I like to breathe!

Something I overlooked until the Covid-19 pandemic is how much I like to breathe. Once the pandemic hit, it dawned on me; I really, really like to breathe. Unfortunately for me, by the time I realized my desire to breathe, every N95, gas mask, surgical mask, and cloth mask had been purchased. While I survived, this caused me to reevaluate many ideologies I carry in being prepared. I used to abide by the logic of, “Shelter, Food, and Water.” Air is something I have always taken for granted. I find the probability of a Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and nuclear disaster low. However, with the Covid-19 pandemic I took a more serious look at biological issues. While I personally don’t believe COVID-19 is a biological weapon, there are many people who do. If the current information on Covid-19 is true, it’s a naturally occurring disease then biological issues are something we should be prepared for. This remains true if Covid-19 is a man-made disease.

I decided to protect my wife and I from a biological agents; I will go to the extreme of purchasing gas mask. An exposure to Covid-19 is impossible to avoid in our situation. I also wanted to protect our eyes and a gas mask was the best option to do this. I did some research that basically boiled down to two separate standards for CBRN. The European Standard and the NIOSH standard. In my research, I came across Mira Safety and took a chance and ordered two CM-7M mask along with some P3 filters. This satisfied my desire to protect my wife and me from Covid-19. Later, I came across a piece of information that made me pursue the AVON C50.

If the Mask is not NIOSH certified, workers comp can deny any claim due to improper personal protective equipment. I won’t go into much detail here because I don’t believe this question will be raised during a work comp claim, and ultimately, the protection of our lives is more important.

Avon gas masks are difficult to source and purchase due to many places requiring law enforcement credentials. I ended up sourcing a current production C50 for a fair price and purchased it.

I have “Played” with both the CM-7M (OM-90) and the AVON C50. Both are comfortable, and have cooling features built into them. The cooling feature works by utilizing the air you breathe in to circulate it around the mask. Naturally, inhaled air is cooler than exhaled air. Trying to source a location to test both masks in CBRN environment proved difficult and impossible. Apparently, I lack enough knowledge to play in a radiological environment; honestly I am ok with that.  I settled for an environment filled with OC. I utilized the AVON CTFC50 filters for my, “Experiment,” and did not notice any penetration of the OC into the gas mask. While wearing, I found both masks comfortable to wear with the filters on. While I have not yet tried the mask with heavier CBRN filters, I imagine both will be fine. The CM-7M lacks a 6 point harness to better control the weight of the filters like the AVON C50 has. A feature I enjoyed on the AVON CTFC50 filter was the, “Discard when blue,” indicator on the filters so you know when it is time to change them out

After purchasing a multitude of filters, reality set it in, I would have been better off focusing on CBRN filters, which filter everything rather than getting P 3 R/ P100, OC/CS and CBRN filters. The money spent on the P 3 R and OC/CS filters would have been better spent on more CBRN filters. By utilizing only CBRN filters, I will not have to worry about my wife and I swapping filters depending on environment.

Basically, what it comes down to, if we can’t breathe, none of our other preparations matter.