Gas Mask vs. Respirator, Why get a respirator? Options

[Gray Vagabond]

According to the book (and the 1.5 errata) gas masks provide complete immunity to inhaled toxins, while respirators just add dice to resist said toxins. A gas mask costs only 100 nuyen while the respitators are 100*rating (so from 100 -- 600). Not to mention that gas masks have no availability rating, while a respirator's availability is 2*rating. Why would you buy a respirator when a gas mask is cheaper, easier to get, and more effective?

The only possible advantage to the respirator I could think of is that the gas mask covers the whole face, while the respirator only covers the nose and mouth. Thus with a respirator you can use goggles and such -- but can't you get, like, contact lenses that can do just about anything you could need goggles to do?

I tried searching the forum for this stuff but came up dry.