I am interested in learning more about gas masks. Brands, functionality, etc. I am not exactly sure what to even ask because I know next to nothing about them. No reason in particular besides curiosity. I tried using the search function to little avail.
Anyone have any experience with these that they can share? Or point me in the right direction?
Did you just see āContagionā or something? 
Actually Iām pretty curious to see the answers you get on this. My experience is limited to USMC NBC gear, in all itās glory.
Took a look at the NBC stuff and it is super expensive. Just picked up an Israeli M15 for an 1/8 of the price.
They can be expensive for a reason. You just bought the equivalent of a lever action rifle for CQB. Yeah, it worked in itās day, but there are better choices. If you researched more, youād find that there are other masks from companies like Scott that would provide more compatibility without dealing with unknown surplus.
Letās ask the obvious question? What do you want it for? What do you want to protect against? What activities?
What do these questions have to do with the OP?
I thought I made it clear this is all out of curiosity.
If you read the OP, you would notice that I asked for some education, not your condescending criticism of a purchase. I am completely aware that I know jack shit about this kind of gear.
You bought an Israeli surplus gas mask. Wht type of filter does it have, how old is it, has it been opened, all these are real considerations that need to be kept in mind about NBC gear. I would not trust my life to surplus mask with questionable filters that may only be suitable for training at best. There is a reason we carry extra filters in Uncle Sugarās fun clubs. And then we can go into detection and decon kits and suits and Atropine etc, etc, etc.
Once again, this is all out of SHEER CURIOSITY. I am not ātrusting my lifeā to this stuff. I am simply curious and am seeking EDUCATION and NOT CRITISISM.
Why is this concept so difficult to grasp?
Wiggity, it is a very valid question despite some of the responses.
While a wide area, high purity, chemical warfare attack by a state actor on our soil is a low likelyhood event, the possibility of accidental or intentional release of toxic industrial chemicals is much higher. These chemicals will likely present a hazard primarily when inhaled and these masks can do a very effective job of managing the consequences of these agents allowing you to remove yourself from the environment. That said, like all things, if you ever intend to purchase an Air Purifying Respirator rated for CBRN threats it will only protect you if you carry it with you, as you know. As a result you have to take a hard look at the threat environment that you live or work in and decide if is necessary for you.
At the most basic level the cartirdge is the most critical component, namely it needs to be well sealed and not exposed to the ambient air. The mask should fit you well and be in good repair as well as be in a configuration that meets your requirements. You need to be clean shaven, and trained in how to properly don it as well as understand how it will impact you.
The best escape type respirator on the market right now seems to be the AVON EH20, probably the best deal in a military style mask is the MCU-2/P although as the M50 JSGPM becomes more widely fielded I would expect to see many more M40 series masks on the market for reasonable ammounts.
Unfortunately it is a very broad topic, if you have any specific questions I am happy to try and answer them adequately, my primary job at work is to be the CBRNE/HazMat SME for my agency and I work closely with our CST and HRF. Ultimately this topic could fill its own forum or subforum if you really delve into it.
Thank you very much ninjamedic! Like I said, I realize this is a large topic with quite a history and I am not sure what I should be asking. Do you know of any informational websites or books on the subject? That might be a good place to start.
Probably the most comprehensive source of information in a readily available form is from the Textbook of Military Medicine series published by the Borden Institute, of the Office of The Surgeon General, Department of the Army. Contrary to how it sounds the volumes contain an in depth look at all aspects of chemical and biological warefare and its implications including the equipment and techniques.
OP, try here. Pretty good site with most major brands available. It may help you.
Familiarize yourself with the symptoms of nerve agent poisoning. Youāre going to need it to understand whatās happening to you in the last 90 seconds of your life.
Start at the top of your head and point, running downward:
Donāt buy surplus gas masks or filters. This is like buying 1950s surplus parachutes.
ETA: I see thatās been addressed already. Approvedgasmasks is a good source for non-suck gear.
I always wondered about gas masks for chemical/bio type situations and have this question (part of the reason Iāve never bought one)ā¦
Does an NBC setup do you any good if you donāt have a place to decontaminate after the threat?
What all is involved in decontaminating ones self?
Where I work we have guys in the field that do asbestos removal and they have a huge wash trailer that they have to go thru about 3 different stations to decon themselves, and thatās just for asbestos.
Depends on what the contamination was. You could set up a fairly effective improvised decon station with a garden hose and garden chemical sprayer.
The asbestos thing is fucking ridiculous. Thatās nothing more than liability avoidance, not actual danger.
Been doing some reading, these links are down-right awesome. A very high quality post.
Informative as well, thank you.
please refer to posts 7&9
I work around a couple of chemicals and keep an MSA dual-cartridge face mask in my work area, just in case. Most likely threats (other than smoke) are hydrazine and ammonia, so I keep it loaded with cartridges that can handle that stuff.
Looks like this, but with purple/green & white stripe GME P-100 cartridges.
Itās not high speed low drag military gear, although itās rated to get my ass safely out of a cloud of toxic nasty stuff. Plus it accepts all kinds of off-the-shelf canisters for different contaminants, including those fancy NBC canisters*. Most mil surp gas masks wonāt do shit against hydrazine. Get an OSHA approved commercial respirator or face mask. They work.
Iām a certified HAZMAT Technician and I spent 8 years on SWAT using lots of different kinds of gas masks. Iām still heavily involved in training and can tell you a little about the gas masks currently in use by U.S. first responders.
The two main players in the gas mask market are MSA and Scott. One of the most popular gas masks for ātacticalā use is the MSA Millenium.
As you can see, it offers a wide field of vision and allows the shooter to pick which side of the mask on which he prefers to place the cartridge. This will become very important when youāre trying to get anything resembling a good cheek weld. This is my favorite gas mask because you can āflexā or collapse the clear shield if you need to and still keep a good seal. This is the mask I have been using for years now. Itās in wide use among SWAT, HAZMAT, and other specialized LE units. This is the same mask that has been issued to all patrol officers in the agency where I am employed.
I have used Scott gas masks in the past and while I love their SCBA masks, I didnāt have good luck with their gas masks because of the ādual lenseā setup and the way the cartridges interferred with my cheek weld. This was especially true for hostage rescue shots where absolute precision is called for.
Hereās an example of a typical Scott gas mask:
This is the M110 CBRN mask but unlike some masks of old, you can switch sides for the filter similar to the MSA above.
Scott has other products that I have used for Haz-Mat stuff but I never used it for tactical or shooting purposes. Hereās their āPromaskā which I found to be a huge improvement over their previous models:
Hope this helps. Take care.
Doug
Actually this is not completely accurate. The difficulty in properly dispersing a persistent liquid agent such as VX, effectively limits its use to state actors. Most terrorist or accidental chemical incidents which might be likely to occur, will be from a non-persistent, volatile substance, disseminated via an improvised dispersal device. Your primary routes of exposure for chemical warfare agents are going to be through the eyes and the respiratory tract. If you can protect your eyes and lungs from the chemical vapors then you have a very good chance of escaping the affected area with little to no serious effects. Of the 13 people killed in the 1995 Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack, which likely represents a worse case terrorist event, 50% of the fatalities were a result of traumatic injuries rather than direct nerve agent effects.
āPercutaneous vapor concentrations needed to produce adverse effects are significantly greater than inhalation vapor concentrations necessary to produce the same effect (for nerve agents especially, and sulfur mustard to a lesser extent). The estimated human LCt50 for agent GB vapor inhalation exposure is 35 mg-min/m3, while the estimated human LCt50 for GB percutaneous vapor exposure is 12,000 mg-min/m3ā
If we stray much further from an equipment specific discussion perhaps this topic should be moved to the disaster preparedness section.