The purpose of this study was to investigate the resistance (RES) to breathing in metabolic systems used for the distribution and measurement of pulmonary gas exchange. A mechanical lung simulator was used to standardize selected air flow rates ( , L/s). The delta pressure (∆p, Pa) between ambient air and the air inside the equipment was measured in the breathing valve’s mouthpiece adapter for four metabolic systems and four types of breathing valves. RES for the inspiratory and expiratory sides was calculated as RES = ∆p / , Pa/L/s. The results for RES showed significant (p < 0.05) between-group variance among the tested metabolic systems, as well as the breathing valves and between most of the completed . The lowest RES among the metabolic systems was found for a Douglas Bag system, with approximately half of the RES compared to the automated metabolic systems. The automated systems were found to have higher RES already at low in comparison to previous recommendations. For the hardware components, the highest RES was found for the breathing valves while the lowest RES was found for the hoses. Conclusion: The results showed that RES in metabolic systems can be minimized through conscious choices of system design and hardware components.