc...I have yet to see or hear anyone saying they used one on an actual flight. I mean dont people use them at all on long haul flights? I understand coach or upright seats, visually most might not, but someone has to have flown business/1st class and used one).

I have not flown with one yet. My company only pays for coach now, so that will be a challenge either way.
I don't think power would be an issue as long as they have A/C available. It's pretty common now on long haul flights to have 110V A/C outlets.

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