Plus, I'm not spending upwards of $400 for one gas mask.
You get what you pay for...
As far as it goes - I was taught that even expired training filters that have been out of their can for years were still effective for things like tear gas. A filter is rated good against nerve agents for only three months once the seal has been broken on the can.
Another point: Don't use alcohol on them. Soap and water, or non-alcoholic cleaning wipes only. Alcohol attacks the rubber and will eventually ruin the mask.
A good mask that's fitted to you and worn properly will indeed only leak if you blow out while blocking the outake. On my mask this is more difficult than it sounds. There's flap valves that ensure that.
When breathing in, if you block the filter opening the mask should glue itself to your face and you should experience a noticable lack of ability to draw air. It's not pleasant by any means, it actually tends to panic me a bit(Can't breath!!!), but it's a sign the mask has a good seal.
After that, it's all about the filter. Just realize that the military has chemsuits for a reason... Nerve gas isn't absorbed only through the lungs, though that's the fastest vector. That's why training tells you mask first if there's an unexpected chemical attack. There's also things like blister agents, which do just as they say. Then there's blood agents, some of which are fatal with a single breath(scary). The only good thing is that blood agents break down extremely fast, limiting their effectivness as they can't spread well.
If you ever have reason to believe that there's been a chemical weapon attack using a conventional chemical weapon such as a nerve agent, get indoors. While there is some vapor action, it'll mostly be small droplets. If you get any on your skin, neutralize it with activated carbon(scrub with it), or wash it off with a bleach solution.
I say 'conventional' chemical weapon because there would be unconventional chemicals that could be used in an attack - from pesticides* to blowing up a big tank of chlorine(get to high ground, don't bother with the mask).
*frequently very similar to nerve agents
That looks pretty silly...
It looks like they're depending upon positive pressurization through the filter to maintain seal and keep 'normal' breathing possible. Better remember to check the batteries! Even then I don't imagine that it'd have much of a filter lifespan as it'd be moving an order of magnitude more air through it than my issued mask.
Still, for simple escape from a toxic building/area of limited scope, it should work.
If I was working where they were deploying those, I'd check to see if the filter's compatible with my mask, otherwise request a filter set for my mask, as that's what I'm comfortable with.
The things are her by the thousands--each individual, plus hundreds of ready-use cabinets in the hallways. They are pretty much only for a "Get outta Dodge" scenario. And who knows what toxins we might face?
Well, they're probably counting on it taking a while to work through the skin, or at least have medical treatment available for those conditions, while the hood/mask keeps you alive and mobile long enough to stumble your way out.
What gets me is that they probably still cost hundreds of dollars apiece, far more than it would have taken to set up the central air system to do filtering. Then again, that could be compromised, and I don't know the threat level for your building. It could already have central filtering available.
As for chemical threats - my gas mask is rated for pretty much any 'non industrial chemical'. It's not effective against things that remove/displace oxygen like chlorine, but if it's a large molecule or deactivated by activated carbon, the filter's good against it. Even blood agents.
Personally, I tend to think that any big chemical attack in the USA is very likely to be a chlorine one - it's an easily available chemical.
You'd need a contained air system to do better, along with full body protection. That makes me wonder though - how much heavier would a small oxygen tank type system have to be?