Bug Out Bag Gas Masks

I bought a few american M17a1 masks on ebay for $40 each. You never know. I have a "beater" mask that I use when I mow the yard. I have bad alergies. I'll take the funny looks over a week worth of sneezing.

My wife wore one last week while getting ready in the morning. I had just laid my morning glory in the toilet and she was on the verge of puking. but thats just us.

Morning Glory I like that one.

Seriously you got to be real careful with military gas mask. If you don't use it right it will give you zero protection or even worse you can suffocate in the mask. You will not see it coming, the CO2 level will build up until you pass out. Make sure it comes with directions that are in english.

Where I live I don't think I will need a gas mask. I do have a painting respirator that might help in a pinch, but honestly the odds of a chemical attack in my small town is real unlikely. If I lived in NYC or Wash DC I would definately consider it.

I was thinking more like bird flu or dirty bomb protection.

I just picked this one up off ebay for a halloween costume I am planning.

It was $17 shipped, add another $5 for a Nato standard filter and I am set.
The add said "unissued French surplus"

Back durring the Anthrax scare my mom asked me if she should buy gas masks for the family incase of a terrorist attack. I told her "Mom, this isn't the Somme where they will fire shells over our trench. Chances are that the first sign of an attack will be the outbreak of symptoms, and by then it will be too late."

I am getting this mask because it is a cheep part to a costume, however I will practice getting a good seal with it and keep it in my room. It could just give me a few extra minutes in a fire.

The average survivor is about 900% more likely to need a dust mask than a gas mask.

The decent commercial grade stuff at Home Depot/Lowe's is adequate.

And for bird flu, as with most pandemics, all you're going to accomplish with a mask is delay which wave you get it, if at all. It might help you bridge to the point a vaccine is availible, but that's iffy.

You're better off looking into providing supportive therapy should hospitals get overwhelmed. Secondary pneumonia and lung fluid is probably the biggest killer. Getting Pneumovax for the whole family could be a big help.

Wouldn't these things work on tear gas/CS?

I have an israli mask with a couple of filters stashed.

I live in a major urban center (los angeles) and the most likely event I have to plan for is civil unrest, I suspect that teargas may come into play. I don't like teargass so, I have a mask.....

although I probably should get a second one for the fiance... hadn't thought about it in a while.

Shushhh, we dont need bad guys knowing that they can avoid CS from SWAT by getting a cheapo gas mask off ebay.

My understanding from those purportedly in the know, is that if you do not have solid training on how to use them, they are not likely to be effective anyway.

I figure you can only live in a gas mask for as long as you have replacement filters. Your chances are pretty good that you can just sit out things for that period of time anyway. The plastic sheeting and duct tape scheme actually does work, despite the ridicule it brought on the DHS.

My thinking is that a small powered HEPA filter to bring in a little outside air periodically into your plastic sheet and duct tape shelter is probably a better choice if at home. A small inverter/battery set will power the HEPA filter on intermittent duty for a long time.

All you really have to do is wait out the noxious agent for a few days, and in most cases it is no longer a problem. Anything longer than that, and you are probably a goner anyway.

The Israili mask that I bought is in great shape, it holds vacume perfectly, the valves work and the ruber is in perfect condition.

The canisters that I have for it are sealed (except for the one I tried out) and are well within the expiration date.

alot of the stuff on ebay is junk, I didn't buy mine from ebay, believe it or not there are actual stores which sell reputable surpluss. and occasionally governments do actually sell things off while there is still plenty of life to em.

good thing for us too, or we'd never get our garands or colts eh?

I'm not saying that the 40$ mask and cartridges that you buy will work as well as a brand new issue one.

but when the teargass goes of in front of your house, and the half blind 'participators in civil unrest' smash into your house to get away from it, any advantage that a gas mask will afford you will be gladly accepted.

If gas masks are not practical for your needs, ok, no worries I'm not saying everyone has to have one. but for my needs, my gas mask and filters should suffice. I'd rather be prepared than left wanting.

I was looking into getting a gas mask, but then it dawned on me that I don't have a de-contanimation shower or filtered living accommodation or know anyone with a de-contanimation shower or filtered living accommodation and therefore there wasn't much point in it


PS. a hankicheif soaked in vinegar and tried over your nose and mouth helps defeat tear gas

My question is this: Where can an individual receive good training on the use of a gas mask outside the military?

I use the Quick2000 hood/mask escape hood in the bug-out bag here in the Pentagon. It's supposedly useful protection from smoke, bugs and gas for up to about an hour. Four-year shelf life. Costs about $150 I think. There also is a training device that allows you to conduct refresher training without breaking out the real mask from the vacuum-sealed bag it comes in.

TC

I considered for about a minute getting a gas mask right after 9/11. Then common sense kicked in.

1) By the time I sense a problem, it will be too late.
2) By the time mainstream media tells me there is a problem, it will be way past too late.
3) Even if I can calibrate my nose to detect levels of toxins in amounts small enough that it isn't too late, the masks wouldn't last long enough for me to get out of the city (LA) during a crisis.
4) I usually don't go anyplace where the concentrations would be high enough that I can't escape (no trains, busses or subway).

I do think that I may look into getting a device as Leatherneck described to keep in the office building where I work. That might come in handy to get me through toxic fumes/gases and off of the 16th floor. Other than that, I would prefer an EAB type device like we had on Submarines. The problem is that the EAB is dependent on an air hose.

WWW.APPROVEDGASMASKS.COM

SERIOUSLY. look at the masks on that site and make sure you look at the "faulty mask" section. dont buy any of those cheap ebay masks.

I actually have some experience with masks. Two were army surplus of some variety.

The mask I used to carry to anti-globalization demonstrations was US surplus and of the type that took two filters and had no WWI-style protrusion in front. It worked fine against tear gas. I have no idea of how it rates against NBCs, but without the full protective suit this is likely a moot point. The mask did, however, stand up very well to the stresses of urban melee combat. It stayed secure on my face through charging, running, and fighting.

Most people I knew who did this sort of stuff had the el-cheapo Israeli masks. I can't recommend these for a SHTF type situation. They're wallet friendly, but they were not designed with activity in mind. Being that life is far different in Israel the masks are civilian models and the user is expected to be sitting in a bomb shelter while wearing one. They do not stay on the face well during running or fighting and that WWI-style filter is fun and easy to pull on if you don't like the person wearing the mask all that much.

My mask was confiscated in Quebec City and I was forced to resort to swimming goggles and a bandana soaked in a vinegar and water solution for tear gas protection. This is a less than ideal rig, but it worked surprisingly well. If CS gas is the only agent you're guarding against and you don't have a real mask handy I recommend this. I've heard piss can work in place of vinegar in a pinch.