Question:
I saw a riding helmet shaped like a cowboy hat in a flyer last year.
Searched the net but cant find anyone offering an ASTM/SEI helmet shaped
like a cowboy hat. Does anyone know of a source for this item?
Answer:
These are NOT riding helmets but construction worker "hard hats." A riding
helmet like this would likely result in a spinal fracture in the event the
ground ever rises up and smites you.
If it is the same one that I'm thinking of, it is no more than a large
cowboy hat pulled over and glued to a standard helmet.
Good plan! I like the cowboy hardhat. I've often thought of riveting a
broad brim to my hardhat to make it like a doughboy helmet. (Why did
they go out of style!) A brimless hardhat runs an inch from the skull,
so extending the brim 3" would be like a 4" Stetson.
You don't need a special cover to use a hardhat as a rain hat. Its
weight and rigidity help it stay on in wind. Also, the band of a
hardhat passes low behind the head, which is where I wear the cord of a
straw hat on windy days. I'm sure the wind won't roll a hardhat along
the ground as it does my Stetson.
With a hardhat you don't have to worry so much about damage from sweat,
bumps, or abrasion. You get airflow around your head and can adjust the
band to make room for a knit cap in cold weather.
Here's a cowboy hardhat about half the price of Gempler's.
http://www.safetysaves.com/safety_wear/product.php?productid=426
Hmm.... white or straw? A pastel color may absorb a significant portion
of solar heat, but maybe the temperature difference between white and
straw would be small.
I know! I can go to a building-supply place and buy six inches of ridge
vent for my cowboy hardhat! And a solar-powered vent fan!
