# Gas Masks/Respirators



## acidlittle (Jan 24, 2012)

Anybody have some good tips on which Gas Masks to get, ones that are effective and also easy to attain filters for? Also where the heck to get em, I know cheaperthandirt has them...but don't know which to get.

Assistance is appreciated!


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## survival (Sep 26, 2011)

I've read many times that the M10 was a good mask, although there are issues trying to get the filters to go "inside" the mask makes it hard. There was one article that described the cons and pros of every gas mask out there on the market and in the end he said if you want a good mask, get the m10. 

One thing to note, that the masks in the older models (cheaper than dirt) say the filters are new, but they have been sitting around for awhile (although their expiration date is still good). Thus there are chemicals in them that can actually harm you if you use these, thats why some sites that sell them say "for display purposes and collection use only". 

But on the other hand, there has been people that have ran these through the test to see if there is any particles that make it through and some of the particles don't make it through despite the expiration date.

IMO, I was going to get some for home use as well as in my car and at work. (m10's) from sportsmans warehouse, but something came up where I didn't get them and they sold out. They were $30 each, compared to the $12 cheaper than dirt ones though, but I guess the reason why is because there has been so many reviews of good things on them. Ebay has them for about that price although they are used. You can get NATO filters to go in them that are brand brand brand new, so that is the route to go without breaking the bank. I figure this year the prices of these will go up since the 2012 freakout myan issue from nonpreppers and companies will be riding on this fear. pathetic! Again, IMO, a mask even if its from CTD at $12 is better than no gas mask. Also, pick up at least one "good" brand of duct tape for your windows and doors each payday $3-4 dollars. And of course some antiradiation pills (Potassium Iodide). Make sure the expiration date is good on them also. 

A note on filters, which is scary, I have read that you need to change them out every hour. Also, if the M10 mask is supposed to be the "best" military surplus, then why do you have to take the mask off to change out the filters???!?!?!?!?! Also, if you do go with the M10, then practice putting in the filters before you need to use it in an emergency, since many reports say it takes a newbie about 30 minutes the first time to learn how to do it! 

If you do go with a different mask, make sure that that the filter (if its on the outside) is on the opposite side of your shooting eye, or that if it hangs down it should be able to flex in case your in a prone position.


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## Lucky Jim (Sep 2, 2012)

Britain 1940, a gasmask for mum and a gas-proof pram for babba-


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## PrepperThyAngus (Sep 30, 2012)

What do you guys think about this mask?

Amazon.com: Israeli Civilian Gas Mask w/ Nato Filter: Home Improvement

Seems to get a lot of good review. How about the filter's?


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## nadja (May 1, 2012)

Something for you to look into. Masks sold by Auto Body Supply shops are for a very toxic invironment. The filters are good for a little longer then the military issue. They use a very heavy cotton pre filter with an activated charcoal screw on main filter. You use the same filters for heavy pest control work. They can be had fairly cheaply at these places. The cheapest I have found are at spacepaints, in Chandler, Az. Should be able to google them.


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## PrepperThyAngus (Sep 30, 2012)

nadja said:


> Something for you to look into. Masks sold by Auto Body Supply shops are for a very toxic invironment. The filters are good for a little longer then the military issue. They use a very heavy cotton pre filter with an activated charcoal screw on main filter. You use the same filters for heavy pest control work. They can be had fairly cheaply at these places. The cheapest I have found are at spacepaints, in Chandler, Az. Should be able to google them.


I happen to have ones of these already. It has dual filters on it and really helps. I paint cars for hobby and it really helps. However, would still want one with eye protection. Good info tho, thanks


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## rob (Dec 5, 2012)

It depends on what you expect to be exposed to, and the degree of anticipated exposure. I have standard full face respirators and half face respirators. If I am decontaminating after chemical attack, I do not feel that these would be sufficient. The Navy, last I knew was using the MCU gas mask. Along with a good protective layer over the remainder of the body, this should be adequate. The best is a system that provides oxygen, as opposed to filtering it. Since the Navy and Coast Guard have transitioned to using the SCOT pack, with the tanks, A-4 OBA's have to be available cheap through reselling from the military. The A-4 uses a GREEN (make sure you never even accept the red ones) cartrige to generate oxygen. This is better than filtered air, because the contamination is not going to be in this air,as opposed to depending on a filter to remove it. The down side is that replacement cartriges are not as easy to find, it is bulky and complicated to use and each cartrige only provides 45 minutes of time. The best is the self contained oxygen systems, such as SCOT packs. They provide far more time worth of never contaminated oxygen. The biggest downside to these is refilling them. I didn't mention line fed respirators, because if the air is contaminated, let's be real. Where could you set up the compressor that it isn't sending contaminated air to the facepiece?

May I take a moment to share what I observe? Even if the whole world were at peace, and everyone loved everyone, hate was done away with and the desire of all was to live in harmony, the risk of chemical contamination would remain very high. Many of the chemical weapons our enemies would expose us to are also industrial chemicals that transit our highways and railroads everyday, including chlorine gas and phosgene. The chemicals that are impregnated into the waffers of our cellphones are no different than the weapons use by Germany in World War 1. If civil unrest erupted by hippy tree huggers in some industrial area went to far, the threat of a chemical release into out air would be every bit as deadly as Al Quedia dropping chlorine gas on us. I attended a tabletop drill with an industrial company while I was in the Coast Guard. Should even hippy protestors puncture a tank of chlorine gas, the affects would spread greatly depending on the landscape and winds. Imagine what would result if people living in a city conditioned to believe that companies owed them free rides started feeling hungry and decided to overrun an industrial facility. Would they be intelligent enough to realize not to puncture that tank?


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## WhenShtf (Dec 7, 2012)

I got the Czech M10 at Budk.com is at a discount of $20 right now.


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