“BUT WHAT IF I WANT TO WEAR A GAS MASK TO THE COOL ZONE?” - a general interest thread for the discerning citizen, just in case some nefarious antifa style Soros thugs let off a bunch of tear gas around you, merely for saying that you think people should be nice to each other
we’re talking about what are generally called, as a class, riot control agents - the two big ones being CS gas and OC (pepper spray, if you like)
neither of these are ‘gases,’ really, you’re experiencing them in aerosol form
neither of these are ‘gases,’ really, you’re experiencing them in aerosol form
they’re also comprised of big stupid bumbling cop-ass molecules that just get stuck to everything. the way a gas mask filter works is that you have a particulate layer with a lot of surface area for molecules to stick to, and then sometimes also a layer of carbon to adsorb them
a filter that only has a particulate layer is rated as P3 in Europe or P100 in the US, and this *should* stop riot control agents - if you want an extra margin of safety, you can get one that’s rated against gases as well, *so long as it has P3 or P100 on there too*
WHAT TYPE OF MASK SHOULD I GET
well, you can go half face or full face. full face means you don’t need separate eye protection, and since it seals you’re not going to be crying either. downside is that it’s more claustrophobic, can’t wear glasses, may not be impact rated
well, you can go half face or full face. full face means you don’t need separate eye protection, and since it seals you’re not going to be crying either. downside is that it’s more claustrophobic, can’t wear glasses, may not be impact rated
the most important thing is that it works with the filters you get. civilian masks are usually proprietary, so like a 3M branded mask will only take a 3M branded filter, because capitalism
“BUT WHAT IF I GET A MILITARY MASK OFF EBAY”
okay, there’s four types of filters
- 40mm NATO. most modern masks use this. this is the one you want, cause you can get newly made filters
- Soviet GOST. this can be made to fit NATO filters with some tape but it’s a pain. avoid
okay, there’s four types of filters
- 40mm NATO. most modern masks use this. this is the one you want, cause you can get newly made filters
- Soviet GOST. this can be made to fit NATO filters with some tape but it’s a pain. avoid
- 60mm NATO. old. you probably won’t find this but just in case, avoid.
- cheek filters. you can tell these ones because the mask doesn’t have a visible canister hanging off it but big hamster cheeks. big avoid, they’re always gonna be expired and they suck
- cheek filters. you can tell these ones because the mask doesn’t have a visible canister hanging off it but big hamster cheeks. big avoid, they’re always gonna be expired and they suck
ideally what you want to do is ignore whatever filter it comes with and get your own new sealed one to put on there, but if you have to, basically all mask filters will probably stop riot agents, because again, big dumb molecules
“DUHHHH IS THAT ASBESTOS”
probably
probably
the other consideration here is that even though a filter will ~work~, if it’s old it’s gonna suck to breathe through. running around will be exhausting. actually it’ll be exhausting anyway. you want to minimise your time wearing a full mask as much as you can safely
if you can wear one all day then good, good for you, but if you’re finding it claustrophobic then the smarter thing to do may be to mask up with a bandana until they gas you, then switch out. also wearing one might make you a target for the cops, sorry
other boring but important stuff: if your mask comes with a manual you should read it. you should practice putting it on and taking it off. you should change filters when it gets noticeably harder to breathe all of a sudden. if you have a beard you probably have to shave it
like all your clothes once you’ve been gassed the outside is contaminated - you can wash off the mask itself but not the filter, so 1 minecraft = 1 filter is a safe assumption
you can test whether a gas mask is working - at least, working well enough for this context - by putting it on, spraying some deodorant around and seeing if you can smell any
you can also, before you put the filter on, put the palm of your hand over the valve the filter goes on to. if the mask sucks in around your face when you try to inhale, it’s sealing
and that’s it! be safe. happy to answer questions or clarify anything
oh actually
“WHAT IF I WEAR GLASSES”
a full face mask won’t seal properly and also you’ll probably wedge your glasses into your face really uncomfortably. Get a half face mask and goggles instead
“WHAT IF I WEAR GLASSES”
a full face mask won’t seal properly and also you’ll probably wedge your glasses into your face really uncomfortably. Get a half face mask and goggles instead
embedding useful replies here to save having a bunch of disparate RTs
yeah unfortunately you do look like a fucking dork this way though
yeah just don’t get a Soviet mask if you can help it, though. you are not a Greek anarchist
I know you think the Soviet Union was cool, and it was, but after minimum 30 years of aging all the rubber in their masks smells weird and it’ll annoy the shit out of you very quickly
thought of another one
“I GOT THIS MASK OFF EBAY AND IT CAME COVERED IN WHITE DUST, WHAT DO”
that’s just the talc they put on it to stop the rubber degrading - dunk it in warm soapy water a few times, rinse out and you’re good
“I GOT THIS MASK OFF EBAY AND IT CAME COVERED IN WHITE DUST, WHAT DO”
that’s just the talc they put on it to stop the rubber degrading - dunk it in warm soapy water a few times, rinse out and you’re good
Chinese masks are all 40mm NATO now. Copy machine go brrrrrrr
In Europe an A2P3, in the US it’ll usually be colour-coded black or brown because there’s no overriding standard lmao. These are both erring on the side of caution rather than something you need to do
Oh yeah between smoke and burning autozones there’s hella carcinogens around, but usually in particulate form
Fun fact, until about the 90s one of the big components of the chemical layer in filters was........... hexavalent chromium
“I GOT THIS REALLY NICE MSA ADVANTAGE/AVON C50, IT’S BALLISTIC RATED I CAN SIT THERE AND GET SHOT AT ALL DAY”
okay great but a cop’s gonna rip it off your face and then you’ll be out five hundred dollars. also everyone else will assume you’re a cop
okay great but a cop’s gonna rip it off your face and then you’ll be out five hundred dollars. also everyone else will assume you’re a cop
it depends on whether you’re more worried about a cop shooting you in the eye or about getting riot control agents in them - there are ballistic rated gas masks (see above) but these tend to be expensive
you can sometimes find ballistic outserts that you put on over the outside of the lenses also. one thing I would say is not to get a Soviet mask if you’re worried about impacts, because a lot of those lenses are glass 😬
either will offer some protection, a full face one with a particulate filter theoretically total protection - the downside is that you’re still exhaling out of a big valve so you can give it to other people
if you’re wearing the mask the whole time it will also stop you from touching your face I guess
almost certainly. also cops don’t usually spring for masks with drinking tubes so they gotta take em off to rehydrate
Avon masks like the S-10 or FM-12 are great and usually pretty cheap in the UK at least - for half masks, the standard cheap 3M one is fine
Yikes. Yeah no that’s a lot more than it should be. You could try an MP-5, there’s a glut of them at the moment because the Polish Army just got rid of theirs
Yeah this is much more like it
