For comparison, the O2Go-XL canister provides 18L of 90% oxygen, which is just enough for a day on the upper mountain. Remember, these are intermittent breaths of air when you're feeling low, not a constant supply. You'll probably want to bring all three cans if you go with the Target brand.
some responses:
take a deep breath. Just one. How much of that little 18L canister could potentially be used up? The flow of O2 only supplements the inspired air rather than being a full replacement, but still the question is how much is that 18 L worth? Total lung capacity in males is about 6 L. There are other useful lung measurements with a smaller number, but all of them suggest that 18 L is not much.
Rapid changes DO occur when one inspires extra oxygen. Pulmonary artery pressures drop, hypoxic dusky lips and other tissues pink up, color vision improves, and mental function improves. AMS headache is in part due to the hypoxia-induced increased cerebral blood flow, and all of these can begin to normalize in a few minutes.
But note that severe hypoxia is what is being described above. Most AMS cases do not have anywhere near that degree of hypoxia, unless they are at heights much greater than Whitney, or complicated by HAPE or HACE. Does simple AMS or just exercise-fatigue respond to a few whiffs of canned O2? We have had a few anecdotal reports here on this forum.
