Where can I buy a reasonably priced gas mask?

Where can you buy gas mask filters that dont expire this year?

• I have been to so many different sites and all i can find is gas mask filters that expire later this year or years ago. We have Israeli gas mask and would like new filters that dont expire so soon. any info would be helpful. Also does anyone know if UNopened filters are still good after they expire? I have heard many answers so anyone who could tell me first hand from maybe experience that they can still be used and be effective or they cant not please help

• Answer:

  www.nbcgasmask.com www.proki.org www.approvedgasmasks.com They don't sell expired stuff. *Theoretically* unopened filters can last almost indefinitely (provided it's not a faulty model or obsolete ones or ones that have toxins such as chromium or those that were carelessly stored) because it's in an airtight container so there's nothing for the charcoal inside to adsorb and degrade. The particulate filter is also probably still in perfect condition. For surplus filters get the US C2A1s (in gray metal cans or brown/black plastic containers) with a manufacture date as closest to present as possible. Look at the serial numbers, the first digits are usually the manufacture year ranging from early 1990s to mid 2000s. The other one to get are the Swiss NATO NBC filters in the olive green pods. Those are the good ones. Filters have about a 5-10-12 year shelf life not because it magically stops working after X date. It's so the manufacture company can stay in business by people having to buy new ones for the sense of security, and because of high military standards. So many companies try to set the 'expire' date as short as possible. Canned food have a shelf life but can also last almost indefinitely. If you absolutely want to be on the safe side, get unexpired filters. I do, and save the surplus ones for riot agents like tear gas or in a pinch. People have tested surplus filters on Youtube and found a lot of them still working under air freshener aerosols. But not tested against something like mustard gas, and no one should try that for educational purposes either. Gas masks themselves also have a shelf life of ~ 10-20 years. Rubber fatigue, rubber dry rot, faulty valves, or microscopic tears can leave you unprotected. A lot of these Israeli masks are decades old and probably have been sitting in a warehouse somewhere. They're best stored in room temperature conditions, out of sunlight and heat, and moisture free. But unless it's in poor condition, most masks-even surplus used-will still work as intended. Except a very few ones that are decades old obsolete where its filters are impossible to find new. Inspect it for damage, a perfect seal to your face (negative pressure by covering inlet valve and breathing in so the mask collapses with no leaks), and for best results get ones that are current issues or were recent previous issues. For instance, an Israeli M15 or Israeli Civilian 4A1 2nd Generation with a drinking straw or a South Korean K1 or US M40A1 with its second butyl skin isn't that old and is far better than something like a US M17A1 or Soviet ones. Not that there's anything wrong with Soviet ones provided they're 40mm filter compatible like the ever iconic GP-5, I've seen good results against tear gas and even nerve gas allegedly.