Wilcox BOSS Xe

Project Black – Tactical Respirator

The Tactical Respirator is designed to protect from respiratory lead exposure in training environments. It will also protect from dust and particulates while breaching or in other dusty environments.

It uses replaceable electrostatic filters which are 98.6% effective and block airborne contaminates down to 0.1 microns. The seal is medical grade silicone.

It can be worn with eyepro and NVGs thanks to downward facing exhaust valves to prevent fogging.

The Tactical Respirator is available from Millbrook Tactical.

23 Responses to “Project Black – Tactical Respirator”

  1. bloke_from_ohio says:

    It looks like he is wearing a groin protector (AKA cup) on his face.

    • Vic Toree says:

      I was expecting Bane jokes, but now I’m having a hard time not seeing it your way.

    • GANDIS says:

      I think the term your looking for here is jockstrap. And a small one at that.

      • SSD says:

        I can tell the guys who don’t know anyone with heavy metal poisoning from shoot houses. If your idea of a day at the range is a few hours with buddies playing COD, this isn’t for you.

        • GANDIS says:

          Never claimed to be an operator of any kind, I fully embrace noner life currently. I learned something new today; had no idea that this was even a problem.

    • SSD says:

      This will keep you from getting heavy metal poisoning. SOF is having one hell of a time with this issue. These guys aren’t the first ones to do it, I’m glad to see something is being done for those who need it.

  2. Trigger Monkey says:

    Do you want to get laughed off the range? Because that’s how you get laughed off the range.

  3. chico78 says:

    Usually respirators go under the chin..weird.

    • bradkaf308 says:

      Yea I wonder how much of an issue it will be for talking or mouth breathing with that config. Their web site doesn’t say much for specs & Millbrook’s site seems broken at the moment. Is there an industry standard for what this is supposed to do? Since it doesn’t say I’m guessing it hasn’t been tested.
      Yes a very important issue & frequently over looked.

      • SSD says:

        There is not an industry standard at this point. So far, there are two “Tactical” masks on the market and some organizations have adopted commercial respirators for painting booths.

        If you are taking care of this right now are out in front of the military and law-enforcement requirement generation.

        • Chuck says:

          Maybe some clarification from a general industrial hygiene point of view:

          There are no industrial standards on “dust masks” because they are not technically considered respirators. Dust masks in general are considered optional PPE in most industries for this reason. Please don’t get me wrong, this is an obviously valid piece of protection equipment. It’s just that most industries certify full or half face respirators for their PPE requirements. This seems to be a stripped down half face respirator specifically for lead filtration. Really cool piece of kit from the looks of it.

    • Robert says:

      This design makes sense for rifle shooting with a proper cheek weld. An under the chin design would likely require you to tilt the rifle to acquire a sight picture. Anyone who has fired with a gas mask on will know why this design makes more sense.

  4. jbgleason says:

    I get what they are trying to accomplish and applaud it. I come from back in the day when we ended shoot house days with ringing ears and black snot from the breaching and bang smoke.

    That being said, I can’t imagine the hell of wearing this thing on a 98 degree 85% humidity day.

  5. Patrick Sweeney says:

    Nice start, but all in vain unless you take the usual precautions our mothers told us to: wash your hands. Don’t eat or drink on the range. Don’t smoke. Wash all your clothes after a range day, separate from the other clothes. Don’t wear your range shoes into the house.

    If all you do is this mask, you won’t see a difference. Do all the rest, even without the mask, and you’ll see a big difference.

    There have been times when I’ve spent half my life on indoor ranges. My BLL score has never been over 8, and most of the time it was between 4 and 6.

    • SSD says:

      Imagine if you did all of those other things and then you protected your respiratory system too.

  6. Migra_Gear says:

    Can’t find it on Millbrook’s site (Or any other distributors listed by Project Black. Is this live? A viable respirator would be a huge benefit to BP dirtbike and ATV units.

  7. Erik DeShane says:

    I understand there is a need for this — anyone that has ever worked in an environment that requires a respirator will tell you that your glasses are constantly getting fogged up and your adjusting your mask/glasses to the point that it is a distraction. Not sure this is your answer to the heavy metal issue

  8. Joe says:

    This is a poor substitute for using lead-free frangible in the shoot house, or better yet just getting in a work order for some ventilation.

    A cheap disposable home Depot n95 mask would have virtually indistinguishable performance as lead particles are larger than 1 micron.

    • P.J. says:

      Agree on ventilation but isn’t the main lead issue from primers? I would be interested to see how disposable masks work.

  9. PTM says:

    I hate shooting in indoor ranges, for this very reason. Thanks for this post.

  10. HK says:

    This is a great idea. Looks funny but is what it must be to allow for max helmet chin strap, eye pro, and cheek weld. Function over form.