How common was the use of the gas masks by teh German soldiers during WW 2 I have read very little use of gas during this conflict. If it was rare why carry the extra weight?

This is one piece of equipement that every soldier had to carry ...I think the germans were so scared od poison gas that they wanted to be sure to be protected...What I have read is alot of men got rid of the mask and used the case to carry other things ,but I can't be certain about that ...Don't think they had too many surprise inspections on the Russian front ..

Rick

For nearly all armies, gas masks were a mandatory piece of equipment for their soldiers after WWI.
After the soldiers became confident that gas was not being nor was going to be used they used them for extra storage or dumped them altogther like Rick said.

I have talked with a few different German soldiers who have all told me that....after having thrown away the actual gas mask....the cannister itself was very good protection for a bottle of their favorite schnapps....I guess that's why right up until the end of the war they were seen with them.....doesn't mean they actually had a gas mask in them.

The gas mask was issued to American Soldiers too. After Normandy many GIs tossed their masks and used the water (gas) proof bag to store stuff (like smokes). Likewise German soldiers tossed their masks and used the metal canister for storage.