If you are looking for one of the best NBC/CBRN gas masks on the market, the M50 Full-Face CBRN Gas Mask should be at the top of the list of considerations for you to buy. This gas mask is the US Military issue service mask and is one that is highly recommended by safety specialists, preppers, and law enforcement alike. Its practical military design makes it durable and keeps maintenance to a bare minimum. It is a gas mask that is regularly used by various militaries across the world, including the US Military, and it has been torture tested, and time-honored as a great CBRN gas mask.

Important Features and Specifications

• Provides maximum protection against CBRN agents
• Comes with an interior drinking tube
• Single lens for wide field of view
• Six adjustable point straps
• Ballistic outer lens
• Custom M61 filters are smaller, less bulk and a low profile (does not fit 40mm NATO filter)
• Facepiece is made of butyl/silicone rubber
• Mask weight is 3.6lbs

Details of the M50 CBRN Gas Mask

Gas Mask Type

The M50 CBRN gas mask is a NIOSH-approved CBRN gas mask. With its M61 custom filters (not 40mm NATO standard filters), this full face mask is able to be worn in chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear environments and provide a decontaminated face seal and filtered air supply to the wearer. The M50 is designed to provide 24 hours of continuous protection against those environments.

Due to the mask’s popularity in the civilian world, Avon have also produced an alternative version to the M50 that does use 40mm canisters. While many of the specifications are quite similar, buyers that are concerned about the issue of the 40mm threading can consider the Avon C50.

Facepiece

The crucial part of any CBRN gas mask is the facepiece, how it is made and what materials are used. The M50 facepiece is made with butyl/silicone rubber which makes the mold for the following components: the face seal, chin cup, head harness tabs, a flexible, single piece 3-3 eye lens made of polyurethane, openings for the front module assembly, filter mount assemblies and a storage receptacle for the drink coupler.

The facepiece has buckles on its exterior which allows the supporting head harness to have a number of strong points of contact.

Nosecup

The M50 mask’s nosecup is made of injection-molded silicone rubber and is responsible for both controlling the flow of air throughout the entire mask system, in turn ensuring minimal fogging on the eye lens on the mask for visibility.

Head Harness

The M50 uses elasticized straps for its head harness system. These attach at the back to a skullcap through loops. The cheek and temple straps, as mentioned above, are fastened to the buckles on the facepiece system.

Front Module

The M50’s front module consists of plastic housing for the disk valve and drinking system parts. The gas mask’s air outlet valve fits over the main part of the front module and acts as a way to protect the drinking valve and disk system.

The gas mask’s front module is the primary working space for the three valves. One of which is responsible for releasing exhaled air, while the other two are responsible for the inflow of air, which pass on through the right and left sides of the mask into its attached filters.

Drinking system

The M50 incorporates a drinking system into the main body and the front module of the mask. This works with an external tube which fits in with a drink coupler to connect a water canteen to an internal tube in the mask.

Filters

The M50 uses a specialized filter known as the M61 filter. Its filter attachments do not use a standard 40mm NATO threading and therefore 40mm NATO filters will not be useable with the M50 gas mask. The only filters that can be used are the M61 filter, which provides protection from CBRN agents. These filters are constructed with injection-molded plastic and contain an activated-carbon and high-efficiency particulate filter.

Due to the mask’s popularity in the civilian world, Avon have also produced an alternative version to the M50 that does use 40mm canisters. While many of the specifications are quite similar, buyers that are concerned about the issue of the 40mm threading can consider the Avon C50.

Mask Carrier

The M50 mask carrier ensures that the mask can be stored and easily carried should it be moved. The carrier also holds the clear outsert assembly, operation cards, waterproof mask bag, protective hood, drinking assembly, microphone, and adapter.

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Accessories of the M50 CBRN Gas Mask

The M50 CBRN Gas Mask comes with accessories that make it a contender for top NBC/CBRN gas masks. It comes with:

• A water canteen cap for connecting to a water canteen
• A vision correction assembly to attach to the inside of the M50 to mount and adjust vision for the wearer
• A decontamination kit for personal decontamination
• A mask carrier for the safe storage of the mask
• A waterproof bag to keep the mask dry in certain climates or scenarios
• A face form to maintain mask shape when not in use for 30 days or more
• A protective hood made of a flame-resistant material to protect the wearer

About The M50 CBRN Gas Mask

Avon Protection has been providing respirators to NATO allies and the UK Ministry of Defense the 1920’s and is the primary supplier of CBRN respiratory equipment to all United States Department of Defense Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force and Special Operations Forces. With that type of history, it is no doubt their CBRN gas mask, the Avon M50, is one of the most relied upon CBRN gas masks in the world.

The M50 sets the benchmark for what gas masks should be. It is worn with extreme comfort, which is important for the possibility of having to wear the mask for long unbroken periods, and it has the ease of movement while wearing it with no limitation to breathing or vision. It is these specifics that make it the best face mask for a nuclear fallout, and the best nuclear gas and the best military-grade gas mask.

The M50 comes with a drinking straw assembly that connects through to an in-service water bottle. Some masks choose not to include this functionality, which only shows that the M50 has been thought out to be used in a practical environment. This mask has a lot more optional accessories when compared against many other masks, this would be due to it being a gas mask with a strong military background, meaning it has had practical modifications made by high-field use suggestions. The only downside to the mask is that it uses its own type of filter and does not fit the threading of a standard NATO 40mm filter that a majority of other masks use.