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Interesting article about gas masks

4K views 20 replies 15 participants last post by  hotbarrel 
#1 ·
#2 ·
I purchased several of those mask from Centerfiresystems.com that have the side mounted filter. These are a bit better than some of the others they sell which obviously would not work at all.

The ones I got fit tightly about the face and most likely could offer some protection from maybe tear gas or a lot of smoke? They would offer eye protection so at least one might be able to see to load and fire weapons in defense.

These are the Finnish masks Centerfire sells. They would offer protection to ones face against fire and smoke. And, guard the eyes from flying glass and bullet spatter.

Something is at least better than nothing.
 
#3 ·
To work effectively, masks must be specially fitted to the wearer
This sounds a little self serving and eliminates 99% of the worlds military.
 
#4 ·
Some truth to the article, but mostly it is total horseshit!

One example is the M-10 style masks. These were close copies of the US M-17 masks, and are designed to fit a wide variety of faces. The filters may not provide complete protection, but the protection that they would lack is CHEMICAL, as in NERVE AGENTS. Everything else is particulate protection.

I could rant for a few more paragraphs, but I think I have made my point.

Some mask is better than no mask. The real issue is no only having the mask, but several sets of spare filters. Like 20 per mask....

Take care!!!
 
#6 ·
I have some in the styl of the russian. I thought a mask that pulled over my entire head would give very good protection. the link said they were totaly usless, I have an easy test. I must be fit tested every year for my resporator at work. I can do the same test with one of my personal maskes on.
the test is a bag over the head and a spray shot in. if you smell anything the test fails. I bet I will not smell anything with the masks I bought.
 
#9 ·
I had a full face gas mask once but my juvenile delinquint nephew got into my gear, found the gas mask and turned into a bong. I never replaced it so that is just another item to put on my "to do" list. Thanks. :frown:
 
#10 ·
Have had several Draeger masks with spare NATO filters and a similar IDF mask with the drink tube and corresponding canteen. Ex-East German and Czech M10M with also has drink tube. Canadian with adapter to take NATO cannisters. Adapters from Maine military surplus will also mate the Swedish and Finnish masks to NATO cannister filters. Swede mask and bag came with an epi-pen injector!
 
#11 ·
OK That's a BLOG that is built to look like a government agency website. "National Terror Alert" .com is NOT a government website. Crap but I can't remember how to look up the website owner information - anyone remember? I thought it was something like "whois" or something similar?

Sure, you're talking about your life here so it is worth investigating. However everything on that page is alarmist and dismissive. They don't even provide test criteria. It is an obvious advertisement baiting site for Armchair Admirals, nothing more.

OK.

The interesting bit I picked up from the filter descriptions are that the filter components decay (corrode?) over time and can lead to chromium toxicity. Never heard that but I suppose it depends on the filter element. I can see needing to replace filters every so often. Makes sense - I have to do it for my fridge :)

Some were listed simply because they can't use current NATO filters. I know for a fact you buy current NATO filter adapters and simply screw them on so you can use NATO filters (duh) so that seems completely moot. Others though are discarded because they don't meet some high standard of "100% NBC" protection. Well I don't live downwind of a chemical or biological weapons factory so I don't need to worry about tear gas, mustard gas, etc. however I do want protection from chemical spills.

I'm looking at the Finnish masks because while I never plan to fight my way out of a tear gas-infested shootout (c'mon REALLY?!?!?!?!?) I do live in an area just a few miles from a government facility and railroad tracks. Obvoiusly chemical spills or other types of accidents would be my primary concern so I can make tracks upwind! Those seem to be the best deal for what they offer.



HOW TO TEST THEM?

What's a good test? Does anyone actually TEST their masks? Hover over some open chemicals (bleach, ammonia, camp fire, etc) and see if you can smell anything? Other tests to validate? This is something you don't want to find out AFTER you need it!!!
 
#17 ·
OK here is a true first hand test, as I said before I have some of the Russian masks, the ones that were 15$ with a filter, years back, the ones with the two small glass eyes and an extention filter hose.
as I posted before we had a large anhydrous ammonia spill at my work place.
you can smell 2 PPM
55 PPM feels like cool burning menthol all the way to your lungs.
100 PPM will drive you back with eyes burning and no ability to inhale
300 PPM is the IDLH leval
the mask and filter was 100% effective in all levals mentioned above, also the filters in the masks provided by work were about 1/4 the size of the surpluss filters
real world test YES ANY leak by or filter failure would have been CLEAR.
 
#18 ·
The sealer that I use on travertine tile installations would kill a bull moose. I normally use the German surplus mask that they call the pigface because I found a bunch of filters real cheap. It will take about 3 hrs in small room before I'll smell it. The drawback is that the filters are inside the mask and you need to remove it to change them. Bad design.
Recently I used an M40 US issue. It uses the C2A1 filter which I think is the current nato issue. It lasted a good 6 hrs before I could smell any hint of the sealer.
 
#20 ·
According to the manufacturers, as little as 2-3 years or as long as 10, depending on who made it and type. I would assume like most "shelf life" estimates they are on the conservative side to allow for some leeway with storage conditions and such. They should have an expiration date stamped on the filter or the canister it came in. I wouldn't be afraid to use one that was a year out of date, but beyond that who knows how effective they are. Better than a rag across your mouth, I'm sure.
 
#21 ·
I looked for date on my filters to just to see and relay on info.
I see only the number 71 and next to that I see 298
nouthing else.
I am going to guess they are charcoal, how fast dose charcoal go bad, I think it lasts a long time when sealed. I would not even buy filters that did not have original seals fully intact. humidity and God knows what else could get in.
 
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