Time for a bump in this thread...

Today is year end which means it's as good of an excuse to spend money as any. Bit the bullet and ordered a better helmet from Bobby at Tigerdirect. (even matches my Wagon!)

BTW... that's not me in the photo.

Good call, bigrenna. And, one more thing to stick a GoPro onto!

As much as I value my brain, I just can't justify $1000 for a helmet at this point.

I've been using the "A-Bravo" helmet for a few months and it's great. At around $70 shipped and my Bose-X headset fits perfectly. There doesn't seem to be any loss in clamping force and the headset maintains a tight seal.


It's definitely not top tier quality, but it's a hell of a lot better than a ball cap! YMMV...



http://www.pthelmets.com/proddetail.asp?prod=4811931HSmil

I've been flying for I think 2 years on my A-Alpha half shell and it does the job wonderfully. I am sure that it is strong enough based on it's rating and it is comfortable on all but the hottest days. For $54, I'm going to order one for the right seat as well.

http://www.pthelmets.com/products.asp?cat=14

Those are pretty good helmets, tradecraft. I've got one myself, had to buy one for my neighbor in AK since he liked mine so much.

Nice helmet, Bigrenna! I'm a huge fan of integrated sun visors. We have them in our helmets at work:

TradeCraft wrote:As much as I value my brain, I just can't justify $1000 for a helmet at this point.

I've been using the "A-Bravo" helmet for a few months and it's great. At around $70 shipped and my Bose-X headset fits perfectly. There doesn't seem to be any loss in clamping force and the headset maintains a tight seal.

That's what I was wearing and worked well... Def better than the ball cap, but I think I was fooling myself RE: safety. But I hear you... Its a chunk-O-change.

Do you guys wear your helmets religiously like a seatbelt/harness or only when you plan on hitting the more difficult strips? I've only worn a helmet flying when oxygen is required. Just curious what your views are on this?

For recreational flying I wear a ball cap, and shorts if it is hot, and flip flops.

If you want to be "safer" the limit is your bank account. Ballistic parachute, Nomex suit, Nomex gloves, engine compartment halon system, two engines, parachute, body armour, survival vest........even a helmet which I've had to wear in some work flying pursuits that had a elevated risk.

Each to his own,

BTW those Gallet helmets are nice, if a little pricey, we see a lot of them in utility flying.

Cam Tom 12,

Wow. That is a nice looking helmet. Star Wars storm trooper instead of the Mickey Mouse SPH-4. Do IPs still paint there helmets white? That would really be storm trooper looking.

FARMAULE,

I wore my helmet spraying, flying pipeline, instructing, or joy riding. I also had thirteen engine failures, twelve of them at 200' AGL or below. Also wore nomex when I sprayed.

Jim

TradeCraft, Any pics of the helmet with the Bose X? Sounds like just what I want.

Rod

contactflying wrote:Cam Tom 12,

Wow. That is a nice looking helmet. Star Wars storm trooper instead of the Mickey Mouse SPH-4. Do IPs still paint there helmets white? That would really be storm trooper looking.

FARMAULE,

I wore my helmet spraying, flying pipeline, instructing, or joy riding. I also had thirteen engine failures, twelve of them at 200' AGL or below. Also wore nomex when I sprayed.

Jim

No, no white helmets unless you're lucky enough to be in a Naval course and have to wear their flight gear, lol.

We do have an optional face mask (Maxillofacial Shield) that some guys paint up. Here's an internet picture to visualize:

Cervelorod wrote:TradeCraft, Any pics of the helmet with the Bose X? Sounds like just what I want.

Rod

I'll have to snap one when I return home. Currently working on the North Slope...

I ordered the helmet TradeCraft talked about, figured that for 0.06AMU it was probably the cheapest protection I would buy in aviation... I haven't had a chance to try it, but the foam inside the helmet didn't look removable in the center section. I hope to get it setup this week. Need some Backcountry stickers to dress it up...

Cervelorod wrote:I ordered the helmet TradeCraft talked about, figured that for 0.06AMU it was probably the cheapest protection I would buy in aviation... I haven't had a chance to try it, but the foam inside the helmet didn't look removable in the center section. I hope to get it setup this week. Need some Backcountry stickers to dress it up...

Not sure why you would remove the foam, but the headset goes over the top of the helmet...

Not much protection but keeps the pony tail from getting tangled.

If you have a discount melon, buy a discount enclosure.

Sure the cheap options are probably better than nothing, but the materials are most likely very unsafe from a fire resistance perspective. They don't think about that for other applications.

Ultralight helmets are for ultralights and many are hopped up repelling helmets not intended to protect against any real force.

For the rest of you that actually want to enhance survivability try the HGU-55. (Or HGU-68)

Lots of aviators retiring from service sell on EBay. Parts and refurb is plentiful for the good deal hunters.

If you survive the impact and burn up, that's not good either...

Consider also a nomex flight suit. Also Dickies makes good fire resistant wearables for those who don't like the flight suit. (I always wear fire clothing when I fly) The dickies stuff isn't as good as a flight suit, but it won't light you up like a dry Christmas tree either.

+1 on a good aircraft harness with one or even better two shoulder harnesses.

Anyone try these evo helmets?
http://www.helicopterhelmet.com/EVO--BO ... c_483.html

I was thinking about one of these:





http://www.boneheadcomposites.com/m8/215--pilotx-communication-helmet.html

The price seems right @ around $1000. Not that you can put a price on your noggin'.

I wish my flying was cool enough to justify wear a helmet.
The closest I get to sand bar is 100' over the beach