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We may earn revenue from the products available on this page and participate in affiliate programs. Learn More \u203a<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Spend enough time in a backcountry cabin or an adventure van, the air turning hazy with smoke from the wood-burning stove, massive tufts of pollen drifting through the air, and the need for an air quality monitor becomes apparent. That goes double for the West, where checking the air quality forecast has become routine during the drier months of the year. To help you choose the best air quality monitor for your next adventure, we reviewed several top models.\u00a0<\/p>\n To test the air quality monitors, I first set them up in different rooms in my home and assessed how easy the information they provided was to understand and how they impacted my day-to-day awareness of the air quality in my home. Needless to say, I open up windows a lot more now than I did previously. To confirm that the air quality monitors were indeed capable of detecting PM 2.5 levels I lit matches in an enclosed space to see how it affected the reading. (I did not separately test the PM 10 sensor as most individuals will be more concerned with PM 2.5 due to its correlation with smoke and soot.) For VOCs, I opened up cleaning supplies and craft glue and left it in an enclosed space for one hour. CO2 level sensors were tested over a series of days by noting how they changed when a window was open and when more people were in an enclosed space for a duration of time. I also compared the humidity and temperature sensors to existing humidity and temperature sensors in my home.\u00a0<\/p>\n Finally, I considered cost, battery life, energy consumption, and the ability of the air quality monitor to work with an app versus as a standalone.\u00a0<\/p>\nHow I Tested the Best Air Quality Monitors<\/h2>\n
Best Air Quality Monitors: Reviews & Recommendations<\/h2>\n
Best Overall: Awair Element<\/a><\/h3>\n