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

Retevis H-777 - The disposable Radio

Retevis H-777 UHF FM transceiver. - The disposable £5 Radio

Manufacturer: Retevis (Baofeng)
Model: H-777
Also known as: Baofeng 888
Band: UHF FM
Frequency: 400mHz - 470mHz UHF FM
Power: <5W
Price: £5.50 including shipping!
Vendor: can't remember?
Shipped From: UK

First impressions
To be honest I wasn't really looking for a new radio but somehow this radio found me.
I think the price had something to do with that!
£5 for a brand new transceiver? I've seen all this before from dodgy eBay sellers who never deliver on the deal....Been there, done​ that so i was a little reluctant to pull the trigger this time.
I decided to take a chance and see if the radio would actually show up this time.

I almost fell off my chair when a courier knocked on the front door this afternoon carrying a small baofeng style box.
They actually sent it?! It wasn't a scam after all.
This was great news but it also raised a few questions at the same time.
How on earth can this eBay seller send me one of these for a fiver and NOT charge anything for shipping? In the UK i suspect the postage cost would be at least £3 so where the hell is this guy's profit margin?
And assuming the postage was at least £3, where the hell is he getting these from for such a small price?  Stolen? Haha I hope not!
A big thank you to the seller for such an amazing deal......

The Retevis H-777 is by no means a new design, it's actually a Baofeng BF-888s for all pretence and purposes which has been knocking about for years. They normally sell for around £10 on eBay so getting one for a fiver seemed a bit of a triumph.
The Retevis H-777 arrived in a small compact cardboard box.  Much smaller than i had envisaged. It seems that Baofeng (Retevis) are finding ways of saving packaging and possible postage costs which isn't a bad thing.

Inside its all fairly standard Baofeng guff.
The crappy ear piece, cheapo charger, pointless lanyard etc etc. Everything you need to get going (except a programming cable) but crapply made.

Cheap enough to chuck it away...
The Retevis H-777 has undoubtedly been the cheapest 'new' radio i have ever bought.
It's a sad fact that many electronic goods these days have become 'disposable'.
It started with inkjet printers some years back and has slowly spread to other products which have been mass produced in China.
Whilst this is great for the consumer in terms of a low price, it's not very good for the environment when all this stuff ends up prematurely in land fill.
So rather than maintaining the product and keep it serviceable for a few years it's a whole lot easier to chuck it out and start again.
When it comes to this Retevis radio. The first thing to go will be the battery. - and when this does eventually fail it's much cheaper to get another radio!

The Radio
Anyone familiar with the Boafeng 888 etc will recognise this radio immediately.
It's your standard 16 channel, single band (UHF) Chinese radio.
No bells, no whistles, just a simple 2W transceiver capable of out performing any of your store bought walkie talkies such as the Binatones or motorola twin packs with ease.
It may not have quite the same build quality of the little Cobra microtalks but it's much more powerful and more functional.
When you compare the price of a set of Motorola TLKR 5 to a couple of these then it's easy to see how good these are for value and performance.

On the top
As well as the antenna socket there is a rotary channel selector and on/off volume knobs. The flashlight and coloured TX/RX LEDs are also found here.

Right side
One large strip of rubber covers the ear piece/mic socket much like every other Motorola ripped off. This socket also doubles as the programming port for connecting to a PC. -standard stuff

Left side
Here we have the usual Chinese radio button layout.
PTT button, then two seperate function buttons in the immediate vicinity. Usually for opening the squelch, operating the flashlight or activating the scan feature etc.
All of these side button are well made and perform well.

Antenna
I guess the Antenna is the only real weakness of this rig. Quite simply it's a pile of crap.
Ok maybe that's a little unfair. Its alright if you are communicating with people quite nearby, like in the same building but for using over any kind of distance its pretty pathetic. Testing it side by side with a standard rubber duck really highlights its flaws. It hardly picks up anything.
The best solution however is to switch it with another antenna and chuck it in the bin.

Antenna: Not good...

Overall it's a fantastic package for a fiver.

Rating: ✅✅✅✅✅ 5 out of 5       "Bargain of the Year 2017"
How on earth is it possible to get a half decent radio for a fiver?
It's an amazing deal which beggars belief. I'm still in shock.
The Retevis H-777 rightfully gets the "bargain of the year" accolade.
It works too!

Recycled Radio: Cotton Traders AM/FM Dynamo

Recycled Radio: Cotton Traders AM/FM Wind up Radio

It looks OK from this distance

Manufacturer: anyone's guess? Chinese?
Model: M36Y9
Power: Dynamo or 2 x AA batteries
Made for: Cotton Traders Ltd
Approx Age: No idea?
Sold as: Used
Condition: Like new
Vendor: private eBay seller
Price: £4.95 + £1.95 postage
Shipped From; UK

Not the best design when it comes to switches

First impressions
Recently i have developed a taste for free energy radios.
The ones you have to put some effort in to get anything out.
Handcranking if you pardon the expression
Having already owned a clockwork freeplay and two dynamo freeplays i thought i would bag a few rip off designs.
One of the first to land my way was this thing...

Nice flashlight - Poor fitting outer casings

And to be fair it looked OK from a distance. But then it all goes horribly wrong!


Fact* Cotton Traders radio comes home...
An interesting thing about this radio is that it was made/commissioned by Cotton Traders Ltd, a local Manchester company who normally manufacturer high quality sports and casual wear. I have no idea why they branched out into crappy radios but this monstrocity should not be used as a measure of this companies normal merchandise. I have bought their rugby shirts in the past and found them to be the highest quality.
So the Manchester radio comes home - via Hong Kong or somewhere

 The least said about the tuning and volume dials the better

Good Points

• Nice Colour?
• Compact
• Good AM reception

In all honesty there is very little to say about this radios good points. There just isn't any really.
I like the silver colour and i like that it's quite small and light.
AM reception is actually quite good if you like listening to AM (which i don't) the internal ferrite antenna rod must be of reasonable quality if nothing else.

 Runs on AA batteries too....I wouldn't bother though

Bad Points

• Poor FM reception
• Poor quality plastic cases
• Poorly designed switch layout
• Weak and flimsy handle
• Hard to accurately tune in to anything
• Antenna is useless
• Lumpy dial operation
• Weak internal rechargable battery
• Poor flashlight

The list of bad points speaks for itself.
I could go into detail on every single point raised in the list above but i really cant be arsed. The radio isn't worth the effort. However a couple of things need a mention.

The bloody awful switch layout on the front of the unit leaves you scratching your head in bewilderment.
What ever possessed​ the designer to put the function switches in a recess where you can't get at them properly?
Changing settings can be a fiddly pain in the arse especially for those who have big hands. It wouldn't be such a problem if you only had to use the switches occasionally but unfortunately the on/off switch is located here so there can be no avoiding it.
It's a poorly designed feature.

The FM receiver built into this radio is a pile of dung.
Flicking through the local stations is a journey into Barron white noise with the occasional station breaking through. Only the powerful national stations stand much chance.
At first i thought the antenna had becoming disconnected inside the radio and was no connected but this was not the case.
Pretty useless really

The quality and accuracy of the tuning and volume dials are next under scrutiny.
Once again we find the same cheapo plastic at work.
Tuning the radio is not a pleasant experience. Moving the needle up and down the frequency scale feels lumpy rather than smooth and fine tuning is a lost cause.
Volume is approximate and can't be tamed properly.
Cost cutting here makes for cheap feel.

The cranking handle is a flimsy piece of crap

Above everything else the worst part of this radio has to be the awful cheapo winding handle.
One would expect this crucial part of the radio to be strong, sturdy and (with any luck) longlasting.
The handle used to generate the juice here is bendy, loose and runs unevenly when cranking. Not likely to last the month, nevermind a few years before it snaps​ off in your hand.
It's made from recycled yogurt pots by the looks of things. Very cheap, very flimsy.
Funny how the weakest point of the radio happens to be the most important in this case. Terrible.


👍👍
On the whole a rather disappointing radio when all said.
Like so many others it tries to mimic the free play dynamo radios and makes a pretty crap job of it.
FM reception is dreadful and although AM is a much better prospect, it wasn't the band i bought the radio to listen to.
The build quality is nothing short of shoddy and doesn't look as if it could stand up to a light breeze let alone an accidental drop.
I wish I hadn't bothered.

Recycled Radio: Wouxun KG-UVD1P Dual bander

Recycled Radio: Wouxun KG-UVD1P Dual Bander Transciever

The Original Wouxun dual bander

Manufacturer: Wouxun
Model: KG-UVD1P
Country of origin: China
Description: Dual Band FM Transceiver
Sold As: Used
Approx Age: looks new 2016
Condition: Very good.Missing original antenna + box
Price: £27 including shipping      RRP £79.99 still available
Vendor: private seller on eBay
Shipped from: UK

"International Version"?

First impressions
As well as buying new radios i also buy non-working or used radios all the time.
This time my recycled Radio is an absolute classic!. Yes, the original Wouxun dual bander radio, the KG-UVD1P.

 Plenty going on up top

The KG-UVD1P is not a new design. It actually started appearing around the end of 2010 so it won't be a stranger to everyone. It was regarded as one of the first radios to challenge the likes of Yeasu, Kenwood and Icom in offering all of the functionality but only costing a fraction of the price - Ultimately leaving the door open for budget brands such as Baofeng and Retevis to steam in behind.

Past reviews seem to be very favorable towards the Wux.  Often regarded as the best budget radio (at the time) due to the solid build quality and abundance of features.
I was intreged to find out if any of my radio friends had ever had any experience with the KG-UVD1P in the past.
With the exception of one (Ringway Manchester 😁) everyone I spoke to spoke highly of it. Infact two radio operators still have their Wouxun radios from years ago and refuse to part with them.
One guy said he had conducted a test with the KG-UVD1P and a Yeasu FD60 a few years ago and found that the Wouxun was better in his opinion. The Yeasu was probably twice the price too.
I was quite looking forward to using the radio after hearing that.

This radio came to me as second hand but in reality looked brand new.
It was missing its original box, manual, lanyard and earpiece (who cares about the crappy earpieces anyway) admittedly,  the radio itself was brand new looking and still had the protective plastic film across the screen.
I'm not really bothered about the piffling extras as they don't seem to add any value to the experience.
I was more than happy with what i recieved. The Wouxun still sells for around £80 so getting it for this price was a bargain.

The stock antenna is OK

Good Points

• Well made
• Splash proof IP55 rated
• Quick dual mode toggle
• Good receiving capabilities
• Programmable FM stations
• Rotary dial/selector
• Good PTT button
• Not as prone to 'Inter-Mod' as other cheap radios

One thing that immediately took my notice was the build quality of this radio. The casings are made from a tough ABS plastic and seemingly on par with its more expensive rivals. For a cheap radio it's hard to complain. Sure, some of the cheapo Baofengs are pretty well made but this Wouxun seems heavier and more robust somehow. Apparently this unit is IP55 rated so it should be impervious to a bit of dirt and water. This extra protection explains why the buttons on this radio are more heavy duty feeling. The front keypad is made up of little semi hard buttons which click positively when pressed. I don't imagine much water or dirt could get past those very easily.

 Original replacement batteries are hard to find

After a few days of owning this radio i thought i might keep it rather than selling it on as i normally might.
The next sensible thing to do would be to buy a spare battery.
I normally have at least two or three spare batteries for each of my radios so i was hoping to snag one or two for a few quid.
It's turns out that spare batteries are near impossible to find in the UK. And I'm talking non-original copied batteries here. If I had wanted an original Wouxun battery (like the one i got with the radio)  then i would end up more disappointed. They simple don't exist? or so it would seem.
So left with few choices I opted to buy a replacement battery from the only UK eBay seller to have them charging me £17.99 for the privilege. Scandalous! 🎃
I could have taken the other route and bought one from the Philippines for £8 - it's a long way to send it back if it turns out to be crap and i would have to wait ages for it arrive from the far east.


Bad Points

• Tinny sounding speaker
• Backlight stays on when scanning
• Battery meter is crap
• Battery doesn't last that long
• Signal meter is vague

 Wouxun are keen on anti-counterfeiting

The recieve sound quality is clear but lacking in bass. Especially when compared to more contemporary models such as the Baofeng GT3 and UV-82 radios which cost much less.
In situations with a noisy background it's sometimes hard to make out what's coming through the speaker.

The sensitivity of the reciever is very good with the only downside coming from the poor digital squelch system.

The usual button configuration

Battery life is quite lame in comparison to other similar style radios. Even with battery save enabled and the back light switched off the battery has a struggle to last the whole day with the minimal of use. One suspects that the claimed battery capacity of 1400mAh is a crock of crap. 

The extra battery i bought wasn't much better either. It claims to be 1700mAh but in reality lasts as long as the original. Crap.

A solid little radio

Overall it's a solid little radio. The design is getting a little long in the tooth now but it's a good radio to own if you can get one cheap. 

👍👍👍👍

Israeli model 4 Gas Mask

Isreali​ No 4 Gas Mask

Manufacturer: Shalon Chemical Industries, Tel Aviv.
Under License From: Drager, Lübeck, Germany
Model: No 4.  (Based on the Drager simplex gas mask.)
Filter: 40mm NATO filter
Country: Isreal
Year: 1969?
Condition: Used - good condition
Price: £9.99 + £2.95 shipping
Vendor: private eBay seller
Shipped from: UK

First impressions
The Isreali made No. 4 gas mask has been on my hit list of collectables for a long time now. Despite there being millions of the damn things floating around the global ebay not many appear to float near UK shores.
The last time i saw one of these it was over £25 + £20 shipping from the US. I'm not paying that kind of money for a mask which is equivalent to the Russian GP-5 in terms of the vast numbers produced.

I wasn't expecting to find another on UK eBay anytime soon but thankfully this specimen came around.
I ended up winning the mask for £9.99 + 2.95 shipping which seemed a good enough deal to me.

Features a strange white coloured valve protector

The package duely arrived to much anticipation.
Inside was the original cardboard box full of Hebrew text and looking a little tatty around the edges.

Inside was the mask with the filter tucked neatly inside. The filter actually sits inside a white frame. This allows for it to be stored inside the mask without the metal parts rubbing and scratching against the plexiglass eye pieces. A clever little space saving idea if i do say so.
Also tucked inside the bottom of the box was a set of Hebrew instructions.

A nicely made mask

A little bit about the Isreali No4
Isreal is one of those places on earth which has been under the constant threat of attack for decades. This potential threat has come mainly from the Arab militants of hesbola but during the first gulf war the upgraded 4A1 was distributed in vast numbers against the threat from Saddam Hussein's regime in Iraq.

Recently the isrealis have been stockpiling these masks in the event that the Assad regime in Syria decide to attack. Tensions are high in the middle East with Isreal seemingly in the middle of things.

The later version called the 4A1 features an upgraded valve system and added drinking straw. These later models seem to be easier to obtain.




The face piece

The No 4 mask is very well made. The rubber is thick and hard-wearing, similar to the rubber used in other Drager masks.
Assuming this mask is from 1968 the integrity of the rubber is like new considering it's age.
There are no signs of cracking or perishing around the edges as you might expect.
The fundamental elements of the mask are in excellent working order with the exception of the left eye piece which has a strange bubbling texture in the corner. As the eye pieces are made from plexiglass i suspect the defect is caused by a reaction with the plastic.

Medium size and the Shalon company logo

The Filter

Interesting filter holder

When i first saw this strange white plastic frame thing i thought it was a mask former. Included in the kit to help the mask keep its shape when not in use. This could still be the case but it seems the main purpose of the plastic frame is to hold the filter in place during storage and transportation. With the filter sat within the frame it can easily be stored inside the mask saving valuable space in the cardboard box.

The Drager manufactured Zivilschutzfilter 68 filter

The filter supplied here is an old Drager made 40mm can which was still new and sealed. The true age of this filter is unknown but there is a good chance it was made in 1969. The more recent A41 masks are supplied with small grey coloured filters.

I have not idea if this filter contains Asbestos or not? If its as old as 1969 it could very well have but I'm not taking any chances. (not as though i plan on using it often) 

Instructions in Hebrew only

Lurking at the bottom of the box was this instruction pamphlet. It is very well detailed with some great illustrations but unfortunately i don't speak Hebrew. I'm hoping the internet may turn up an English translation but nothing so far.

Overall I'm quite impressed with this mask. It's well constructed and looks the part too.
In comparison with other similar style masks this one is up there with the best.  Getting the mask on and off is really easy and pain free. No nasty scalp and hair grabbing here. I can imagine this mask would be very comfortable to wear over a long period of time.
It's really hard not to like it!


Rating: ✅✅✅✅4 out of 5
The only problem with this mask is the tatty cardboard box. The mask itself is really well made and looks like it could last for a long tim. Drager are reknown for their quality masks and this example is no exception.