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Best helmet for backcountry

I really like my skycowboys helmet/A20. John at Skycowboys installed a new set of A20s in my helmet so I didn't have to "butcher" a set or install myself. The visor is really convenient as it's hard to wear sunglasses with the helmet/headset. I use my visor all the time.
 
I bought a Sky Cowoys helmet several months ago, don't recall the model but it has the sliding built in tinted visor. I have not flown with it yet, or done anything with it yet other then take it out of the box and look at it. I am reluctant to take apart my Light Speed 3 headset to make it airworthy. And, now that I think about it, I have to wonder how the tinted visor works as compared to a plain old hat with a brim, which at least can be adjusted as needed, along with sunglasses. I hvae a bit of buyers remorse, I should have passed on the cool looking sliding visor thing, and just got a helmet, maybe they offer a model, with a hat like visor. Reading that sunglasses are "hard" to wear with it really spooks me, I'm not sure I can fly without wearing sunglasses!

The other reason I have not done anything with it yet, is my usual resting place for my headset is on the floor, right side. Out of sight, and out of the way, until I get in, then I put it on. The helmet could be stowed the same way I guess, I just have not tried it yet.
 
I wear glasses and use the visors with my Gallet and Kask helmets. I think the retractable visor is the best feature in my helmets.
 
I didn't mean to lead you astray with my comment about sunglasses being hard to wear with the helmet. I haven't tried to wear sunglasses with my helmet, so don't let it spook you, try yours on and see what you think. My comment was based on finding it hard to wear sunglasses with my A20s as the ear piece of the glasses disrupts the seal of the headset around my ear. I love the tinted visor, it's a great replacement to sunglasses for me. Just the other evening on downwind the sun was reflecting off the inlet and blasting me in the eyes and my short final was in the shadows. I had the visor down for downwind, then popped it up as I turned final and didn't have to struggle to pull glasses out from under my headset and be distracted from flying. I have friends who cut off the brim of a ballcap and attach velcro to the back of the brim and their helmet and then the hat brim is removable as needed. Also a great solution.
 
I didn't mean to lead you astray with my comment about sunglasses being hard to wear with the helmet. I haven't tried to wear sunglasses with my helmet, so don't let it spook you, try yours on and see what you think. My comment was based on finding it hard to wear sunglasses with my A20s as the ear piece of the glasses disrupts the seal of the headset around my ear. I love the tinted visor, it's a great replacement to sunglasses for me. Just the other evening on downwind the sun was reflecting off the inlet and blasting me in the eyes and my short final was in the shadows. I had the visor down for downwind, then popped it up as I turned final and didn't have to struggle to pull glasses out from under my headset and be distracted from flying. I have friends who cut off the brim of a ballcap and attach velcro to the back of the brim and their helmet and then the hat brim is removable as needed. Also a great solution.
Ray Ban's work quite well with them.
 
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I find the Team Wendy helmet surprisingly comfortable to wear - even with sunglasses. I hang it on the overhead X-brace using the chin strap.
 
For a while I was using a old military helicopter helmet with a slide down visor. It was great you could lower the visor enough to block the sun but still see below it to look at the GPS panel. I ware glasses so switching from them to sun glasses just to land into setting sun was doable but much easier to just slide down the visor. You got the helmet all the timeto ware so use the A20 headset.
DENNY
 
For a while I was using a old military helicopter helmet with a slide down visor. It was great you could lower the visor enough to block the sun but still see below it to look at the GPS panel. I ware glasses so switching from them to sun glasses just to land into setting sun was doable but much easier to just slide down the visor. You got the helmet all the timeto ware so use the A20 headset.
DENNY

I had similar, used back in my ultralight gunnery days, and also for motorcycle rides, but it's visor was totally protected while stowed, sliding up into itself, offering protection for it while not in use. Not so with the helmet I have, that visor is going to be "at risk" 100 % of the time. That's why mine still has the plastic on it and so far it's just sat in the hangar. With the start of mountain ski flying season nearing, I will probably start using it. I am pretty sure I have the needed extra headroom in the RANS. IF the Sky Cowboys helmet had that military helmet's feature, it'd be great.
 

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My wife and I have been using Sky Cowboy helmets for a few years with the Bose A20s, extremely happy with them. We hang them on 3D printed hangers and have not had any issue with the visor getting scratched, my wife did have her friend sew her a cover for hers. As far as eye glasses,, I wear corrective lens, so instead of buying a headset or helmet that worked with my glasses, I bought glasses made for use with a headset or helmet. Flying eyes is a company that specializes in pilots eye wear. I highly recommend them, their auto darkening lens work great in the cockpit, and they have sunglasses for those that don't need correction. Head and eye protection are good things.........

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This thread has re-inspired me to helmet up, not that I'll ever need it or anything. If I don't like it, I'll move back to a baseball cap. If the visor gets scratched up too bad, I'll buy another one (visor). At least it won't get bugs on it like the one I was wearing 40 years ago. It looks like my electronic fuel injection (Edge Performance, not MINE) install will be right around the time I'm first on the skis this season, so I'll be test flying the EFI system from my downhill mountain strip, on the first ski flight of the year, probably a good a time as any to wear a helmet.
 
I purchased the Sky Cowboy helmet with visor a year ago after following this and other threads about helmets. I do a lot of off airport landings in fields throughout the growing season and a lot of ski flying and ice fishing in the winter. On my last fishing trip for the winter last march I hit a hard drift while landing on the lake. I wacked my head really hard on the cross bar and was very glad I was wearing the helmet. I believe I would have been knocked out if not wearing it. Great Investment!!
 
Not trying to be divisive, but If you are rich and you want to spend $1500 - $3000 for a status helmet system like Gallet or Sky Cowboys, go knock yourself out. (Irony not intended when I typed it)

If you understand the value of money, go to eBay, try different variations of "paramotor helmet", "GA plug", and "aviation." Skyhero helmets look pretty good, but I couldn't find an ANR version. Make sure that you look carefully to see if the helmet you like offers general aviation plugs as an option. Paramotor helmets are light and usually have sturdy, strong heavily padded earphones that are very much part of the crash protection. Bose and David Clark headsets were not designed with this in mind - think about that if you are ready to spend loads of cash and considering a Team Wendy system.

I posted my experience here a couple of years ago and I still feel the same way. I have been using 2 YUENY paramotor helmets that I bought on eBay for $300 each - they have ANR that's at least equal and probably better than my Bose A20 headsets. I unscrewed and removed the visors because they were clear and offered no sun protection, but that is what sunglasses are for. Yueny helmets not available on eBay anymore but a newer non-ANR bluetooth version can be found at https://www.aliexpress.us/item/2251832668506780.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2usa4itemAdapt&_randl_shipto=US . An ANR and bluetooth version for $449 is here - https://www.ufqaviation.com/products/yueny-bluetooth-paramotor-helmet-anr-bt-pha28-aviator-helmets. If I was looking now, I'd probably go with this helmet. These guys are located in Toronto. I'm definitely not recommending either these sellers - I did not spend time looking for what is currently the best deal or fastest shipping times.

In my mind, paramotor helmets are exactly what are needed for backcountry flying. Try to find one that has the right kind of plugs, carbon fiber, bluetooth and ANR. Spend the money that you save on avgas!
 
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Gallet and Team Wendy helmets are status helmets? Well crap, someone ought to tell the military and all the gov agencies that mandate them that they should have just purchased some Chinese paramotor helmets from Ali-express. I recently selected a helmet for a $2M purchase contract for a gov agency, wish I would have known about these.

To be fair, any helmet is likely better than none, but I seriously doubt the paramotor crowd has cracked (no pun intended) the code on how to make helmet that even remotely compares to a Gallet or TW/Bose for $200. You can’t even get a decent headset for that price. And who said those earcups are rated for impact? The company? Even the $1000 combat Peltors don’t try to say that, because a cup over your ears can’t really have any meaningful impact value.

But hey, to each their own.

Sent from my iPhone using SuperCub.Org
 
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Gallet and Team Wendy shouldn’t be discussed in the same category. I have both. Very different. The cheap wannabe’s? Bottom of the barrel.
 
I have both as well. Gallet is much nicer, but the Team Wendy are very high quality and someone can use whatever headset they already have. I always wear the Gallet, and my passengers use the TW.


Sent from my iPhone using SuperCub.Org
 
I have both as well. Gallet is much nicer, but the Team Wendy are very high quality and someone can use whatever headset they already have. I always wear the Gallet, and my passengers use the TW.


Sent from my iPhone using SuperCub.Org

Regarding your passengers using the TW helmet, are they widely adjustable? I need to get helmets, but need something that will work for a wide variety of head sizes.
 
Yes, that’s one of the things that makes them good for passengers. My kids and adults wear them with zero complaints.


Sent from my iPhone using SuperCub.Org
 
Whether Twam Wendy or Kask (Barneys vs Eagle Ent), both are one size fits all with a rotary adjusters, and they work pretty well. Gallet is custom fitted.
 
I ordered a set of Sky Cowboy helmets and received them last week. It was pretty easy to put my Bose headsets into the helmet I just followed the video. I really like the fit and changed out to the thicker pads that come with the helmet. The Bose headsets actually work better because of the spring pressure keeping a good seal. the only downside is the Left side chin strap is almost too short. It barely cleared the ear cup and makes it a pain to fasten the chin strap. It looks like it would not be hard to drill out the rivets and replace it if needed but would be nice if it was made longer to begin with. Overall a very good unit.
DENNY
 
My Cowboy helmet is still sitting on the hangar work bench, for 4 or 5 months now. I'm not sure what the holdup is, maybe I think I'll start crashing, or maybe I am reluctant to butcher my Zulu 3's. Is the needed adaptation work reversible? I'd feel pretty stupid if I crashed and got a head injury, with a new helmet in the hangar, like flipping in snow on tires, because the skis were not on yet.
 
I was upside down in a plane, fairly recently, and can testify to the inertia reel shoulder harness doing its job. The helmet I bought, shortly after, has been a great addition to my personal flying. Feel free to get a hold of me if you have questions about the harness or the helmet. I’m with Stewart B. Better to have something, rather than nothing.
 
I still am not wearing a helmet in a GA airplane. Probably should think about it, but my fairly short stature mostly keeps me out of the top steel, and the inertial reel has served me well to date.

I have been through no fewer than a half dozen Gallets for work, a Peltor or two, and most every flavor of HGxxx or SPxxx. And I've always found the Gallet to come out head and shoulders ahead of the mil spec stuff in terms of fit & finish as well as comfort. Of course the first thing a person needs to wrap their mind around with comm helmets is that no (quality) helmet manufacturer puts out the complete finished product. From them it goes to a second party such as Gibson and Barnes, Merrit Appera, Helicopter Helmets, etc... where they will typically do the comm and liner installs. Those things will ultimately influence the comfort and to some degree fit & finish. For the average GA guy, those items may be less important than for the guy that dons it before sunrise and sheds it after sunset.

The Gallet is not new tech. Even their latest greatest is over a decade old, and is basically identical in general construction to their previous offerings, which incidentally are all identical save for how many visors it has and how it 'stores' them. So I was really excited a couple years back when Lift helmets hit the scene, as it seemed like we were finally going to see some new blood in the helmet pool. But alas, when I got to hold one at a trade convention I was baffled that this fresh slate design still incorporated the snowboard 'rubber band' visor strap and velcro visor lens protector. I mean WTF... You have a helmet built to the tune of $3K and you still have a bungee on your head?

FFW this fall, and my last Gallet was getting pretty rank. Comm ear seals had shed all the pleather, edge roll was cracked everywhere, and broke and dangling in the back, and inside was probably about as sanitary as a basketball shoe... My backup was well... almost as nice. So before before spending almost as much as new on a refurb job, or the 'new norm' amount of my savings on yet another Gallet, I took look at the other players again. Much to my surprise Lift has been paying attention to it's customers, and they now have an option for a solid visor enclosure, as well as some other neat design features. The chin strap on these things is phenomenal. You set the size once, and the actual buckle magnetically seats itself. You can don this thing lickety split in flight gloves, and I imagine any sort of snow gloves. Also new is a carbon fibre model. It is not a CF wrap or paint job it is a different shell. It costs a fair amount more, so may not be a candidate for the average GA buggy, but is slightly lighter, and has a slightly different noise signature from the inside. More sizes! Yay, a company that figured out it takes more than two shell sizes and a bunch of pads to fit every head and every comm set up.

I ended Pulling the trigger on the CF model, with the CF visor housing and clear visor, and loaded it up myself with one of my older Lightspeed HMod comm systems. A new set of ear seals and they were as good as ever. These comms have BT, the bomb proof braided cord, and a bail out plug at the nape so you don't break your neck with said bombproof cord. For switch hitters you can order the comm cord from the bail out plug back and set one up for dual GA plugs and the other for a single heli plug and utilize the same helmet.

First impressions? It's cool. These helmets have cooling vents and a suspension style liner and they work. They are warm enough in freezing temps to not need a helmet sock, but don't overheat you when the temps are up. It's light. Lighter than a Gallet. It's quiet. It's quiter than a Gallet with the exact same headset in it. I imagine fire guys would appreciate that, as running 3 radios simultaneously requires as good a comms as you can afford. The fit and finish are excellent. I once had an EVO (Gallet clone) for a short period. The comm install (Bose) was a joke, and the overall fit and finish was sub par. It looked like an igloo cooler with straps on the inside. The Gallet finishes out much nicer, the Lift is a notch better yet. It Looks like a $3000K helmet. I realize some may not attach any value to aesthetics, I'm ok with that. I live in the thing, I asses everything a helmet brings to the table, and have found on more than one occasion that what initially appears to be an aesthetic difference such as a liner or chin strap ends up having a comfort difference 12 hours in the saddle later. Discomfort = distraction YMMV.

So far (only a couple hundred hours in it) I am truly impressed with this thing. The only concerns I have to date are;

The visor control system. The (inner) Gallet visor is really well designed, and controlled. The outer visor, not as much, but still better than the single visor of the Lift. The lift visor simply rotates down, no gears, springs, or thumb wheels. In fact the visor itself has two small 'wings' on the bottom that serve as 'pull tabs' to grab and pull it down. This probably makes for a lighter set up, it just isn't quite as 'refined'.

The only other concerns vs a Gallet, are the liner, nape and edge roll serviceability. I have no idea if these can be removed and replaced, or washed etc. Every inside component of a Gallet can be removed for cleaning, replaced, and utilized in custom fitting. Most of those components such as liner and edge roll are available in different finishes and from aftermarket vendors for different tastes. Will the Lift be as serviceable? Probably not. I imagine the average GA guy would have to wear it a lifetime before it needed interior service and to be fair most pro's have a new helmet every so often built in to their contracts, so maybe a moot point...

Anyway... no affiliation to any helmet vendor. and no experience in GA airplanes outside of banner tow ops, so take anything above with a large grain of salt.

Would I buy another? so far it looks good, but I am keeping a Gallet on the rack as a back up.


Take care, Rob
 
I’ll be curious how the Lift works out, might have to look at one in a few years. I’ve got 3 years in a HGU-55 with Lightspeed comms and it’s been great. I gave up on maintaining my AC so I fly with the left door off, and it vents well enough to keep you comfortable on a long fertilizer day when you’re spending a lot of time on the ground getting loads. I started with a Northwall LMT that I really liked, but after a couple crashes I decided to replace it after an Army veteran mentioned how the foam degrades on hard impacts. They don’t seem to be well supported in North America anymore so I tried an Evo, and had the same experience as you.
 
I got a skycowboy’s AME installed my Bose a20’s. Also swapped out for thicker pads which came w order- the helmet sat too low on my ears w thinner pads. That took 5 minutes.

Worn a couple of times and I can’t even tell it’s on- that makes it a no brainer for me.

The straps are a bit odd as Denny mentioned but it works.
 
Gallet and Team Wendy helmets are status helmets? Well crap, someone ought to tell the military and all the gov agencies that mandate them that they should have just purchased some Chinese paramotor helmets from Ali-express. I recently selected a helmet for a $2M purchase contract for a gov agency, wish I would have known about these.

To be fair, any helmet is likely better than none, but I seriously doubt the paramotor crowd has cracked (no pun intended) the code on how to make helmet that even remotely compares to a Gallet or TW/Bose for $200. You can’t even get a decent headset for that price. And who said those earcups are rated for impact? The company? Even the $1000 combat Peltors don’t try to say that, because a cup over your ears can’t really have any meaningful impact value.

But hey, to each their own.
g


You are really saying that government purchasing specs are some kind of an indication of quality? OUR government??? Really?

And earcups can't provide impact protection? I'm pretty sure that your reply indicates that you have never picked up one of these paramotor helmets or have seen how they are constructed. I have used them for several years now and they are amazingly well constructed. They are strong, easy to wear for really long periods of time, and they look perfect after many hours of use. I have an older Lightspeed Zulu headset that looks like it has been dragged behind a pickup for 10 miles on a dirt road. The ear cushions of that Lightspeed and my other Bose headsets are as soft as a baby's belly. These cushions offer NO impact protection whatsoever, let alone their outer shells, and the headsets make up ALL of the lateral protection of the TW type helmets that incorporate them. The paramotor guys are at much higher impact risk than we are, and they are no dummies.

But hey, to each their own.
 
How does that helmet’s test report stack up against Gallet?

https://tigerperformance.com/img/cms/msa-gallet-lh-model-helicopter-helmet-constructor-tests.pdf

Team Wendy SAR?

https://www.teamwendy.com/products/helmets-accessories/helmets/sar-backcountry

Kask Super Plasma?

https://www.kask-safety.com/en/safety-helmets/superplasma-ansi-csa.htm

The Team Wendy and Kask are not tested to the same standards as the Gallet, but they’re not sold as crash helmets by the manufacturers. They’re industrial safety helmets. The Gallet is a helicopter crash helmet.
 
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You are really saying that government purchasing specs are some kind of an indication of quality? OUR government??? Really?

And earcups can't provide impact protection? I'm pretty sure that your reply indicates that you have never picked up one of these paramotor helmets or have seen how they are constructed. I have used them for several years now and they are amazingly well constructed. They are strong, easy to wear for really long periods of time, and they look perfect after many hours of use. I have an older Lightspeed Zulu headset that looks like it has been dragged behind a pickup for 10 miles on a dirt road. The ear cushions of that Lightspeed and my other Bose headsets are as soft as a baby's belly. These cushions offer NO impact protection whatsoever, let alone their outer shells, and the headsets make up ALL of the lateral protection of the TW type helmets that incorporate them. The paramotor guys are at much higher impact risk than we are, and they are no dummies.

But hey, to each their own.

No, not just OUR government. The MSA Gallet helmets were developed in France originally for their military. Military organizations in general are kinda picky about safety equipment for their pilots these days. Our government relied heavily on the vast amount of testing that was conducted on the Gallet helmets prior to authorizing us to procure these helmets for our use operating government aircraft. Those kinds of safety equipment have to meet pretty strict safety standards prior to procurement. And, these helmets were developed and tested from the git go for aviation specific safety.

Which doesn't mean a rock climbing helmet won't protect your noggin from a rock dropping on your head. But, will it protect you when you try to decorate the windshield post of your aircraft in a serious impact?? Don't know, but the Gallet helmets have been thoroughly tested to protect from the sorts of impacts that occur in AIRCRAFT accidents.

MTV
 
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