Gas Masks Learning Curves
When I first started styling gas masks, it was pretty much simple and to the point for me. No accessories, adapaters, gadgets, or do-hickies to add to the exerience. I really thought the whole gas mask thing was just slapping the dang thing on your face and look unique. I was wrong. I was oh, so wrong. Without jumping too far ahead, let us take a few steps backwards, and I will talk you through this at regular Chinguin speed. Remember the handful of blog posts where I reviewed or rambled on about the MSA Millenium and other gas masks that I have tried on so far? I am sure you have seen me style them without hoses and adapters and then gradually started noticing fun things being added onto the stuff, despite being attached incorrectly or things going where they should not go. At first, our experiences went from one hose with one rebreather bag for a good moment of time and then before you knew it, an additional hose appeared with another connector, and it kept evolving from there like a Pokemon. Looking back, it really is mind boggling on how far I have come with this gas mask venture. Everything adds a very different twist and take on the rubber experience, itself. Gab, too, has learned quite a bit about these simple, yet complex masks; from what hoses and adapters can be used on what style of gas masks to which direction the air will flow in each hose. Trust me when I say that to this day, we have still not fully understood the true mechanics of gas masks despite my pictures and videos saying differently.
Even though we are in the spooky season and I desperately need to offload as many spooky pictures as possible, I thought it would be fun if Gab and I shared with you our little lessons and mishaps with gas masks in general. For some reason, gas masks proved to be our “Achilles’ Heel” throughout the years and I am sure many of you have noticed accessories incorrectly hooked up to my masks in our posts, so let us now talk about it. It is time to face the music and look back at our awkward past.
That Seal Just Ain’t Right
As many of you may know, the MSA Millenium was the very first gas mask that I slapped onto my face. I love it for its feel and simple, yet sleek design. From the round look, to the domed visor that gives me a panoramic view of my surroundings, to the comfort of wearing it for long periods of time, the MSA proved to be my go-to for gas masks. However, even with all of these pros that I just typed out, we had quite a stretch of the journey where we struggled with it as well as all of the other gas masks. Some masks have a strap/buckle harness around the back to bring the mask closer to your face in order to create a perfect seal. Think about it — gas masks are worn by law enforcement and soldiers when the air around them is compromised. You need to have the perfect seal so that no foreign or dangerous vapors can slip in for you to breathe. For me, I need the perfect seal so I can fully use my hoses and attachments effectively and believe me, it was a STRUGGGGGGLEEEEEE! A good majority of our time during photoshoots were spent trying to figure out where the air was exscaping from. Seriously… You have no idea how many times we would just give up and just style the stuff instead of demonstrating the functionality of the accessories. Who was ever going to know any old ways? You cannot see the inner workings in a photo most of the time, so we figured we would be fine. Anywho, the whole experience was stressful and infuriating because we could never figure out what we were doing wrong!
Our constant failures were funny to me, but probably not so much for Gab. When I was wearing the MSA, I would inhale deeply with him blocking my intake ports to test for a proper seal. Almost every single time, I could feel the slivers of cool air enter through my left eye, from under my chin, or sometimes the left or right side of my mask. The seal was no good and that directly affects the airflow through the hoses. It felt as if someone was squirting cool air into my enclosed facial space. There was one time when we even tried to block stray air from entering with tape and wedging paper into the gaps. That idea did not work out too well, but at least we were pinpointing the leaks. It shows that we were learning as we used the masks more and more. Needless to say, we eventually managed to solve the problem, but it was not without a fight, trial, and much failure along the way.
Probably the most recent discovery we had in regards to gas masks is that I was actually wearing masks that were too big for my head. I have no idea how we messed that up, but we did. Our measurements were correct, but I guess we had to go for a size smaller or something. For the longest time, I wore a size Large for my MSA and Airboss LBM. Time and time again we could not figure out why the air kept escaping. Turns out, the masks were too big. The seal on my forehead was no good and air was constantly coming in and out. The way Gab found this out was by holding a really light piece of tissue paper around my mask and seeing if it moved anywhere along the seal. Sure as sin, the paper flapped up and down when it was hovered above my forehead for the MSA and Airboss. An expensive lesson to learn, but at least we solved the problem.
Attachments R Us
If I took Gab to an antique mall that specialized in nothing but the stuff he liked, such as old advertising clocks, he would lose his mind. It would be like watching a kid run around in a toy store. Now, let us flip the coin over to the rubber side. He has always been the one that has been fascinated about maximizing any mask to its full potential. Imagine him going nuts in a latex garment and accessory store! Yes, it was Gab who did the leg work and helped find GasMask Factory, Fantomas, and 3DSM, each of which offered advice, suggestions, and products that they made that would help make our photoshoots and experiences more enjoyable. Recently, we expanded our gas mask resume and started trying out different types of hoses as well as connectors and adapters. Bear in mind, we figured out an abundance of things on our own, but it is not like there was a latex textbook that we could reference and see how things worked or needed to be installed. There have been many bloopers where we tried to screw in hoses to a gas mask where both pieces did not want to play along due to the threads not lining up. We would easily spend ten minutes at a time just trying to figure the hose problem and yet we wonder why our photoshoots take so long sometimes. I can assure you that it is not always a ‘me’ issue!
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You name it, we probably messed it up. Gab has screwed on air flow adapters backwards and accidentally had valves closed when they should have been opened. He has even inverted the rubber valves inside the gas masks in order to control the air flow, not realizing that they were installed the way they were for a reason. He would go to hardware stores to find things to work with the hoses or customize them or to find rubber washers to jam into the connectors to hopefully create a better seal. I could probably easily fill out an entire 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper with all of the failed attempts we had at trying to figure our gas masks out. Imagine inhaling inward because you need a fresh breath of air and there was nothing for your lungs to grab or hookup to. Keep in mind, this was not supposed to be breathplay practice. Yeah. Pretty Scary. Kind of the same feeling as hitting a wall at a dead end, no matter how hard you try — no air comes through.
Speaking of no air, we discovered some small machines from makers like Kenze and Despair Lab, where they created handheld devices that can cut off your air supply and works well with gas masks. The machine we have from Kenze is an older model that works with a remote control. Gab operates the control, but only after coaching me on what is to come. We typically go through cycles of established intervals. After the set number of breaths, we switch to a blind guessing game. For a few minutes, I never know when the button will be pressed. Sometimes, I’ll be halfway through inhaling and then all of a sudden, there will be no air. It can be scary at times, but in a way, kind of fun. The machine from Despiar Lab actually comes with a random mode function. Talk about working out your lungs! Gab has even discovered a place called ReduktionFan Shop where he purchased a machine that supplies air to you as an air pump would. All of these devices were frightening to me, yet at the same time it posed as a good challenge as well.
We have endless amounts of interesting gadgets from 3DSM and Gas Mask Factory that we are slowly starting to utilize. 3DSM is responsible for our black and orange bubblers, some connectors, hoses, and a air flow controller. Gas Mask Factory is responsible for our collection of MSA accessories as well as various air flow controllers, a four way air flow splitter, hose holders, and even a smell bag adapter for our Rubber’s Finest neck smellbag. We have even tried a breath sensitive valve from Kenze that cuts your air flow off if your breathe in too hard. Within our collection, you will also find air flow splitters from Enfettered under their Vast Gear line. Most recently, Gab bought a few things from Kinky Rubber Doc, so let’s see how that goes. All of these fun accessories to hook up to gas masks such as the ones we have from Fantomas as well as our MSAs.
A Bubbler’s Game
What do you think of when you hear the word, ‘bubbler’? The first thought that crossed my mind was the little bottles of bubble I used to play with as a kid where I would blow bubbles out and watch them float through the air. Gab thinks of the bubblers that go in fish tanks. When I was faced with these two large plastic bottles that had ports on them I was at a loss for words. I cannot remember if I ever mentioned this in a previous blog or not, but when Gab and I first tried out the bottles, we thought the bubbler part was broken. No matter how hard I tried to inhale, no bubbles were forming. Just stagnant water in a bottle. We tried to create bubble life for easily close to ten minutes at a time at different angles, holding the bottle at different heights, adjusting the hoses that were connected to the ports. Nothing would work. I wanted to see some bubbles! Where were the bubbles?!?
Turns out that the first time we trued to bubble, I accidentally had my rubber glove covering the little port on top of the bottle that allowed air to come in or escape. Oops? How funny is that? Now, that was just the first issue. There was a second time where we tried at least three different hoses to try to hook up to a bubbler and none of them would lock in. TURNS OUT, the hoses we were using had a different thread size compared to the ones on the bottle. What a DUUUUUUUH moment, would you not agree? Can you believe that the issues did not stop there? What else could be wrong already? We opened the vent, found the correct hoses that would thread in to the bottles and the gas mask. What now? Well, remember the section that we titled “That Seal Just Ain’t Right”? …yeah. I think that asnwers that. Once that issue was resolved, the bubblers came to life. Bloop, Bloop, Bloop. They were pretty cool to see, but I quickly realized that constantly taking in enough air to make those bubbles dance created a workout for my lungs. Eventually, I learned to pace myself. Slow in, slow out, wait a few seconds, then repeat the cycle.
Chinguin Contemplations 🐧
There is no shame in admitting fault or telling embarrassing stories in our lives. That is my stance at least. Do not believe that we are living some sort of “Everything is Awesome” rubber lifestyle over here. Pffft, HAH! We live normal, boring suburbia lifestyles with rubber just being a side hustle of ours. Blogs that put your flaws and learning experiences in full display for everyone to learn from help develop character. We should learn from each other, through all the good and bad experiences that we go through. I am not saying that we have to be best friends or anything, but it is not a bad thing help one another out when need be. I always have a great sense of joy when I share my blooper moments and all the times where Gab and I looked like a couple of doofy rubberists, just staring blankly at our latex gear or accessories that just blows our minds. I promise you that if you ever catch us in the wild, you would probably catch a glimpse of us scratching our chins or heads with furrowed brows as we just hover over something bizzare. As I have mentioned many times before, this rubber stuff is something where I can become humbled really quickly if I approach a photoshoot with an invincible mindset. Maybe there are rubberists out there that are so experienced to the point where they know all the ins and outs of the hobby, and all of this is nothing to them. Gab and I are nowhere near that level of confidence and probably never will be. That is why I say there is still a very long way for us to go to reach level 100.
Being able to have someone there to share the latex journey and figure things out together with is without a doubt more fulfilling to me. Even though with two heads/brains put together, we still have our dumb moments, it is the satisfication of figuring things out in the end that makes this whole experience more memorable. Take every success and failure with stride and keep it close because they will be the moments that you will never forget! Failure always leads to success. Sometimes, it may take far more failure than others my experience, but worry not, my friend. You will succeed one day and figure out where your leak is at, too! As always, thank you for your support and until next time, everyone! Stay tuned for the next blog.
