The gas mask is annoying. It's a piece of gear that often goes unused. It's extremely bulky in an era where streamlined, light weight, and low profile is at the top of every tactical dudes list.
Not every op is a possible chemical munitions op. Setting up for a buy/bust vehicle takedown, where you might be sitting in an unmarked vehicle for two hours waiting for your target, chances are, you're leaving your gas mask off your kit. Having a pouch that is affixed via molle somewhere means you're removing your mask but your pouch sits empty on your kit. That's dumb, and a waste of space, so #1, we want a pouch that's not affixed to our essential kit, and easy to put on, or take off. There's something to be said about being able to bring your gas mask with you, but not having it affixed to your person if it's not needed at that time.
The current offering of pouches consist largely of two options. Affixing the pouch via molle to your back, or a drop leg pouch via belt attachment, off to the side of your non pistol side leg. Also, less common but seen often, attaching a pouch, or the mask with no pouch to a dangled carabiner of some sort.
First, let's discuss the back mount. If you're sitting in a vehicle, go ahead and say it's not happening, or if it does, schedule that chiropractor visit now, because that's ridiculous. Also, let's be honest, it looks really stupid. More importantly than both of these, the back mount requires a buddy to retrieve your mask for you. While I understand that we work together as a team on ops, having to wait for your friend to get your mask for you, and so on and so on, is also dumb. So, #2, we need a pouch that is comfortable to sit in a vehicle with, #3, that the individual can retrieve their own mask with ease.
Now let's talk about the drop leg. As we mentioned earlier, streamlined and low profile are the name of the game. Coupled with your pistol, this setup makes you significantly wider than normal. I have seen far too often guys bang into doorways, get stuck in windows, attics, etc, because of that dumb drop leg setup. So, #4, we need a pouch that keeps the individual wearing it as low profile as possible.
Next up is the dangler method. This is when dudes just take their bare mask, or the pouch they keep it in, and they carabiner that thing to a random empty molle on their vest or belt. It's flopping around everywhere, and if it's not in a pouch, you're exposing the mask unnecessarily to the elements which can be detrimental to the mask. So, #4, it needs to look professional, be in a pouch, and it needs to be secure to your person.
Finally, and last but not least, no explanation, but more of a culmination of several topics above, #5, the pouch should not have a fixed location. The individual wearing it should be able to choose where it best fits their kit and needs.
We looked at all of the above, and designed a very simple pouch called the GMP. Yes, it's a fanny pack for a gas mask. Yes, we finally found a good reason to wear a fanny pack and still look cool.
Side note: we've already had a ton of dudes message us via the gram and say they plan to use the GMP for a large med pack (I'm cool with it) and also dudes saying they plan to use the GMP as their explosive breaching pouch (also, even cooler with it) It's actually a very versatile little pack, and we hope you guys dig it.
Next time we'll discuss specs, colors, what it will fit, will include some pics, and team purchase options and all that.
-THYF