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Best helmet for backcountry

FullThrottle

FRIEND
Kenai AK & Houston TX
Looking for a helmet! I know a lot of backcountry pilots use them. I would use it while practicing ag, backcountry flying, and also test flying open cockpit or experimental planes that have just been built or come out of major repair. Prefer ANR, would like something lightweight and comfortable. Thanks!


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Since a helmet is something people wear, 'best' can seem very subjective. After all, no two heads are shaped alike, and no two people seem to have the same tolerance for weight, heat, cost, ad nauseam...

Having said all that, it would be very easy to substantiate MSA Gallet flight helmets as the absolute best flight helmet you can buy, for cub like and fling wing aircraft. But again, whether you can justify the cost, or whether they feel the most comfortable to you, is a choice you will have to make.

I am in a fortunate enough place to go through an average of one a year, and routinely try to find a better one. While I have varied the comms installed, I routinely end up with another Gallet.

A good 'bang for the buck' alternative IMHO are the Peltor helmets. Cost wise, they are on par with the 'pop your headset in the bicycle style hat' that seem to be so popular now days, but unlike those, they are a real helmet.

Take care, Rob

And one last thought... while I burn through well over 1000 hrs a year in a flight helmet, none of it is in my cub or 180... YMMV
 
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I moved this post from another thread so it will show up in both. I bought two of these ANR paraglider helmets on eBay. They are made by Yueny and I had to wait about 10 days for shipment from China. Make sure you order the ANR helmet and get the double jacks. As of today, the eBay listing is
https://www.ebay.com/itm/ANR-aviation-helmet-with-Active-Noise-Reduction-YUENY-YAHH-2000F-pilot-helmet/272705724911?hash=item3f7e8721ef:g:E24AAOSwPh5ZN2w2 . The listing may not apply in the future.

The visors were clear, not tinted, but I removed them anyway because I prefer sunglasses. The ANR works very well in my Cub, about as well as my Bose headsets. The list price is very good and they accepted an even lower offer. A great deal. Military headsets require serious electronics revision, so avoid unless you want a soldering project with an uncertain outcome.
 

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Back when I flew ag planes, my mentor recommended a helmet big enough to crawl my whole body up into if things got ugly!
 
What’s wrong with getting a Quiet technologies earbud type and then wear any helmet you want, without the muffs
https://www.quiettechnologies.com/

I’ve started using them and they are great. Less than 1 oz. fit over the ear. Small plugs inserted in your ears.


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What’s wrong with getting a Quiet technologies earbud type and then wear any helmet you want, without the muffs
https://www.quiettechnologies.com/

I’ve started using them and they are great. Less than 1 oz. fit over the ear. Small plugs inserted in your ears.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

The Quiet Tech with an Ops Core Fast Helmet would work great. https://shop.gentexcorp.com/ops-core-fast-bump-high-cut-helmet/ I have one of these helmets with an old Peltor headset attached to the rails... Works good but would like to try the Quiet Tech. I mostly fly with an HGU-56 since that is what I wear for my job.
 
I’ve got a ops core helmet just like that with nv attached. I’ll try it with the quiet technology and report back.


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Just tried the ops core helmet with the Quiet Tech headset. Will work perfectly. Id suggest clicking the chin strap first then and routing the tubes over the straps and not under them.
 
Another plus on the Ops Core is they make a GoPro mount that will fit the NVG mount if you are into that sort of thing... I've even modified a pair of old Bose (Aviation X) that will fit on the Ops Core. The yokes that held the earcups broke so that was when I started to get creative. It worked well however I think I can even get a better design. I'll post some pictures here after I get back from KOSH.

Realistically, I do prefer to fly with my Gentex HGU56. It's ugly and you look like a Storm Trooper / Darth Vader but is has the thickest styro liner (absorbs the bulk of the impact) of any helmet out there. It's built for the types of impact associated with helicopter crashes. Plus I tend to lean towards the "Dark Side"..

I look at helmets as part of my risk management matrix... If I am doing some simple touch and go's at my home airport on a paved runway I'll probably stick to the headset. If I am out flying in the bush (nowhere near I live, but do go up to AK and fly with friends!) where I'll be doing all off airport ops then the helmet is probably going to be an option. Just my 2 cents, your mileage may vary.
 
From Gentex website:
"The [Ops Core] FAST Bump Helmet is designed for less extreme environments where exposure to great blunt-trauma forces is limited or non-existent, or where the primary need is for integration of mission configured components."

This sounds like it not so much a helmet, but a place to mount stuff on your head.
 
From Gentex website:
"The [Ops Core] FAST Bump Helmet is designed for less extreme environments where exposure to great blunt-trauma forces is limited or non-existent, or where the primary need is for integration of mission configured components."

This sounds like it not so much a helmet, but a place to mount stuff on your head.

If you’re exposed to “great blunt-trauma forces”, is any helmet going to help?
It’s pretty amazing how little of a “bump” can knock you out. Anything at all is way better then a bare head. Even a hockey helmet is a good start, those have prevent countless trips to the hospital, and they take some serious hits.
Roddy
 
From Gentex website:
"The [Ops Core] FAST Bump Helmet is designed for less extreme environments where exposure to great blunt-trauma forces is limited or non-existent, or where the primary need is for integration of mission configured components."

This sounds like it not so much a helmet, but a place to mount stuff on your head.

OpsCore traditionally makes ballistic combat helmets. This is their non-ballistic version which my guess is why they are pointing out blunt force trauma. My guess is that it's about the same protection as a bicycle helmet. Something is better than nothing....
 
OpsCore traditionally makes ballistic combat helmets. This is their non-ballistic version which my guess is why they are pointing out blunt force trauma. My guess is that it's about the same protection as a bicycle helmet. Something is better than nothing....

If you are going to wear a helmet, you may as well protect your noggin as much as possible. A recent study showed that 50% of the homeless people in Toronto had a history of previous head injury. I'm just trying not to be a homeless cub pilot.

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OpsCore traditionally makes ballistic combat helmets. This is their non-ballistic version which my guess is why they are pointing out blunt force trauma. My guess is that it's about the same protection as a bicycle helmet. Something is better than nothing....
While it may be true that something is better than nothing, one major difference between classes of helmets is if they are intended for single strike or multiple. On a bicycle or motorcycle, it is expected that there will be a single major impact. A bicycle helmet is little more than some foam and shatters on the first impact. Helmets intended to be used inside cars/roll-cages are designed for multiple impacts.
 
Do what suits you. I'll do the same. Like adding a new ANR system to my Gallet. My head, my ears, my choice.
 
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Do what suits you. I'll do the same. Like adding a new ANR system to my Gallet. My head, my ears, my choice.

Nice! Let me know what ANR system you go with. I see that Lightspeed is offering a set up now that is designed to be integrated into helmets.
 
Lightspeed changed their rules and now requires their helmet comms to be installed by an authorized helmet dealer. I didn't want to send my helmet away and wait for it to get returned. Tiger Performance is converting a Bose A-20 to drop into my Gallet, and I can do the install. They say it's the hot setup. I'll know soon.
 
I've been wearing helmets for many years and still haven't found one that is perfect for everything. SPH -4 in the Army was heavy and hot but worked OK. I have a Navy deck helmet with a D.C. Headset in it , easy to wear all day but min. Protection. Next is a D.C. white hard shell helmet , reason able protection and easy to wear. Latest is a Comtronics Pro over a Bose A-20. It seems to have the best protection other than the SPH-4, and the A-20 is great. The cons are it's hot in 65 deg weather, hard to put on and off the head set falls out and not overly comfy. The chin strap is short also and chokes a bit. I wear it and guess I'll get used to it, but the Bose is great.
 
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My commtronics helmet gets used all the time...even when I’m not flying!

I love it, and plan on outfitting the fam with em. Headsets are nothing great, but built it, and safe. To me it was a gamble because you can’t put a value on safety, but I am very pleased with their $400 product. Especially considering the affordability when the next price point +1k


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Ok I'm gonna share here.. after lurking for hours on all subjects relating to helmets and headsets...I just ordered a tiger p. SAR with a20. Looks like the lightest, simplest, and least expensive setup for help against a low level engine fail. Ill let you know later...hopefully without any real-world test results... thinking comfort and wearability for this report...
 
If you are going to wear a helmet, you may as well protect your noggin as much as possible. A recent study showed that 50% of the homeless people in Toronto had a history of previous head injury. I'm just trying not to be a homeless cub pilot.

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There is one other thing you must consider is wt., a motorcycle helmet goes for a ride with the body as it flys thru the air. In airplanes the body is strapped to the airframe and the wt. of the helmet is going for the ride trying to take your head with it. The Army story goes that a UH1 crashed and the crew was wearing the Gen.1 NVG's with wt.s on the back of the helmet for balance and on impact they found the helmet in front of the aircraft, fully loaded so to speak. True or not food for thought with heavy wt. helmets.
 
Well, since I'm sharing... I just now spoke with the Tiger P folks, and decided to go with the 3M Peltor helmet instead..
 
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