Respirator masks work much better though and are cheap. I put on my woodworking N99 respirator and it works perfectly for wildfire smoke. This is about the size of a Covid N95 mask
100%, and even aside from cost I personally don't want another thing with batteries to manage. Elastomeric respirators can be even more comfortable with a better seal, and cheaper over repeated wear. Probably what I'll do if I need to be outdoors in heavy smoke again this year.
I haven’t observed this to be true; I generally find them to be very uncomfortable. Do you have a brand recommendation?
I also have a pretty big beard which makes them less effective.