WWII Belgian L.702 Gas Mask review

WWII Crap

Belgian L.702 civilian Gas Mask  

Manufacturer: SBA, Leige, Belgium​
Year: 1939
Country: Belgium + others
Production run: 1938-1940
Condition: OK - bit of rust on the canister
Numbers produced:  1 million+
Designation: Civilian - non military
Price: £8 free shipping
Vendor: private eBay seller

The rusty canister has saved the mask from damage 

First Impressions
Looking through my gas mask cupboard recently I realised that I didn't own a Belgian gas mask? Well fancy that!
It so happened that a private seller on eBay was flogging two of these L.702's at a very low starting price. I couldn't resist.
Having secured one for about £8 I thought I may have snagged a bargain.....I wasn't wrong!.

Bearing in mind that this gas mask kit is 78 years old I was expecting to receive a delicate half perished rubbery mess.
This was not the case and although the outer metal canister was rusty in places, the actual mask and filter were in a reasonable condition.

A bit about the Belgian L.702
Belgium succumb to the Nazi war machine on the 10th of May 1940 following a Blitzkrieg invasion of epic proportions.
Like so many European countries at the time, Belgium​ had made some preparations for what was to come.

 Nazi scum flood into Belgium may 1940

To protect its civilians the Belgium government commissioned the mass production of the L.702 gas mask kits to be distributed to as many of the population as possible.

Original WW2 Belgian poster

It is estimated that well over one million of these civilian masks were produced between 1938 and 1940. Subsequently the SBA factory was shut down by the Germans following the invasion. Production ceased indefinitely.


The face piece
The main face piece is made from a good quality thick rubber. Not the thin crap that we Brits were handing out during the war. These masks were made to last - and they have, its quite remarkable.

"Taille 1" - size 1 (kids)

With the exception of some slight corrosion around one eye pieces, the face piece could almost be new.

Heavy duty rubber straps ensure that the mask can be held securely against the face making a good seal.

Bakelite Inhale/Exhale value system

You can certainly tell the age of this mask by its use of Bakelite in the inhale/exhale. Bakelite (if you didn't know) was an early form of plastic which had a tendancy to be brittle.
The holes seen in the above photo are where air is exhaled directly above where the filter is fitted.
The inhale valve is a simple one-way flutter flap, nothing fancy.

The Filter
The filter which came with the mask is in really good condition apart from a small amount of rust along the top (see above pic).

Filter still sealed from 1939

The photo above shows the underside of filter. The inlet bung is still sealed and in place making this item 'new' so to speak.
It's nice to find an unissued mask kit that's almost 80 years old.

The filter seems to have passed quality control in 1939.
It's such a shame that the top of the filter has the rust on it. Otherwise this piece would be perfect.
I'm not too bothered by the rust if the truth be told. I was expecting much more degradation than this. I'm happy.

⚠Does this Filter contain Asbestos?⚠

All gas mask filters of this age will contain Asbestos as a filter medium. The dangers of inhaling Asbestos particles were not known at the time.

Instructions in French and Dutch

An added bonus to the kit is this instruction manual. Other than a few rusty water marks its perfectly in tact. Flicking through the pages I was amazed to see how well the instructions were presented.

Overall I think that this WWII gas mask kit is fantastic in design and really well made. I would certainly fancy my chances in a life or death situation with one of these over the crappy British civie masks of the time.  

On reflection I wish I had bought the other L.702 which the seller was flogging. 😥😥😥

Rating: 👍👍👍👍.      4 out of 5

This is a great mask for collectors and it can be bought incredibly cheaply. If it comes in a metal tube then there's a great chance it will be in good condition or new unissued. What is there not to like? 

Optimum 4000mAh Power Bank

Optimum 4000mAh Slim line Power Bank

Manufacturer: Optimum a.k.a BM Bargains UK

Price: sale £3 each - normally £5.99 

Country of origin: China

Vendor: BM Bargains

Description: 4000mAh slim line portable charger

Battery Type: Li-Po (Lithium Polymer)

Capacity: 4000mAh 

Input: DC 5V / 1A

Output: DC 5V / 1A

Colours: Silver, Champagne gold, Black

First Impressions

I never thought I'd hear myself say it but powerbanks for mobile devices are a must these days.

The reason for this seems to be the fact that as these technologies become more advanced they invariably become more power hungry - and being stuck without a smart phone, tablet or vape pen when you need it the most is a problem.

The Aldi rugged powerbank I reviewed a few months ago has and still is serving me well but it really needs a little help with all the daily charging I do now.

The addition of a few battery heavy vaping devices has not helped the situation in the slightest.

Enter BM Bargains and their Optimum range of electronics - an attempt to get a slice of the market.

Expectations for a £3 power bank were not high. Poundlamds shoddy attempt at a £1 unit had left a sour taste in my mouth.

 Inside the basic blister packaging is the powerbank, a micro USB lead and a set of instructions. (instructions were in English too!)
Nothing too fancy.

The unit itself seems reasonably well made and the cable is just a cable. The outside of the unit is made from an aluminium type metal moulded in a one piece sleeve in which everything else lives. The white end caps are made from cheap shit plastic​ and not that good.

Testing

In not sure these things really do have a 4000mAh capacity? 

Anything made in China these days tends to be measured in Chinese mAh or Watts and has to be treated with causion. I would say that this item is no different. 

Yeah it works ok after you get over the initial complete charge/discharge cycles (as with all lithium batteries). 

It will charge my tablet and vape pens so that's enough for me.

Definitely NOT 4000mAh though!

Rating: 4 out of 5 **** 
Had these power banks been at their regular price point then perhaps I might have not bothered, after all the rather excellent Aldi rugged powerbank is the same price (£5.99) and offers more features. The fact that I effectively got two for the price of one sweetened the deal for me.
This device would have gotten full marks in this short review but I'm still not convinced of its true capacity...... Definitely Chinese measurements at work here!
It's still good for the money though

Manchester Arena Attack: Thoughts

It's been almost 48 hours since the devastating suicide attack at the Manchester MEN arena which sadly took the lives of 22 people and injured over 100 more. Its an event that has unsettled and appauled people far beyond these shores. Poor innocent children and young people attending a pop concert in the city cruelly killed and maimed in the name of Islamic state.

For me it has been a rather unsettling experience due to the fact that the Manchester arena is only a few miles away from Aphoristic HQ. A little too close for comfort and on my own doorstep. It was surreal, unbelievable and took a while to sink in.
Sure, Manchester has always been a prime target for terrorism and the UK had been on a heightened state of alert for the last few years but it's always a shock when something does actually happen. I don't think anyone is really prepared for it in the end.
I'd say that this suicide attack has completely knocked the wind out of every single Mancunian.
It's always heartbreaking to hear that innocent people have been hurt in these terrorist attacks but when it's young children that are the deliberate targets then you have to seriously start asking questions.

The dust had hardly settled on the recent Westminster terror attack in London (only two months ago) when on Monday evening at 10:30pm some local lunatic decided he would pack a bag full of nails and explosives and detonate himself in the foyer of the Manchester arena complex taking 22 innocents with him and leaving over 100 injured, some critically.

Its amazing how people come together after such a terrible event and this was particularly visible here in Manchester.
Only an hour after the bomb went off the locals were offering medical assistance, food, shelter, transport and above all else love.
Local hotels offered to be the meeting points for lost children, local taxi drivers were offering free lifts home (however far away that was) and local homeless people were helping the injured on the ground. Even the local off duty bus drivers were going back to work and demanding their bosses hand over keys to the buses so they could help to get people safely home. It was a horrifically sad but proud moment for the city.  Everyone wanted to do something to help.

The city has really pulled together since the attack two days ago. It was heartwarming and reassuring to know that there are so many kind people living among us.

I'm proud of my Manchester, we won't be beaten by anyone.

Blog Update: News

It's been a while since I last posted something on here.. a couple of months in fact and for those who read my ramblings on a regular basis (not many!) Then perhaps you were wondering what has happened/gone wrong?

Nothing has happened really except for a catastrophic I.T failure in my house - My Tesco tablet decided it didn't want to power up anymore. Anyway, it's all working again and here I am.

During this two month hiatus I have eased off the Gas mask buying and concentrated my efforts into stopping smoking.
It's something I should have done years ago but always found an excuse not to. Well not anymore!
Since my last post I managed to find a way to stop which was easy and stress free and as of today I have been off the fags for the past 7 weeks without a relapse!
The key to my success has been the use of a 'Vape' device which has already paid for itself five times over.
I found that trying different flavours of e liquid has made giving up tabacco much easier - it's much more fun and satisfying than burning tobacco.
Gradually I have lowered the nicotine level in the juices to the point where I'm almost nicotine free. I'd say that was a resounding success!

Vaping is quite an interesting and fun hobby to have once you are a convert. Sharing and discussing the various e-liquid flavours with like minded friends has added a social element to vaping where normally fags smoking never could.
I'm saving loads of money now and feel much healthier so the benefits are huge.
As a thank you to the Vaping world I plan on doing a few reviews on the subject. Featuring a few vape devices and favourite e-liquids.

Gas mask, radios and other random reviews will still feature in my blog as always in the coming weeks and months so it won't all be about smoking sessation!.

Wishing all my readers a great weekend and I hope you will check back here from time to time to see what's been going on.


Peace

Mr Aphoristic