You absolutely do not need to spend big bucks on a gas mask like #4 in this picture, which is one of my Scott masks I purchased just after 911. They are #1- a $16 Vietnamese cheek pouch mask that only has one filter, (not mentioned in the article). #2 – Adult Israeli mask. #3- Serbian mask with 60mm thread filters. #5 – Children’s PDF-2 (size 2). #6 – Children’s PDF-D (size 1). #7 – Czeck M-17 copy. #8 – Russian GP-5 with Swiss filter on it. #9 Russian newer GP-7 type. #10 – Older GP-7 type. #11 Russian PBF “Gorilla” mask in black.
The first thing that many survivalists buy is often a gas mask, but they seldom ask themselves why. “NBC” stands for nuclear, biological and chemical, so the answer is obviously “well duh, that. Hello!” But what do those scenarios look like on the ground if/when they happen, and what help will a gas mask be if they do? Also, what’s the budget? You can find gas masks with NBC filters on Ebay for $10 up to $700 sometimes. Which ones work? Can you get away with the cheap models? I heard Russian filters have asbestos? And what about kids? Are there any gas masks for traveling with children?
I started my gas mask quest back in the early 00’s after 911. The fear porn with the anthrax and stuff was overwhelming, and one of the things I checked off my list quick was a couple of Scott $150 gas masks. I had guns of course, so I figured that at the very least, I should have a couple of good “fighting masks” and plenty of filters. That is when I started to break down what each of those NBC scenarios would entail, and I realized that I had put my financial resources into the wrong stuff. Though I kept and still have the Scott masks, I ended up buying Russian GP-7 masks for myself and my family, because they are way better.
If you don’t have time to read through this whole article, in short, the Russian GP-5 is an adult mask that works great and comes in several sizes, for well under $20 each with a filter. In lots like these you can often get GP-5s with filters for $10 each shipped from Eastern Europe.
I expect this article to get long so I will give you the basics of what you can go buy now very cheap if you want. The only probable need for a gas mask in a genuine survival world is in the event of nuclear war, or if one or more nuclear reactors melt down, so the need for bug out masks for the family is real. Masks are only a short term solution, but if they are needed, to move outside from a radiation hot location to one that isn’t reading so high on your meters, there is no effective replacement. Cheap Russian GP-5 gas masks and filters work fine, and sell for as little as $15 each with filters. Expensive masks are not better. For children, the Russian PDF and PDF-2 masks are cheap, and they are in the same price range and take the same filters. I’ll get to the details below.
NBC Scenarios on the Ground – An Overview
There is very little reason to put money into gas masks and filters to face chemical weapons. These are mustard gas shells, and nobody is going to waste military resources to fire these big lunky things at your bunker or suburban neighborhood. The same goes for biological threats, as I explain in the article. But nuclear fallout is a genuine issue to plan for, and to plan to bug out for, so learning about this potentially important survival tool is essential to your prepper basket.
Back to the subject at hand, why do we need NBC gas masks? Start with the fact that “Saddam had chemical weapons.” Assad has chemical weapons. The North Koreans have chemical weapons. And of course Russia and China are stockpiling chemical weapons for a possible Red Dawn scenario, which is why they have to invade our neighborhoods with military spies for Jade Helm this summer.
Chemical weapons are the ultimate evil for the bogeymen of Fox News fear porn. We have all seen the pictures of people frozen and decomposing from a miserable death from mustard gas, and yes, it is horrifying. But chemical weapons, and gas masks to stop chemical weapons, aren’t all that relevant in suburbia. Mustard gas is a weapon of war, and a very localized weapon usually delivered by artillery shells, as are most chemical dispersants. Boom, an artillery shell explodes and the gas envelopes a circle of 100 yards or more. Every one of those shells that make one circle each have to be carried to the battlefield and shot from a piece of heavy equipment. Nobody, no matter how ruthless the bogeyman, is going to expend those resources to kill a handful of people in suburbia, or in a survival bunker, unless it is a single event for media publicity. Chemical weapons themselves are considered a fear weapon even on the battlefield, forcing the enemy to don chemical suits to fight. They just aren’t that effective as a weapon of war, and just a gas mask isn’t going to protect you anyway because many chemical agents are designed to burn through clothing. I personally do have a full fighting MOP suit, but I don’t think I would take it with me if I had to bug out. Who knows if the next chemical agent will be designed to burn through gas masks and MOP suits? It isn’t like getting them to test your new snazzy chemical against is difficult.
I’ve shown the Periodic Table of Elements before in some of these articles, because the fallout of radionuclides is a danger that we will most likely see in our lifetimes. If you look at Cesium, it is in the same row as Potassium. Cesium is absorbed by your system in the same way, and effects lymph nodes and tissues. Strontium is in the same row as Calcium, and the same thing goes there. It settles in bones. Iodine is the most dangerous because your body stores it all up in your thyroid, but for that you should be taking Potassium Iodide in the event of a nuclear bomb or power plant meltdown, because the radioisotope Iodine-131 has a half life of only 8 days, so in a couple weeks it is not as dangerous.
Biological agents are not an entirely different story, especially when you consider anthrax, which we know has been weaponized by both the Eastern and Western military forces. A small amount of airborne anthrax can infect a lot of people, but what most people don’t know is that anthrax spores are over 1 micron in size, as are most other bacteria. A regular old $2 N95 mask from the hardware store with the nose pinch will filter anthrax. If you want to be extra careful, a NIOSH respirator with an N95 filter is pretty much foolproof, despite what you may read on the internet. You don’t need a full face mask for anthrax, and that goes mostly for potential viral epidemics as well. Most viruses, like the Variola virus that causes smallpox, are over .3 microns, or 300 nanometers. A virus cannot live alone without a host, so it is always attached to other stuff, like blood, or snot, or at the very least a water molecule. That brings it well outside of the .3-.5 microns covered by the any N95 mask. If someone with smallpox sneezes right into your face and you are wearing an N95 mask, there is little chance that you’ll contract the virus. Therefore it is just plain stupid to bug out carrying a big gas mask and filters rather than more food, when you consider just chemical and biological threats.
Unfortunately that isn’t true for nuclear. And as I’ve explained a few times in this series, if there is a “most likely to be like the Armageddon movies” scenario, it will be some sort of nuclear event. Here in the US we have a first strike option in our battle plans, and don’t forget that the US is the only country to use nukes against civilians, in Japan. We maybe still feel justified for doing that, but around the world, the general consensus is that we deserve some payback. And after the devastation that Western Central Banks have done to the small countries of the world, not to mention our incessant wars, few tears would be shed for the US if Russia and/or China decided to nuke our butts.
That doesn’t even include the “terrorist” threat, which if you read my columns you already know that I think that means old white men in suits, not Arabs and Persians. My feelingsare irrelevant of course because I don’t have any inside information, but I think the next big false flag event will be nuclear, and in an American city I am sad to say. You may think that an isolated nuke popping in a city will only effect the immediate blast zone (an airburst nuke can only be deployed with a missile), but even one lone nuke will produce radiation clouds that will travel all over the earth.
An even bigger threat, and one that doesn’t require my opinion as to what the cabal is going to pull next, are all of those nuclear plants across the US. Many claim that they don’t require grid power or infrastructure to operate, but I don’t believe it. And regardless, any nuke plant requires that people show up to work, and those people have food to eat so they don’t die in the building. In any collapse scenario, how long do you think that will last? FEMA doesn’t doesn’t buy all of that radiation detection gear for nothing. Once the nuke plants melt down, if you don’t have an underground bunker or well shielded above ground shelter, everyone is going to be on the move to find places where the radiation is less. Add to that recent evidence that earthquakes are showing up all around the frack wells where earthquakes never existed before. How many nuke plants are near those frack wells? It’s scary stuff.
The Russian filters are all the same, even though they sometimes have slightly different colorings. They are made of a paper filter, coupled with an activated charcoal filter. These filters will remove both Alpha and Beta radionuclides from the air for up to 8 to 12 hours, depending on how thick the particulate is swirling around.
That brings us back to gas masks and why you would justify bugging out with one. Gamma radiation, the “waves” that most people think of when they consider radiation, can only be blocked by heavy materials, not gas masks, and the blocking effect is directly proportional to the weight of the materials. 200 lbs. of lead will protect you the same amount as putting 200 lbs. of wood, dirt, or even water between you and the radiation. Gamma radiation cannot make water or food “radioactive,” nor can it be breathed in, because air molecules themselves also cannot become radioactive. Gamma radiation has nothing to do with gas masks.
You will read in dozens of places on the internet that the green Russian filter have asbestos in them. The paper filter does have some fibrous material, but it doesn’t look like asbestos, and even if it was, asbestos is only dangerous when it is broken apart and inhaled. The paper filter is on the outside of the cartridge, not the screw end which houses the activated charcoal.
Nuclear radioactive particles, however, which are ejected by any nuclear explosion or meltdown, have everything to to do with both air and water filtration. Airborne radionuclides in fallout after an event can be found in water, food, and they can be breathed in as dust. These particles will make it through an N95 mask, and because they are not adhered to a water or blood molecule like a virus, they can get through the sides of the mask that are not sealed. Most of those radioactive particles will no longer be dangerous within about 48 hours after the event, but a nuke plant meltdown can continue to eject particles as it burns.
For the first two weeks the most dangerous particle is Iodine-131. But I would hope at this point that any prepper worth their salt would have some Potassium Iodide (KI) on hand, which will fill up your thyroid gland during the active lifecycle of the isotope so that the radioactive 131 is not absorbed. The state of Pennsylvania just agreed to replace the original KI tablets that were supplied to all residents within 10 miles of their nuke plants because the old ones expired. And you probably don’t know this, but all USPS employees are issued KI.
The other isotopes that don’t burn out with short half-lives, like Cesium-137 and Strontium-90, are extremely dangerous long term if you eat them or breath them in any quantity. As a class these particles are called either Alpha or Beta particles, and the good news is that they don’t penetrate like Gamma radiation does. Alpha particles can be stopped by a sheet of paper, and Beta particles generally won’t penetrate a couple layers of clothing, or even bare skin all the way through. So you don’t need a MOP suit, but you do need an NBC gas mask and at the very least one filter.
You also should have a radiation detector as part of your kit as I’ve explained many times in this column, and ideally you should have both a high and low level meter. Low level meters blank out at the levels of active fallout, and high level meters don’t budge if you try to measure food or water for contamination.
Cheap Russian Masks & Filters – The GP-5 Adult and PDF Child Masks
I took this picture to illustrate a few misconceptions. One is that the sizes on the GP-5s are absolute. This is a size 3, or “large” mask, and my head measurement is 73″ inches. I should be a size 5. I also took this to show you that all of the 40mm filters fit all of the masks, and I also wanted to note that it is a false assumption to think that a beard precludes a good gas mask seal. If I put my hand over the end of the filter and breath in, the mask sucks onto my face. The least resistance is coming through the filter, so that is where the air enters.
By far the most available and cheap gas mask available in the US is the Russian GP-5. The child version is called the PDF-D, and there is a PDF-2 that you will see compared here in the pictures. Both are available from both US and Eastern European sellers on Ebay for under $20 each, shipped. Both types of masks come in sizes, and I’ll put the size charts here in the images. There are more expensive Russian masks, which I’ll get to, but if you want cheap and good, look no further than the GP-5 and PDF. For kids, breathing through the filter may be difficult for small lungs, so also see the Israeli positive pressure system below, as well as a chamber for infants under the same section.
The reason I called this article “Dumbass Internet Intel” is due to all of the bad information out there about Russian gas masks. Google “GP-5 filter asbestos” and you’ll see dozens of internet mavens claim that the cheap and available GP-5 filter is loaded with asbestos, and that it is completely useless. I’ve also read that the carbon is old and turns into a useless brick, and a number of other claims that are totally untrue.
For this article I cut open a GP-5 filter and the pictures are here. Inside is first a paper filter that is felt-like, so at some point in the history of Russian filters, this stage of the filter may have had some asbestos, but after that stage is an activated charcoal stage right before the intake, so any fibers that could theoretically be released from the asbestos in the felt would be stopped cold. And as a side point, asbestos is only really a danger when it is broken up and airborne. There is asbestos insulation in most old buildings and it isn’t dangerous. Removing it is dangerous.
The activated charcoal in the filter was also not in a brick at all. It was packed tight under its cover, but when the cover was removed, the particles were perfectly fluid. This is a very simple filter that will remove both Alpha and Beta radionuclides from the air you breath, and you should buy as many as you can afford and plan to carry with you. Extra filters from Lithuania right now are $30 for six, shipped. Each filter will give you up to 8 hours of travel time, depending on how dense the air is with particulate. But remember, regular gas masks are useless in fires, because while they will prevent smoke inhalation, they do not have their own oxygen supply.
This paper is a little confusing because you only take the around the head measurement to compare the sizes on this GP-5 chart.
The GP-5 comes in either a grey or black rubber, and you hook it on your chin and pull it right over your head. There are no straps, and in my experience you can go a size or two down without any real difference in fit. My head measurement is 73 centimeters, and I can easily get a size L on and wear it comfortably.
The child masks are very different, so if you have a growing child, you may want to get more than one size. Each PDF-D size 1-5 is a completely different rubber mold, with different sized eye sockets (see picture below). Smaller is better than larger with these kids masks just like the adult masks, but there is a chasm of difference in the sizes of growing kids compared to the difference in size of grown adults. The PDF-2 comes in only 3 sizes, and that mask has an inner ring, like the adult GP-7 mask, shown in the pictures, so size is less crucial, but still important. The big difference in the PDF masks besides the size of course is that the filter is held in the hand or tied to the body, because a child’s neck is not strong enough to hold the filter up.
Fighting Masks vs. Civilian Masks
Since my original foray into buying gas masks I have been a fan of the slightly more expensive Russian civilian GP-7 mask. You can get them on Ebay right now for like $30 with a canteen and carry bag. On the left is the updated version, which apparently is the PMK military mask. I don’t see much of a difference, but most of the PMKs on Ebay don’t have that port on the left for another filter. All of the GP-7 masks come with an inner frame that keeps the shape of the mask rigid. That is what you see through the lens in the picture.
For not a lot more money, from about $30 with a filter, shipped, there are a ton of adult masks that are more adjustable and more comfortable than the GP-5. Many of these are what I would call “fighting masks” that have one or two canister filters ports tight against the cheek, or one or two flat cheek pocket filters. Many of these masks also have a drinking tube that will connect to the “chem cap” version of the US Military 2 Quart Canteen, or that even sometimes come with their own canteen.
Slightly different, are higher quality civilian masks, the most common of which is the Israeli mask with its straight down filter that is like the Russian GP-5. Right now the Israeli masks and filters are pretty cheap. Both the adult and youth (over 8 years) Israeli masks are going for about $30 on Ebay with a filter and drink tube. I have found these masks to be very comfortable and one size fits most. The military version of that mask is the IDF’s M-15, but I haven’t owned one and I don’t know what the difference in them would be beyond the obvious different shape in the eye pieces.
My favorite civilian mask is the Russian GP-7, which right now you can get directly from Lithuania for $30 shipped with its own canteen and carry case. There are 3 sizes to that mask, but there is very little practical size difference if you have a big head like me. I have purchased these in bulk packages from a guy in Estonia who right now has them as little as $16 each with the canteens which is crazy. There is also an updated version of that mask, similar to the Israeli mask with slightly modified eyepieces, and some of them seem to be called the PMK, but besides an extra filter port that is in my mask but not in all the PMKs on Ebay, I can’t find any other differences as seen in the pictures here.
This is a Czeck clone of the US M-17 mask. It uses M-10 side filters that can be found for about $10 per set. As a “fighting mask”, not having the can bobbing on the side of your head is a definite plus. They run under $40 complete with shipping.
I also purchased a few other masks that there are a ton of on Ebay right now. Some are Eastern European copies of the US M-17 mask, and they have two flat M-10 cheekpiece filters instead of one large canister filter. There are also a few different masks with can filters, and all of them have come new in the package with sealed plastic bags, canvas carry bags, and many even with extra eyepieces. Don’t believe anyone that tells you that you have to buy a newly manufactured MSA or Scott gas mask. All of these masks are brand new and probably more battle ready than anything made for the US consumer market. Even the rubber on the kids mask hoses is supple and strong. These masks will outlive all of us.
40 Millimeters is 40 Millimeters…But not 60 Millimeters
I thought that the only mask you had to worry about 60mm filters on was the Canadian M69, but these Serbian M-1 masks are also 60mm, which is not the standard size.
The “nice” thing about gas masks is that the end of civilization has been mostly standardized to a single thread size. All of the US, European and Russian canister masks take a standard 40 millimeter filter, so no matter what your mask, those cheap Russian filters, at $5 or so each, fit. I have also found some high quality Hungarian filters for well under $10 each in bulk, and I have even found Swiss filters, which are hermetically encased in plastic containers, for as little as $6 each, though right now they are about twice that.
The Russian “Gorilla” mask, which comes in both white and black, use a different filter system in the cheeks.
Cheek filter masks seem to come in a few different sizes, so if you want extra filters for your mask make sure that you can get the extra filters for them. I found found that the M-10 Eastern European filter is easy to come by, but about $10 per set. Right now the EO-19 filters for the Russian PBF “Gorilla” gas mask are also about $10 per set from Lithuania, but you’d have to ask to combine shipping if you want to stock up.
The major exception I have found to the 40 millimeter size is the Canadian C-3 M69 mask, which has a 60 millimeter thread. You can get an adapter for them so that they can take the 40 millimeter cans, but you have to buy the adapter, in addition to what is usually a pretty expensive mask. In purchasing masks for this article and some followup testing down the road, I bought some Serbian/Yugo M-1 masks, and surprise surprise, they also have the 60mm filter, which of course the seller didn’t mention.
Children & Infants – The PDF Mask Sizes & Positive Pressure Systems
After Chernobyl, thousands of people were evacuated from the surrounding areas in Ukraine wearing GP-5 gas masks, and the kids had on the PDF masks. For short periods of time even small kids can breath through a gas mask filter, but as the filter fills up with particulate the breathing gets harder, until you have to eventually replace the filter. The old and infirmed may be in the same boat for a variety of reasons. And infants of course can’t wear a gas mask. I remember back in back when I first researched gas masks that there were “baby chambers” on Ebay from Russia, but I don’t see them anymore. The only option seems to be a positive pressure fan system from Israel right now, and they also make a complete toddler hood, as well as infant chamber.
If you don’t want to start with the cost of the Israeli hoods, you can of course start with a good child mask, and the PDF-D and PDF-2 qualify. I have purchased dozens of these masks over the years and I have yet to encounter a broken or dryrotted hose, let alone any problems with the masks themselves. The canvas straps all seem to be as strong as they day that they were made as well.
Childrens masks are not hard to come by, but you have to be more careful with the sizes on the Russian masks. These are the original PDF-D masks in size 1 to 6. As you can see, they vary greatly. These masks were marketed under the Evirstar name by a defunct website right after 911, and cases of them are still kicking around, in perfect shape with filter and bag.
You can buy the PDF-D masks either directly from Lithuania and Estonia where they are warehoused, or there are plenty of US sellers who have acquired the Evirstar packaged masks that were imported in the early 2000s. I found an interesting piece of information taken from the original getmasks.com defunct website back when the GP-5 and PDF-D masks were brought into the country.
“FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
1. Where do the gas masks come from?
– From government of Ukraine (former republic of Soviet Union). Gas masks were imported to The United States in accordance with permit #01-13251 issued by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms of Department of the Treasury of USA. After September 11, 2001.
2. When was the production date of these masks?
– All our gas masks that was imported to the United States after September 11, 2001. Was produced between the years of 1985 thru 2001. For example we know as fact the following:
This is the size chart for the PDF-D. I measured my 7 year old and he came out at the size 4. On these masks you add the two numbers.
· Civilian gas masks GP-5, was designed and approved for mass production in 1988.
· Children gas masks PDF, was designed and approved for mass production in 1985.
Therefore all of our gas masks no matter when there were produced cannot be any older than 17 years old. FYI presently The United States is using gas masks that were produced during the Vietnam Era.
3. Has there ever been an NBC (Nuclear Biological and Chemical) test on these gas masks?
– Test on these masks were conducted by PM – NBC Defense Systems A P G in Maryland, 2101-5424.
The PDF-2, shown above in size 1 and 2, do not correspond to the PDF-D size 1 and 2 below. There are only 3 sizes for the PDF-2 (just like its big brother the GP-7) and like the GP-7, they are much more size tolerant of error.
4. What is the effective time life of the filters?
– Gas masks filters have 8 hours of protection, which will enable a person to escape and evade any contaminated area. (These gas masks are not designed to protect anyone who remands in the contaminated zone for more than 8 hours)”
So if you want to believe this, or research it yourself, my claims that these maks are not only viable, but probably the best deal in an NBC mask match up pretty good.
The PDF-2 masks have a much less specific sizing system because they have an inner rubber ring that you don’t see on the PDF-D masks. This ring gives a solid seal across a larger bearing surface, just like the also less size finicky GP-7. I don’t see any US sellers of these masks, so you’ll have to buy them directly from Eastern European sellers, who from my experience are great.
The hood system can be used for children 2-8, and I think much older and much younger if you had that and nothing else. It is definitely an alternative to buying several sizes of the PDF masks. There is no reason that the hood couldn’t be used as an infant chamber for even a newborn, because it comes with a fan that draws air through the filter and into the chamber, creating positive pressure. That means you don’t need a perfect seal, because breath is never drawn from the edges of the mask.
This is the size chart for the PDF-2. You add the total.
I have also found just the blue version of that blower system that attaches directly to the filter sold by several sellers with the Israeli adult and youth mask. If you buy them with the adult masks, you can use that blower and filter with the PDF child mask, or any other mask with 40 millimeter threads. It takes 4 of the CR-123 battery (the Surefire battery), and the ones I bought had fresh batteries in them, and a cloth pull tab installed to keep the batteries from touching the contacts.
As I write this, those blue blowers aren’t as available as they were when I began this article. I found one guy from California selling pairs of civilian adult masks with blowers, canteens, and even some Iosat KI tablets for $90 shipped. That’s pretty good. I bought one hood system a couple months back for $50, but that deal doesn’t seem to be there anymore, though there is that same guy selling the whole infant chamber kit, with plastic case, for $65 shipped. I would grab those before they are gone if you have a baby.
The PDF and Israeli child masks can be made much more effective for longer periods of time with this positive pressure fan system made for the Israeli filters. I still see a few sellers on Ebay with them, and they are almost gone. These fans come with 4 CR-123 batteries.
The only downside to the blowers is that they take the Israeli filter exclusively. They clip directly onto it. That is rarely a cheap filter even when purchased in bulk. But I can share a deal with you that actually came up in my paid Ebay ads at the bottom of the page as I am sitting here writing this. I can’t endorse this website of course, but I ordered some of their Israeli filters for $5.99 each, and it is free shipping over $100. If you are clicking around in Ebay that ad will probably come up for you too.
A Sad Day in America
The Isrealis have also developed this infant chamber, and a slightly larger overhood system that both employ the positive pressure blowers. I see them on Ebay for $50-$500 at times, for the exact same units, so beware. This one is currently on Ebay for $65, but there are only a few available.
As this article crosses the tooooo long threshold I will close by asking you to notice how many countries provide gas masks for their citizens, while the US, which is the richest country on the face of the planet, does not. I have explained in previous articles that China, Russia and Switzerland all have underground bunkers big enough for all of their citizens, while again, we do not. In the 90s Clinton dismantled what Civil Defense programs we had, at this point the most any of us can maybe count on is a FEMA truck of water bottles. I don’t know if any of this will ever do any good, but you can be sure that if you aren’t looking out for yourself in these very specific and somewhat inexpensive details, nobody else will.
Nice write-up done here. I have gone through NBC training and advanced NBC training in the Military. I have my equipment for my family and myself. # 1) make sure you know how to use ALL of your equipment. # 2) Make sure you check each gas mask and accessories annually to make sure there are no cracks in the mask material , drinking tubes, etc, etc. and know the expiration dates of ALL unused filters. # 3) learn about the ways you must be able to decontaminate yourself, that is very important.
Before you read this, know that I agree with the above article and am only stating my own observations and opinion. I am currently in the process of getting several different production years of filters tested by a laboratory for asbestos.
If anyone is familiar with the properties of asbestos, you would know its main use was as a flame retardant material.
That being said, I conducted a simple test on one of my GP-5 filters by disassembling it, removing the coiled paper filter element, and burning it in a controlled environment. After it had burned, there were ash flakes resembling amphibole type asbestos. Now I cannot say for sure if it is asbestos or not, but personally I would rather inhale asbestos than nuclear fallout or biochemical agents. Sure, the detrimental health effects of asbestos can’t be ruled out, but it takes 20+ years to kill you, versus a few agonizing minutes for biochemical agents, and a miserable week or two for lethal doses of fallout. Not like we could expect to live longer than a few years if there was a full-scale global attack anyway. If you’re still concerned about it, GP-7 filters are newer, safer, and almost as cheap.
You ever notice how these back yard scientists always show up? yeah, sure, you did a controlled experiment in your controlled environment. Where do you work that you have access to such a safe place to be burning asbestos? Sorry, not buying it, you are just another shill trying to sell fear and expensive overpriced filters and masks.
Overall, decent article. I am pretty familiar with NBC as that used to be my profession in the Army and have now transitioned to EOD. I would like to quickly comment on two things. The first being that food CAN absorb radiation if it is exposed out of packaging… a sheet of paper will stop alpha and beta radiation but gamma of course would penetrate. Our bodies will trap gamma as once gamma enters it sort of “scrambles” and bounces rapidly through our tissue causing damage and abnormalities rather than “poisoning” effects. The poising effects would come from gross contamination if you consumed food or water that contained alpha or beta particles. Those particles would then degrade in your body to the damaging gamma particles as aforementioned. The second comment is related to the 200 lbs of lead compared to 200 lbs of dirt in terms of shielding. Kind of a misleading comment in my view as lead is far more dense than dirt. So I would argue that you could produce MORE shielding with lead in a smaller space than with dirt. Of course who has that amount of lead and it isn’t really practical. 200 lbs of cinder blocks vs 200 lbs of dirt would be the way to go as in my training concrete has been more effective. I am not bashing as I see value in your reviews of the gear. I do appreciate the good read.
Spot on. SEMPER FI.
I came here for advice to find nbc gas masks for my family. After i read the article, i read many of the comments. Some good, some bad. Theres obviously alot of griping. This person knows more than that person and so on. Bunch of children in here. Which one of them knows for a fact which mask is best for which scenario? Wheres your proof? Quit your bitching and show some damn facts!
If money wasn’t an issue what would you say would be the best gas mask for an adult ?
I myself bought both a Russian GP 21 (also known as PMK 5 with slight modification) and a Russian PPM 88.
Something I did not see in the article above or in the comments, is the inevibility of a geological explosion from the Yellowstone super volcano. Many people will be exposed to pumice dust in the aftermath. They are essentially little pieces of glass that can ravage the lungs. Heavy exposue over even a short term can lead to imediate death . But short term exposue can lead to a life of constant disability,unable to function at a normal level, and a signifcant deficit to long term survival Masks for children are a definite plus as they would experience the most long term damage to their respiratory system.
Not a damn one of your masks will be worth anything to anybody because not one of them without the use of an FR 64 filter will stop one of the most common, most deadly an extremely common gases, CHLORINE.
All your gas mask with cheek filter pieces are worthless regardless of the cost.
Quit shoveling crap that will endanger people and either do your homework and do it right the first time or quit writing about it.
If the federal government uses it, ie.. The FBI, DEA, AT, the Marine Corps, then THAT is what you use, regardless of the cost unless you truly believe that your life is only worth $15,00.
Gas masks ought to be purchased after a realistic cost/benefit analysis. That said, we’ve had a one-sided arms race in which the Chinese have spent their much of their over $400 billion trade surplus with the US buying nuclear weapons to point at us, and the Russians have a new mobile ICBM (which by definition can’t be targeted by our ICBMs because we don’t have intel sources which can download the positions of those weapons before our missiles are destroyed by Russian counterforce strikes. So a gas mask with filters rated for radionuclides is a reasonable precaution for most of the US, since we’re all downwind of targets in the West Coast which the Chinese have threatened to hit, and most of us are downwind either of the nuclear weapons storage and processing areas at Kirtland AFB in New Mexico and Amarillo, TX, or the Strategic Command’s missile, bomber and submarine missile bases in Wyoming, Colorado, the Dakotas, Missouri, Washington state and Louisiana. We’ll also be getting high-level fallout from targets we or our allies hit in China and Russia. The current Administration cynically stated that we’re at less risk than we were during the Cold War, which is a cynical lie – the current situation, where the Treaty of Moscow has expired and we are the only signatory still adhering to its provisions is that Herman Kahn called a classic deterrence instability – in which there’s no downside for a well-armed nuclear power like Russia or China to refrain from military adventurism. The likelihood that we’ll have at least a few nuclear weapons detonate in this country either from a rogue nation like North Korea, or rogue leaders in Russia, China, Iran or Pakistan is higher than it’s ever been.
So the risk/benefit calculation for most of us favors buying gas masks with enough filters to last for a few months/ After a few months, we’ll have to just accept the fact our lives will be shorter due to long-lived radionuclides like Cesium-137 or Strontium-90. But many – perhaps half – Americans already are accepting a shorter lifespan than they could have by lifestyle choices like eating too many carbohydrates, smoking and texting behind the wheel. Simply living a more healthy lifestyle would probably offset the effect of long-lived radionuclides in the environment after a nuclear war, as would moving to areas with less fallout (fallout doesn’t fall uniformly – it “bunches up” some places, doesn’t fall in other places).
Good article and one can learn a lot from the comments if you pay attention, anyhow, with 25 plus military (active and Ak, Al NG), a note to the wise, you probably live within a short distance of someone who has served, or retired from the military and/or a state National Guard Unit. They, in all likelihood, have half dozen military MOS’s that one could benefit from, including NBC, NCO for the unit. If you live in Alabama, I know you do, anyhow, if you talk to them right, you can probably pick up a lot of useful information you may not find on the web. One, stay away from the M17 or it’s variants if possible, why? To change the damn filter, you have to take the mask off! Until you have had to change filters, under a poncho, in the dark, with those tiny little buttons, with gloves and liners on, in MOP 4, you are missing an exciting training experience. In addition, probably not applicable to U.S scenarios, a lot of soviet chemical application used diesel fuel as a delivery vehicle. This probably would have turned the M17 filters into paper mache’. And that is from my old NBC WO. Pop
Have you heard of the “Death” trains? There’s a main one that I live right next to in S.E. Michigan that runs from Midland, Michigan (Dow Chemical, Midland Chemical, etc.), twice a week, I believe, and going south fully loaded with a speed limit of 35mph and on another day, another one going north with mostly empties and raw materials. I’m sure there are more scattered all around the country. I have 5 M-17’s with updated filters.
“These are mustard gas shells, and nobody is going to waste military resources to fire these big lunky things at your bunker or suburban neighborhood.”
Except that’s precisely what Assad is doing – dropping chemical agents into suburbs and city neighborhoods – but in a somewhat lower-tech way. Civil wars are ugly affairs. Another American civil war is a remote possibility, perhaps, but no more remote than the other scenarios you conjure up. Perhaps less so…
One needs to lawfully prepare as one can for your perceived potential threats..
A mask in and of itself is but a limited response to particular threat scenarios… and yes as mask alone is better than nothing..
NBC Preparedness is a complex issue.. There are Military Officers assigned to units whose Specialize in Preparedness for the Threats posed..It is a specialized field of study..
However that by no means you should not take some prudent actions. Obtain educational material related to potential threats.
Not all threats are TEOTWAWKI… There have been many hazardous material spills whose effects can be mitigated by but a mask… The ability to get indoors can provide protection from many hazards.. So being able to quickly don a mask and evacuate a contaminated area? Not a bad idea..
One must take the time to educate themselves to the most likely risks to themselves and their families.. Then take a sober assessment of the ability to cope.. adjusting accordingly..
A good lesson came when I sought to have a professional build a roll cage for a particular hot rod of mine.. After he laid out his plans.. I asked.. well would this or that make it stronger?.. He smiled and said of the cage he designed. Any crash capable of defeating that cage.. I would not survive in any case..
Lesson? A reasonable response to reasonable threat scenarios is .. well sufficient. Some events simply will not be survival.. Achieving a balance.. the real challenge..
Finally do not just stick you mask in a bag and call it good..
Physical Fitness is near paramount when wearing even just a Mask.. Select Military units routinely wear their masks for extended periods.. One’s heart, lungs and muscles must become used to the additional stress put upon the body when breathing is restricted and believe me your breathing is restricted. Heat build up in a full MOPP suit.. often quite unpleasant to put it mildly. When wearing an NBC Mask for more than just a few min…it becomes a tiresome chore and one must become disciplined to it. Older persons.. persons with health concerns would do best to have an Assisted breathing apparatus.. this quickly becomes quite costly….
All said and done it would be best to avoid such situations.
Towards that end the best piece of advice I can suggest is for you as an individual in concert with others to commit a percentage of income monthly to and a portion of time to by lawful political and social means defending liberty and making changes in our world for the better to avoid the wider based threat scenarios..
Vic
It is crap. Unless you have a basic load of filters, having a mask is mute. Filters for biological and nerve agents are good from 4 to about 12 hours. Soldiers are trained to replace them. Unless you have detection equipment you can’t use the stuff effectively.
You are 100% correct. No replacement filters = Death! Buy a few extra cases of filters for the mask you pick!
The entire “Preppers” discussion is for “Dumbasses”….LOL..This is about selling a bunch of stupid crap to a bunch of Stupider People. Seriously, grow up, get a life, enjoy the life you’ve been given. This discussion proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that W.C. Fields was right…”There’s a Sucker born every minute”…
It’s funny that your handle is Cold Dead Fingers. Um. Yup. That’s my take as well.
I am finding your comments here and there … always in the negative to whatever is being discussed.
I don’t think you are a good man.
When TSHTF you will be the first person crying for help . . . you are probably a Bernie Supporter and everything should be given to you!
Remember this guy here.. he is the one that will be banging on your door begging for filters and food once things turn sideways. Guys like “Cold dead fingers” are the most dangerous type out there. They wont prepare, but they will remember you did.
Just saying a gas mask is great for gas’s like CS,CN but any type of CBR weaponry you need a full coverage CBR suit. Having a gas mask that filters the air you breath does nothing when a chemical or biological agent enter your blood stream through contact with your skin. Regular clothes even military combat uniforms wont do nothing no matter how many buttons up your throat you button. It will all be absorbed into the material and then right into your skin. For the love of God people do your own research. If a nuke goes off you are going to die any way from the fallout Unless you are really really far away and never have to worry about fallout and the winds carrying that fall out right to you. A gas mask is great for civil disobedience and not wanting to suck down some CS gas.
The article addresses this, if you have bothered to read it.
Takes too much effort.
He’s right, of course, a CBC suit in camo with a cleaning station and de-ionizing thingy and a whole lot of other non-obtanium would be ideal.
On the other hand, a simple gas mask will get you to your car through radioactive fallout better than no gas mask.
The assertion that you do not need a full-face mask to protect yourself from biological contaminants should be corrected. This is true only for some cases. You need a full face mask to protect yourself from airborne viruses entering the parenteral tissue through your eyes, when these pathogens are ejected from a coughing infected person, or are blown in your eyes from a blast; or carried into your eyes by a vector carrying the pathogen, such as a gnat. This is also the reason surgical teams use face shields when there may be a splash of infected body fluids. The contingencies are so diverse that it doesn’t make sense to have the “low-risk” mask instead of the “all-purpose” mask, which is why you get a radiological-biological-chemical cartridge to go along a HEPA particulate filter in your full-face mask. From 1949-1969 the Us government tested biological agents on its population 239 times. In a San Francisco experiment, 800,000 people inhaled at least 5,000 particles, one person died. Nobody was prosecuted.
Secondly, it is not so that any 40 mm or 60 mm cartridge is the same as any other with same threads. Both the total quantity of activated charcoal as well as its packing density affect the protection provided the user.
Third, the down-playing of chemical weapons is ill-advised. Chemical weapons do not have to be purposely delivered to your family. After all, most war casualties are civilian, often unintended. Also, there have been thousands of dead from purely accidental releases of highly hazardous chemicals: remember Bhopal?
Last, but not least, can you confirm that your head has a measurement of 73 inches, because is that is the case, you need an elephant-sized protective mask!
73 centimeters lol. This is the typical Alex Jones fear porn that gets people to think that the subject is too complex to do anything so they don’t do anything. Are you yet another armchair expert who doesn’t actually own even a $20 gas mask? I love your explanation of how packing density makes a big difference, but you fail to mention any actual measurements of the packing density of any filter, for which there is otherwise no data. More dumbass internet intel.
You lost me at 200lbs. Of wood,dirt,water protects the same as 200lbs. Of lead against gamma waves.This is entirely incorrect.Why do you think radiologists make you wear lead vests ,instead of vests filled with water.Please research more before you post.
Because an equal weight of water would be a large and cumbersome vest you idiot. Google “FEMA Safety in Shelters” and do some actual research instead of running your mouth through your fingers.
I have NBC gas masks in my kids bedrooms in case of a house fire. They may help my kids come out alive. I know they’re not the perfect solution for smoke but they’re better than nothing.
Good thinking … do you have masks available for you and your wife, too? Has everyone practiced putting them on with their eyes closed?
One last thought on gas masks compared to cheaper N95 particle masks…
While a gas mask will always be better protection for anything, compared to the N95 particle mask, the real world practical debate is similar to the one I used to often have regarding body armor when I was the factory rep for Silent Partner.
The best of the best highest protection level (mask or body armor) won’t save you if you don’t have and use it cause either you can’t afford it or, much more likely, just can’t stand to wear it all the time cause it’s just too damn hot and debilitating.
The lower threat level (mask or body armor) that will more likely be affordable and available and, most importantly, used more often and for longer periods providing some protection, always beats out anything better that’s not being employed at all, stuck in the closet gathering dust unused.
The ideal is to have both and, hopefully, then you can switch as situation demands, but if you can only afford one, or one first, I’d load up on what’s usually more practical more often that will likely be employed for longer periods protecting you. For respirators, that’s getting a case of N95 particle masks squirreled away first.
– Shane
Yea. I think that I intentionally explain the surrounding issues on many of the things in these articles so that people will come to conclusions like that. My ebola article from last summer explained the importance of havinf some N95 masks and why a pandemic like the black plague is unlikely in todays world. I have the luxury of not selling anything, not even guns, so I am able to judge things from the outside. I think your masks are a great resource and I will get some for the car. But I dont think if I knew that alpha/beta were in the air and I had to go out that I would trust these thin masks that can get caught on something and rip.
I agree with you, Paul.
If I can, given opportunity, I’d much rather be tyvek suited up, booties/hood/gloves and all with my full modern mask/filters. But, for around town, I have the more portable N95 ReadiMasks right at hand.
It’s kinda like how I’d prefer a rifle closer at all times, but carry a handgun to better be able to make it back to it.
– Shane
I have worked for the USPS for 10 years and have never been issued potassium iodide tablets, nor have I ever heard of anyone who has.
Your boss probably sells them on ebay lol.
I am the boss. I find that kind of faith in “the government” amusing, LOL.
Upstream. The bigger fish are upstream. 😉
BTW, a little off topic, but for your expedient last-minute in-home or garage fallout shelter, a common home HVAC HEPA filter will do the job filtering the radioactive fallout particles out of the air coming into your house or garage and then into your fallout shelter safe space inside it. Make a box for it with 4 or more big 12VDC computer case cooling fans mounted on it to draw air in and car batteries to run it that are on trickle charger, until needed. Test that it will run long enough, with trickle charger disconnected, for at least 48 hours, and add batteries if not. You could even rig up individual switches on each fan to save electricity, and extending system life, by powering only as many as needed. This filter box needs to be positioned as far away from occupants inside the shelter as possible cause it’ll be accumulating hot fallout particles in its HEPA filter media. So, if my expedient fallout shelter was inside the garage, which would basically be just a hollowed out pile of the heaviest mass I have available that I’ve positioned such so that my family was surrounded by and hunkered down inside of it for 48 hours (while the fallout loses 99% of its lethal intensity), the filter box would be in a boarded up window in the garage or a cutout I’d made in the side of the garage for it to fit snugly. That would also provide some little positive pressure forcing air in the garage to be leaking out instead of in, too. More details at http://www.goodnewsnuke.com and longer document it points to at the bottom of it, too.
– Shane
I think we cannot have a mature talk about nuclear gas masks, and relocation, without stating that you will probably die of radiation poisoning, not from breathing particulate, but from not being shielded, if you choose to relocate immediately after a blast.
http://www.ki4u.com/guide.htm
This is an AMAZING article on the topic
That is actually Shane’s website, who also commented on the topic. At some point when you write these columns you have to assume that people have read some of your prior work, which obviously you have not. We have featured the material on KI4U.com in several articles here, and reviewed some of Shane’s products as well. I think the threat of nuclear is more about power plants than it is about full scale nuclear war, which would mean that fallout is the primary concern for everyone not in the immediate radiated zone of the plant. But hey, if you still live in that world where the governments aren’t in collusion with each other to further the power of the oligarchs, all the power to you. Defcon 5 here we come lol. Did you know that Putin’s exwife came out and said that the guy we see on TV isn’t Putin?
Wow, I’m continually impressed with the depth of research and comprehensive reports you churn out, Paul, thank you!
As we all know, most people won’t go get what they need until something happens first and they are in a panic then. We’ve had people mad at us then, not wanting to read, study and learn from all our great nuke prep research about their different options, but instead, literally, yelling at us over the phone; “I don’t have time for all that! Just tell me what I need to get now!”
For any overwhelmed, later in a panic or even a bit now, then at least, to start off with, just go get yourself a case of the cheap N95 (< $5) masks and some sealed goggles. Even when you later have decided on and acquired full gas masks, many situations will only require those, and much easier to wear longer term, cheaper N95's.
BTW, while a gas mask would be required for chemical threats, the risk that you'd need it is much more likely amongst crowded city dwellers than rural or small towns, and biological will be more a matter of self-quarantining to avoid the infected altogether, nuclear however, whether from bomb, nuke plant meltdown or dirty bomb, can mostly be protected against by that same simple/cheap N95 particle mask, too. (I like the goggles, too, as beta particles are hell on eyeballs, causing cataracts.) Yes, I'd prefer the full gas mask if I briefly had to go through the thick of it early on getting to shelter, and there are some noble gases released from nuke plant meltdowns close up that would require it, but still most people could get away with just the cheaper (and easier to carry) N95 particle mask that should always be with you. And, you never know where you'll be, out & about, when the music stops and that N95 in the pocket is then worth a whole lot more than the gas mask stowed at home. We only sell one such particle mask, the ReadiMask that has the eye protection, too, and is flat as a napkin until needed so it can always be carried with you, here… http://www.ki4u.com/products1.php
– Shane
Are the Adult size replacement filters basically the same thread size or do we need to order filters specifically for the model?
No you don’t. All of the 40mm filters, whether they be Russian, Swiss, Czeck, Hungarian, etc. are the same. The same filters that fit the US M-40 military mask, the Scott and MSA commercial masks, and all of the police riot masks are the same thread size as the Russian masks and filters. The exception are the 60mm filters like you see on the Serbian mask that also fit the Canadian masks.
Nooo. The soviet mask should work theoretically but they don’t, you have to jam and push them in there to get it to stick. and the soviet filters aare not save to use anyways
Overall I found this to be a refreshing and informative, without being overly alarmist, article. Probably the best I’ve read on the subject. I greatly appreciate all you do in getting this information out to the world. There was only one thing mentioned with which I take issue.
In the article can be found the following quote, (an airburst nuke can only be deployed with a missile). As a response to that comment I’d like to offer an alternate scenario that could posdibly prove it to be incorrect.
Consider the possibility of a “terrorist” sort of attack. Should “terrorists” obtain a transportable nuclear device that they manage to get onto the continent, or assemble here, without our knowledge, we could be at very great risk from an airburst should that weapon be placed on a jet aircraft. (A prop driven plane might work as well but I know that jet’s are generally pressurized and capable of significant altitudes especially if unconcerned with coming back down.)
An example scenario might play out in this way. A 400lb nuclear weapon is built in secret somewhere in one of the lawless regions of the Mexican border and is loaded onto one if dozens of drug running airplanes that are then sent over the border. Of course we have the means in place, and in use, to detect and intercept everything entering our airspace. But a small jet that can reach great altitudes fairly quickly could easily be over San Diego, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, or many other US Cities very quickly where there deadly payload could then be detonated causing an exponentially higher amount of devastation than a similar weapon hidden in, let’s say a van.
Do any of us know exactly how high an airburst has to occur to effect a large area? How about the altitude as compared to the relative position of latitude and longitude for an EMP that could disable the national or a regional grid system? This is to say nothing of the very real possibility that Red Dawn scenario you mentioned could be greatly facilitated by the destruction of our ports with similar weapons secluded on container ships or even a simple fishing vessel.
Now I don’t particularly fear a nuclear exchange with a foreign power. M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction) is and always has been a great deterrent to such a scenario. But a single, or worse several, selective targets being struck by uncontrolled organizations would change the picture of life in this country. Possibly destroy it if a widespread EMP effect could be actualized. Such capability falling into the hands of people crazy enough to see that as a good thing is not beyond the realm of realism, unfortunately.
Another (albiet less likely) scenario would be the creation of many smaller weapons being used to achieve the same results. If a nuclear weapon can be built at or under 100lbs, it could be launched into the stratosphere by use of weather balloons. Several artists and students have launched payloads of several pounds by the use of a single weather balloon tied to a specially outfitted cooler in order to take pictures from the edge of space. The idea that this idea could be perverted into a weapons delivery system is quite honestly horrific. That horror comes primarily from the utter simplicity, an relatively insignificant costs, of reaching extended altitudes by using this method along with its very small detection footprint.
Just my $0.02.
The misconception that people have is that setting off a nuke is like a firecracker. They are fairly complex devices that only work in their designated packaged delivery systems. And yes, a plane could be outfitted with a bomber type of air drop device in Langley or Sierra Leone, um, I mean the lawless regions of Mexico, but the area directly effected would just be slightly larger. You should read my article on EMPs here. They are not what you think and they cannot be caused by a nuke deployed without a rocket to hundreds of miles above the earth.
The problem with “just your .02” is that it does nothing to further this subject. It is an ego comment, based on what you think you know, and you don’t. Alarmist? Maybe it is time to sound the alarm. Regurgitating Sean Hannity is just edging us closer to whatever plan the real terrorist threat has in store for us, and it has nothing to do with the lawless regions of Mexico and everything to do with the lawless regions of our financial system and military industrial complex. Wake up!
Well said
The public panic from even just a dirty bomb (RDD, radiological dispersal device) would be immense, where more could die trying to speed away from it, scrambling over each other, than had from the explosion itself, much less the radioactive contamination later.
And, dirty bombs would be 1,000 times easier to pull off multiple strikes simultaneously and everything the bad guys would need is already right here, no need to smuggle across any borders. I’ve got a quote from off the Nuclear Regulatory Commission web site, that they’ve since removed, that claimed: “Based on information available to the NRC, an average of approximately 375 sources or devices of all kinds are reported lost or stolen each year in the U.S. — that is, roughly one per day.”
BTW, if RDD detonated, without a rad detector in-hand you would not initially know it, so assume it’s nasty, promptly exit the area, covering your mouth/nose with any clothing to avoid breathing in anything as you do (use N95 if you got one). If wind has it blowing debris dust cloud towards you, move more perpendicular to the flow to get out of it quicker. Once in the clear, strip off outer clothing, leave it outside to bag/seal up later and shower or hose off as soon as possible, paying close attention to cleaning your hair. Do that, and you probably won’t have any future issues.
– Shane
I totally disagree about the dirty bomb. If there is no active fission then whatever is expelled is just a bag of material that is radioactive, but that does not have the intensity to harm much of anything. The samples that are lost are laboratory testing samples. I ordered some from Spectrum myself recently for my next series of detector articles.
http://www.spectrumtechniques.com/disc&laminated_sources.htm#RSS-5
There won’t be any hysteria after such an event, just like there wasn’t after the boston bombing, which everyone knew was a false flag event from day 1. The next big one won’t be a dirty bomb. It will either be a “rogue terrorist suitcase nuke” or it will be a ring of earthquakes from the frack wells, and if a nuke plant goes down violently here, there will be pandemonium.
Paul,
I agree that there won’t be much of any life threatening rad contamination from a dirty bomb, sorry, I thought I had made that clear. I don’t know about lost samples, I’m talking more about the theft of portable gamma and neutron densometers used in construction and oil field downhole tools, as well as medical radioisotopes, etc. All of which have been stolen and/or lost on numerous occasions. That they would still likely not harm many, no argument there, but regardless, the panic would most certainly be widespread amongst the illiterate general public, especially fanned by our irresponsible media. My point is, it’s easier to make many such devices causing wide panic than it is any for-real fission nuke to be gotten/detonated, so why wouldn’t they be making them right now and why shouldn’t we expect it?
As far as; “There won’t be any hysteria after such an event, just like there wasn’t after the boston bombing, which everyone knew was a false flag event from day 1.” I disagree on both points, there will most certainly be hysteria with anything unleashed that’s radiological (unwarranted with RDD’s, yes, but panic unleashed, none the less) and, no, most of the public did not, and still does not, think Boston bombing was a false flag event. I’m not arguing that it was or not, I’m just telling you that the overwhelming majority of the general public certainly does not think that it was.
You might be right about what will be the next big event, or not, who knows, but dirty bombs, if they are next up, will undoubtedly cause widespread panic. Count on it. Certainly no where near as much as a for-real fission nuke or nuke plant meltdown, but you are wrong if you think that with dirty bombs “There won’t be any hysteria after such an event”. Everybody better have already gotten all their gas masks, KI and rad meters well before then, cause they’ll all be sold out in a heartbeat afterwards, I guarantee it. That, in itself, is reason enough not to dismiss dirty bombs. You might then be a day late to acquire any, already sold out, rad preps for the “big one” later.
But what would it matter if they don’t get them Shane? It will be just a bunch of fools paying premiums for stuff to protect them from something they are too lazy to understand anyway. It doesn’t matter what really happened for the media to spin the story they are being paid to spin. Look at the ridiculous blood free ISIS beheading videos. Someone promised them a space in the bunker I think. Keeping a straight face through all of it is dubious for just a paycheck and a pension.
For me it all boils down to what they have planned next, and of that I have no genuine clue. You are the one with the FEMA contacts, so maybe you have been admitted into the cabal lol. I’m sure you read my Jade Helm article about Geoengineering, and as I said in that article, I finally did figure it out. The arctic may be all the way melted as soon as two weeks from now. It’s going to be going down, no matter what it is, probably pretty soon. I hope we make it another year, but I don’t see it. It scares me that they are buying those rooftop detectors, because it probably means that the frack well earthquakes are involved and that we are going to have nuke plants melting down. There are SRM planes flying over every corner of the globe right now. They are all in on the big picture, though they may be squabbling about what resources will be left. They have a plan Shane. They wouldn’t be stocking those bunkers if they didn’t. You’re in Texas where they are concentrating their forces. It is scary stuff.
in regards of switzerland that is not the case anymore that there is a save place needed to be in any house. the older houses have that but the new ones dont as that law was put down a couple years ago.
i use the us m40 for adults, these can be found cheap online as well and cause us military issue there are enough 40mm filter, manual and else for that.