Canada launches hood allowing beardies to wear respirator

There is a current trend to try and provide respiratory protection to beard wearers, rather than have them clean shaven (and safe). The UK recently allowed beards to be worn with a respirator (in the teeth of scientific evidence) and now Canada has a hood to allow a degree of respiratory protection to the wearer. Hoods, like the M40 used to have, are not popular as it adds to the thermal burden, and are harder to get on in a hurry... that all said, DND is pretty chuffed with theirs, as the original press release states. 

"Shaved skin used to be the only way to get a good seal and adequate respiratory protection wearing a gas mask, but research trials on a new respirator, called the C5B, promise a “breath of fresh air” during training drills for Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members who have beards, long hair, headdresses or uniquely shaped faces... Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) worked with the Canadian Army’s directorate of joint CBRN defence (J CBRN), an industry partner, AirBoss Defense, and the Royal Military College of Canada, to develop and test the new respirator... The C5B is a hood-style accessory to the C5 respirator. A CAF member places the respirator against their face, pulls the hood back over their head, and then tucks the hood edges into their CBRN protective suit.

“The new concept is a clean chamber around your head,” explains Maj Christian Doucet, with J CBRN. The hood is tightened snug against the head and neck, helping to keep the chamber clean of tear gas. The fabric also has an aerosol filtration membrane similar to an N95 mask further providing an extra layer of protection.

The result is sufficient respiratory protection to complete the same training drills as members wearing other in-service respirator such as the C4 or C5, without tear gas getting in their eyes or nose... 

Having the option of the C5B during training isn’t just about religious accommodation. CAF members may also choose to train with it because of fit issues with other respirators, or to practice with a respirator that will work when they haven’t shaved.

The final user trial of the new respirator took place at CFB Esquimalt Damage Control School in November 2023. Instructors from the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School trialled teaching the respirator drills with the C5B. The drills include putting on the respirator under the pressure of a time limit, drinking water while wearing the respirator, changing the canister on the respirator, and a field decontamination. Depending on the fit of the respirator, trial participants were up to 300 times better protected when wearing the C5B than if they wore the current in-service respirator.

Bodurtha explains that the protection level achieved by the C5B is sufficient for training purposes, and more research and development would be required to develop a respirator that meets the higher protection levels required for operational uses, while still accommodating beards, long hair, headdresses and uniquely shaped faces.

Bodurtha says the team working on the inclusive project wanted to tackle training because it would provide a benefit to the largest group of CAF members, most of whom are less likely to use a respirator in an operational setting, but still must pass CBRN basic training in a gas hut."