Question:
Just purchased a used show hard hat, in nice condition, has the built in chin
harness, but the chin strap is missing. have a friend at bell helmets who will
check the sound ness of the helmet for me (does the same with motorcycle
helmets), but am wondering how to locate a new chin strap.
this particular helmet has the sewn in harness, and the chin strap snaps onto a
snap on each side. the brand is unreadable. any ideas where i might find one?
If possible i'd like to have it by next weekend.
Answer:
The front clips don't serve as ventilation or anything, just as clips
for the headlamp. The clips are thin pointy pieces of plastic that
extends over the black triangle. They point down so you slip the
strap under it. To me, they seem awfully thin, like they'd be prone
to snap. There is one such front diamond/platic paper clip on each
side.
The back of the helmet is blank. But on the sides, near but not at
the rear, are two small ventilation vents on each side and in front of
them, just off center of the middle of the helmet, are the "back"
strap clips. Again they seem kind of thin and I had to pry them up
to get the strap under as they were very close to the helmet side.
I'd worry that in prying you might overdo it - they seem easy to snap.
As to whether you should buy this helmet for your wife, well there are
lots of older threads covering lots of helmets, including one
comparing the BDH to the Petzl Meteor.
I've never actually used this helmet out in the field as I still
prefer my Ecrin Roc. One of several things I don't like about this
helmet is that there are just the ventilation holes in the back. The
hard inside "foam" sits on your head pretty close/tight. One problem
with that (in my opinion/guess) is that not much air would ventilate
through the helmet. The second, larger problem with this kind of
helmet in general is that I feel that a rock hitting the hard helmet
would transfer that blow directly through the foam and "plonk" the
side of your head. Kind of like taking a large steel tap or pin and
tapping it with a hammer. Versus something suspended with internal
straps (like the Ecrin Roc) where part of that force would be absorbed
by the straps and movement of the helmet itself (the flexing of the
plastic and the movement of the helmet as a whole in the system of
straps and belts).
The BDH also seems to sit pretty high, higher than my other helmet.
Also the front straps/pads (inside) are fixed in the front. The way
you make it tight or loose is with the strap hanging in the back which
is cut a little higher. The strap hangs below the helmet (like at the
base of your skull) and you adjust it. It and the chin straps are
1/2" webbing which I think is too narrow and will cut/chafe against
your chin/neck. Also the lengthening/shortening mechanism for the
side/over the ear straps is kind of like some headlamps: it's one
piece and there is a slider that goes up or down the two straps making
it a little shorter or looser. I don't like it (in case you couldn't
tell).
Oh and another thing: I got it really cheap on Rei-outlet. So I am
wondering why it is on sale both there and at BD's site: did it prove
to be an unpopular line and they plan to discontinue it or why did it
end up in the "outlet" section of REI? Still it's a "CE" approved
helmet and all that so if you got a really good deal it certainly
beats not having any helmet.
All of the above is a personal preference thing so you (or your wife)
may still like it. I know a lot of folks don't like the dome/hard hat
type helmets and the BDH (see those previous threads) has had a lot of
people complement it. So you'd probably get used to all of the above
as I would if I actively used it.
