Learning on the go and admitting the process was risky, protesters involved in gathering and managing resources, such as helmets and first aid kits, have rejected claims their movement has been sponsored or financially motivated.

Six weeks later, during clashes on Hong Kong Island where police deployed tear gas, pepper spray and rounds of rubber bullets and sponge grenades on protesters throwing bricks, Lily was wearing a helmet, a face mask, goggles and her arms were wrapped in cling film.

“Even if you’re not on the front line, there’s a chance of being attacked or injured,” Lily said, adding the level of force used by police had escalated, prompting her to “gear up”.

The sight of well-equipped protesters prompted allegations from Hong Kong’s pro-government camp that the gear was being sponsored.

On LIHKG, an online forum popular among extradition bill protesters, discussions about protective gear were commonplace immediately after clashes with police.

Some officers were spotted using a reflective material on their helmets and shields during a protest on July 13. Protesters imitated the tactic to hide their identities at the next protest on July 21.

Some showed how to apply the material inside goggles, urging others to follow.

A buyer’s guide even sprang up, complete with user ratings and price ranges for protective gear. The guide gave surgical face masks – commonly used during the 2014 Occupy protests – a zero-star rating.

“They are useless and can only cover your face. Stop buying them,” it reads.

On Telegram, another popular forum that allows users to remain anonymous, group chats range from discussions about designs for promotional materials, to a group for Uber drivers who volunteer to take protesters home free of charge.

Before a planned protest, messages circulate on the mobile application, asking what resources are needed and where they could be collected.

Some people also set up pop-up stores selling protective gear at cheap prices to protesters.

The group, which goes by the name of National Crisis Hardware, was seen setting up by the roadside during recent protests, selling gas masks and filters to protesters.

With fears that a protest in Yuen Long – in response to scenes of unprecedented violence on July 21 when a mob dressed in white used sticks and iron rods to attack demonstrators coming home from an earlier march – might also turn violent, the list of requested items included walking sticks, pot lids and swimming floats, among the more conventional resources.

Walter, a recent university graduate managing one of the messaging boards specialising in resources, said most items were donated by members of the public.

“The reality is that resources just appear as many people donate them,” he said.

The board, which has more than 29,000 subscribers, also serves as a lost-and-found for personal belongings left at protest sites.

During a protest in Sha Tin on July 14, locals were seen tossing cling film and umbrellas from residential buildings. It was a scene Walter said he was glad to have witnessed.

“It lets people understand where the resources came from – Hongkongers,” he said.

In early August, some Hongkongers also donated HK$200,000 worth of food coupons for frontline protesters, following reports youngsters were saving money on food to buy protective gear instead.

Surpluses were also stored by trusted parties, such as NGOs and student groups, he added. A Post request to visit a storage facility went unanswered.

Other protesters volunteered to transport the resources. Kate, a protester in her mid-20s, had been supporting the movement from the passenger seat of her friend’s van.

“We never took money and never thought to,” Kate said, adding she had not seen money change hands between protesters either.

She explained protesters looking to move resources from one place to another made use of a private group on Telegram, to ask if any van drivers were nearby.

This is to ensure protesters do not accidentally board vehicles driven by people with drastically different views.

“If the driver is pro-government, you’re screwed,” she said, adding the group had a pool of about 20 van drivers.

The operation was not without its risks; Kate recalled the van once being stopped and searched by police near a protest site in June, but only after it had already offloaded its resources.

Protesters interviewed by the Post also rejected claims by the pro-establishment camp that they were backed by sponsors.

Lily said she had been buying items to donate with her own savings.

“If there is any sponsor, it is my boss, who pays me every month,” she joked.

Lily also pointed to the protesters’ scrappy protective gear, including makeshift shields fashioned from cardboard and plastic bottles.

“If there really was a financier we wouldn’t have bought umbrellas to use as shields,” she said.

Names have been changed to protect interviewees’ identities.