- Helmets are an integral personal protection equipment that no one stepping Into potential danger should be without if you can help it!
- But how to select the appropriate helmet for your tasks and unique purposes?
- Well first ask yourself what your task entails, are you required to be very mobile and active throughout the day or are you in a static position?
- Do you feel like the threat profile of your area (expected ballistic threats faced) is well suited to your helmet of choice? If not you may be in need of an upgrade!
- A good example of a ballistic helmet would be the ACH produced for the US military or the ever popular Ops core "Fast helmet" both stop some fragmentation and handgun ammunition.
- You could also opt for much more protection from your helmet at the cost of weight, contrary to popular belief rifle resistant helmets do exist and are in use today, they have already saved lives.
- Fine examples of rifle resistant helmets would be the "Bastion helmet" from Diamond age or the "Enhanced Combat Helmet" or ECH for short produced by Ceradyne. Or you can opt for the Dimond age/HHV up armor plate for some added frontal rifle protection.
- What you don't expect to be taking fire but still want blunt impact protection and a place to mount your night vision, lights, identifying strobes, cameras and fancy morale patches?
- Then I would highly recommend to you the bump helmet, the lightest weight option listed here by far while still giving you a great deal of impact protection and some peace of mind if you are clumsy and find yourself in rocky or somewhat unforgiving terrain.
- A good example of a bump helmet would be the popular "Team Wendy LTP EXFIL Helmet"
- Not to be forgotten helmet accessories can really add a lot to your lid!
- Lets start with helmet padding, you need to have a good fit for your head or you will not have comfort while using any helmet for longer durations.
- If you are uncomfortable that's a distraction, if you are distracted you won't operate as efficiently, that will likely being your awareness down, less awareness is a bad thing I don't think I need to tell you why if you are reading this.
- The best way to mitigate uncomfortable pressure and heat within your helmet is by adjusting or changing the padding system or helmet liner.
- Everyone's head is a little different, but all heads need padding between the helmet shell/bolts but not everyone needs it in exactly the same spot.
- Standoff between the head and the shell of the helmet in the current helmet systems was designed to be 1.3 cm or 0.5 inches or greater so you are advised to achieve that for best outcome after impact.
- Adjust your pad setup and don't be afraid to try new helmet liner systems, don't expect all of them to work with your helmet and head size because some pads will take up too much space within the helmet and will lead to pressure and uncomfortable hot spots unless you go up a helmet size or remove extra padding if applicable.
- Going up a helmet size is not often preferred due to replacement costs and the fact that it makes your helmet a slightly bigger target, it's up to you to decide if you can live with the comfort and impact protection/airflow you can fit within your helmet setup comfortably.
- Some padding systems are adjustable in how many pads you can overlap onto each other for a better fit.
- Great examples of helmet padding systems would be the Combat Liner by 4D Tactical, or team wendys "Epic" and "Revolve" liner kits or the new micro lettuce pads from HHV.
- The most important helmet component next to the the padding would be the helmets retention system or chin strap, you want to be able to communicate without undue pressure being applied to your jaw, but you also don't want it so loose as to allow your helmet to shift from its proper spot on your head.
- With most modern helmet styles proper positioning on your head can be easily determined, while your helmet is on and In place properly you should be able to look up just barely be able to see the top brim of your helmet.
- Good examples of higher end helmet retention systems would be the BOA style or CAM Fit retention system by team wendy.
- The CAM Fit uses an adjustable dial to tune the fit perfectly to the user, it also has a nicer material against the chin for added comfort. For something a bit more old school the ops core 4 point H nape is also quality.
- Going down the list the next most important helmet accessory in my mind would be the helmet cover, made of typically a nylon cotton ripstop material in a camouflage pattern the helmet cover helps in much more ways than just one.
- I think helmet covers are so vital because statistically when ones head is in harm's way it takes a disproportionate amount of damage VS the rest of the body on average, if you plan to put yourself into harms way perhaps take this into account and take utmost care.
- The reason helmet covers are so important is because It's the first thing besides your weapon/face and hands that will be available for the enemy to observe and destroy.
- If you are using good concealment and practices it makes sense to make your helmet and by extension yourself blend in as much as physically possible to reduce risk of detection.
- If you only have time to add limited supplemental camo in the form of natural foliage you should focus on your head neck and shoulders above all.
- Most helmet covers provide you with an easy attachment point for natural foliage along with the already present camouflage pattern on your cover that should match your area of use this will really help boost your concealment to the next level.
- Good helmet covers are usualy made of nylon cotton ripstop material and are NIR compliant so it helps hide the glossy bright or unnatural look most helmets present when viewed under additional IR light from the enemy if they do have night vision capabilities you are worried about.
- Helmet covers also offer a form of limited protection to the helmet shell from bumps scrapes and other abrasions that could in time reduce the effectiveness of your ballistic protection.
- As you can now see helmet covers are a worthwhile investment for the cost and can be had in a multitude of flavors and varieties to suit your personal preferences and needs.
- Next we are onto helmet shrouds, counterweights, night vision units and accompanying accessories.
- Helmet shrouds affix to the front of your helmet and allow you to attach a multitude of different objects to your helmet, most notably and useful of those objects being night vision devices.
- Shrouds come in a massive variety of colors shapes weights and capabilities to meet or even exceed your needs and some of them will block rifle fire when attached to a ballistic helmet!
- Some shrouds are even capable of blocking a 9mm projectile standalone while others pride themselves on being the most skeletonised lightweight shroud available, most all will do the job fine with little to no play or wobble once properly affixed to your helmet, again I will recommend Wilcox and narotos shrouds for maximum fit, finish and durability.
- Counterweights are for the purpose of better distributing the weight on your helmet for long term comfort, most modern single tube night vision units weigh at least half a pound and the weight only increases from there so you can imagine it can get slightly annoying after awhile this weight just hanging out past your center of gravity in front of your eyes.
- The ideal counterweight will bring you the feel of a property balanced helmet back, you definitely want that feeling.
- Lots of people like to use small plates or pouches of mini lead weights to quickly attach to the back of ones helmet utilizing a quick on off system with velcro most commonly, while others prefer to have useable weight on the back of their helmet such as batteries or strobes.
- What about night vision?
- Well most commonly people run either single tube or dual tube units, quad tube units generally only used for the utmost discerning and elite of night observation device users due to cost and sometimes weight.
- Single tube units are the most affordable offering with the main benefit being low weights that make for comfortable scanning of your surroundings for a long duration.
- Another benefit of single tube units is having one unaided eye to help discern bright lights and to better understand what the environment looks like to the unaided eye, this can be very beneficial for deciding the best and most unobservable way to traverse an area at night.
- A third benefit of single tube units is you will likely have night adaptation in your one unaided eye, if your night vision device suddenly stops working you may not be completely night blind depending on the situation.
- Dual tube units are pricier yes but with the addition of a second tube you get a more natural view, enhanced depth perception and more flexibility with how you can use your night vision.
- For example with a dual tube unit you can focus up close with one tube and have the other set to infinity focus for great views both near and far without ever needing to touch your focus rings while in use.
- You can also view around barriers or corners better and quicker with dual tube units without needing to switch your monocular to the other eye taking valuable time or over exposing yourself.
- Duel tubes do have some drawbacks mainly being cost and weight of the unit and loss of full unaided vision in one of your eyes.
- (Some duel tube units are capable of folding to better fit your helmet profile and center of gravity with the proper night vision mount aka articulating night vision)
(Note you can still look up and under your dual tube night vision to get an unaided view but doing so is not always ideal because it exposes more of your head from the protection of your ballistic helmet if you are running one.)
- What about night vision lowering arms?
- Well I can tell you most anything made by Narotos or Wilxox is good to high quality, like helmet shrouds they come in a massive variety of differing quality and features.
- My favorite being the Norotos INVG Hyper mount for single tube units and the Wilcox G24 lite mount for dual tube units.
- Specifically the features I like about the INVG would be the attention to detail fit and function, breakaway feature and awesome form factor.
That's all for now! Thanks for reading!
-Nick
-NNV