Gas masks

[maldini3]

Seem to be a lot of sites offering these with new filters for fairly cheap - although it's not the sort of thing you'd want to buy on the cheap if it affected the quality of the item!

Does anyone here have a few pointers on what to look out for / any recommended sites etc please?

Any help is always much appreciated!

[Yorkshire Andy]

What you looking at full face or half mask ? Ideally you need face fitting to the mask that said the Avon s10 has a decent reflex seal......

Sundstrum masks are good too....

As too are Scott

[Devonian]

As Andy indicates, Sundstrom are very well regarded for their half mask respirators, particularly the SR100.

For full face respirators, I would go with Scott.

But.....what exactly are you looking for, or more specifically what are you trying to protect against? You mention a gas mask, but is it gas what you are worried about or something else, as the selection of the filters that you attach to the respirators is more important. Generally no single filter can protect against everything, so you either need a combination of filters or to identify what you want protection from.

[preppergb]

What do you need them for ? NBC attack, disposing of dead bodies after a pandemic, escaping burning buildings, exploring collapsed tunnels etc in cities, cycling through heavily polluted areas? there is a huge range of masks, respirators, filters, canisters etc to choose from?. I keep a set out mouth and nose covering masks designed for cyclists riding in very polluted air, they are light weight and fold flat and in conjunction with a pair of goggles should be ideal for escaping a damaged or burning urban area.

[maldini3]

Ideally I'm looking for one option that can cover a number of eventualities. I know a one size fits all approach isn't totally realistic but something versatile without having to have a wide number of filters would be preffered.

Any ideas? ha

[Yorkshire Andy]

A full face mask with an abek2 p3 euro canister will cover most bases baring low temp volitile organic agents where an ax cartridge would be needed or mercury vapour where a hg rated filter is required

[Holomon]

If disease and viruses are your concern don't use a reusable mask, use disposable ones. It's hard to contain and sanitise the reusable parts of a mask outside of laboratory conditions, which can then cause a transmission problem when you take them off.
Oversuits and rebreathers get a chemical shower on the way out of containment zones for a reason, if you're pulling off a reusable mask with your gloves on, you may get infected material on the inside. You then sweat, it mixes, and runs down to your eyes or mouth.