ResMed AirFit N30 Cradle Cushion

The AirFit N30 seals below the nose with a soft silicone cushion rather than pressing into it, so it stays comfortable through the night without the pinch a rigid insert can leave. This is the single part that wears out first, since nothing else on the mask sits against skin.

ResMed color codes the three sizes, red for Small, blue for Medium and purple for Small Wide. Those same colors are printed onto its own downloadable fitting template, so the right size is easy to confirm before you order.

Key Features:

• No Large exists: ResMed's own fitting template shows exactly three zones, and its storefront sells exactly three sizes.
• Mask setting: Select Pillows on an AirSense, even though this cushion is a cradle rather than a pillow.
• Template dimensions: The printable fitting guide reproduces the cushion at actual size, five and a half inches wide.
• Material named: ResMed describes the cushion as a soft and lightweight silicone that conforms to the nose.
• Box contents: The listing supplies the replacement cushion alone, with no frame and no headgear in the box.
• Broad device list: Validated coverage runs across the AirSense, the AirCurve, the S9 and several of the VPAP models.

An N30 that has begun venting toward the eyes or leaving a line under the nose usually wants a fresh cushion fitted. Nothing else on this mask sits against skin, so nothing else gives out at anything like the same rate.

Note: The AirFit N30i is a different mask with a different frame, and its cushion does not fit here. Check whether your hose connects at the front or over the crown of your head.

Reading the color codes

ResMed prints a sizing template you can produce at home, and it carries three tinted zones rather than a measurement scale. Red marks the smallest, blue the middle and purple the wider option, and those tints match the part you receive.

Small Wide is the one people misread. It is not a fourth step above Large, because no Large exists on this mask. It covers a nose that is broad across the base but no taller than a Small, so it sits sideways on the ladder rather than above it.

Cradle against pillows

Nothing on this cushion goes into the nose. The sealing surface sits below the nostrils and closes against the skin around them, which is why it suits people who find anything inserted uncomfortable after a few hours.

The trade is that it depends more on position. A cradle seal that slips downward starts venting toward the eyes, so it rewards getting the strap tension even rather than tight, and it is worth reseating if you wake with a dry eye.

Keeping it, and replacing it

Soak the cushion after each use in warm water and a gentle liquid soap, run a soft brush lightly across it, rinse it through and stand it somewhere shaded. Both the dishwasher and the washing machine appear in the guide's warning list.

ResMed nominates one cushion a month. A cradle seal tends to fail first at the thin sealing lip, so run a finger along that edge when it is dry and treat any stiffness or gloss as the signal to change it.

Here's everything that comes in the box.

• One AirFit N30 cradle cushion, Small, Medium or Small Wide