Breath mask

A breath mask, face breather, or respirator was an apparatus that was strapped to the face. It usually had a hose to a filter or air canister, which connected the wearer to a portable life support system. Breath masks provided one hour of breathable atmosphere before replacement of the canister was required. The typical breath mask weighed roughly 1.5 kilograms. These masks offered no protection from extreme temperatures or a hard vacuum.

The content of the canisters—also known as air-tanks or breather packs—varied depending on what species was wearing it. As a member of the breather Gand subspecies, Zuckuss wore a respirator, since he needed to breathe ammonia, as oxygen atmospheres were poisonous to him. He kept the ammonia-filled canisters to his breath mask on his person. The tubes of his respirator were connected to a gas-processing unit, which he carried on his back.

In some cases, respirators were built into a person as cybernetics, if they suffered severe enough injuries that they cannot live otherwise. Notable examples include Darth Malgus as well as Darth Vader and General Grievous.

All Kel Dor who left Dorin wore antiox breath masks because they needed helium and their own native gas, as oxygen was poisonous to them as well. The Ubese also wore breath masks.

Atmosphere canisters typically weighed about one kilogram and cost 25 credits. The breath masks also varied in cost, but from 32 BBY to 8 ABY, most models were available for 200 credits.

Breath masks could be built into armor. The most famous example of this was Darth Vader's armor. Breath masks were also used to supply breathing gas to a patient while submerged in a bacta tank.

Breath masks that could be used underwater had in-built comlinks so that individuals could keep in contact with one another. The masks also had a switch so that they could put them into speaker mode to communicate with others. The Alliance agents dispatched to Sedri used these masks, and had them in speaker mode to communicate with the native Sedrians.

Some breathers were used by scouts such as Deeve, of the Bureau of Scouting and Exploration Services. Deeve's model protected his eyes with a transglass piece, but it also stopped him from cleaning out his own sweat. It was also prone to stop being snug. It also included tongue-activated monitor pads to perform a quick atmosphere analysis.

Text and facts from the “Breath mask/Legends” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.