Chainsaw Helmet

[Knute]

Even though I work the woods a lot, I have never had a chainsaw helmet and realize I should. I am wondering which one or ones you would recommend.

[Philbert]

Surprisingly, the 'chainsaw helmet' is not just for the saw.  The mesh visor and hearing muffs on some help in that respect, but one of the biggest dangers is a falling limb from a tree you are cutting on, or one that gets knocked loose by another tree falling, bouncing, etc.  That took me a while, and some reports on logging injuries/deaths, to understand.

Most helmets are classified as 'Type I' and protect from impact from above via a web suspension.  We are also seeing more 'Type II' helmets that protect against side impact; these typically have a foam liner (like a bicycle helmet), which makes them slightly heavier, hotter, and more expensive along with increased protection.

Most saw manufacturers (STIHL, Husqvarna, etc.) sell a branded combination helmet with the visor and hearing muffs.  Petlor and A.O. Safety (now 3M?) also sell one. These are usually pretty light and available from your chainsaw dealer. MSA sells heavier duty versions, based on construction hard hats, if you need a more durable one.

I like the combination helmets (still need safety glasses underneath the mesh screen).  Some guys prefer full brim helmets with separate ear plugs and safety glasses.  Climbers need a helmet with a strap to stay on, and no bill or visor to get caught by branches.

Bottom line is to choose one that you will wear, which means it should be comfortable, and fit the work you do. 

Philbert

[thecfarm]

Sounds like you just cut firewood and just play on your land? I only use a hardhat,but my wife would come to see me at times where I was cutting. Sometimes she would stay and watch me cut,at a safe distance away,but in areas that I might of just cut in.One day she asked me,why don't I have a hard hat? A very good point. I got one for her.

[Knute]

Thanks for the info. Hope Santa brings me one.

[redmule]

 Don't for get to ask santa for some  chaps also.

[Rob5073]

I sent a pm to the OP with a link on a deal I found on a forestry helmet which I had actually purchased for myself.  Good day all.

[Philbert]

Don't for get to ask santa for some  chaps also.

Good Idea!!!

Philbert

[goose63]

Don't for get to ask santa for some  chaps also.

you bet get the chap's I learned the hard way big hole in the pant's long scratch on the leg that's as close as I care to get agin

[DeerMeadowFarm]

I sent a pm to the OP with a link on a deal I found on a forestry helmet which I had actually purchased for myself.  Good day all.

Send me the link too. ;)

[luvmexfood]

Definetly on the chaps. Until list summer I had never heard of them. Spring before last I was cutting out a fence row to replace. Hit my leg and saw my pants were cut. Didn't think a thing about it for maybe 5 seconds then the oh poop factor kicked in. Ripped the pants open and had two fairly deep scratches on my leg. No major damage.

Bought me some late summer and got the saw into them a little the other day at idle speed. If not for chaps don't know what would have been the damage because the chain was still turning.

Now for helmets. Was limbing a tree I had cut and did not notice that the limb was almost a U shape and curled back over my head. Cut it off and it hit me on the head. Not ever a pump knott but did hurt my neck a little. Purchased a helmet at Lowe's from a major saw manufacture but it would not stay together. Returned it. Then about a week later was cutting another tree and a dead limb fell right beside me. Time to order one and I did. One interesting fact. The one I got at Lowe's had an assembly guide for it. It was written in over 100 languages. Most I had never heard of.

[kwatvrider]

I have the Peltor helmet w/ the mesh face shield and ear protection. It has lasted me years w/o problem and still going. I don't use it everyday like a lot of guys on here though but wear it every time I run my saw along w/ my Stihl wrap around chaps!

[Knute]

I have used chaps for many years. Just never got the helmet. Is it possible to wear a liner under them in cold weather? Don't have as much hair as I once did so need more than a plastic dome.

[jwilly3879]

Yes, easy if you get the 6 point rachet suspension.

[beenthere]

Yes, there are helmet liners for hard hats. Saw one on the Labonville site short while ago. Had a cape that came out on the shoulders, and looks like it would be good to keep cold air and snow from going down the back of the neck.

[Philbert]

Same thermal liners construction workers wear under their hard hats should work. Check at any work clothing store.

One advantage of buying a 'name brand' helmet is the availability of parts. If you take a good knock on the head, retire the helmet - it has done it's job, and there can be hidden damage.

But if your mesh visor gets mangled in transit, or you break an ear muff, or if you set your helmet on your saw during a break and melt part of the suspension on the muffler, you can often get replacement parts from a full service dealer.

Philbert

[thecfarm]

I got a liner for my helmet,it's a Labonville one. I only live 20 minutes from there. They have short ones and long ones,I have the long one. Kinda hard in the late fall and early spring. I bring 2 helmets with me,one with no liner and one without. It's kinda of a bother to put the liner in and out and adjust the helmet each time. In the morning I need the liner,high noon I don't.

[shootingarts]

Should be able to get plain or insulated liners for the six point harness hardhats. More comfortable to wear and with straps around the main band and a chin strap the hardhat stays in place when you are looking straight up and back down without having to be snugger than I like a hardhat to be.

I tested a Hardboiled hardhat many years ago. Piece of 2.5 inch pipe 12-15 feet long caught me that would equal a pretty fair sized limb. Without liner or chin strap the hardhat went flying one way, me another. Was about a four inch pleat in the hardhat, considerably better than it being in my head! A little bit of headache, a sore neck for a day or so, zero lost time. Wore hardhats for many years in the petro-chem plants, protected me from a lot of minor dings over the years and some not so minor.

Pretty much everybody invests in safety gear when they have needed it once and didn't have it. I'm getting better about buying it before I need it.

Philbert posted excellent advice while I was typing this. At the very least after an incident where the hardhat or helmet suffers a heavy blow replace the suspension system. No way to know how close to failing it came or how much damage was done. If it is a fiber reinforced shell it needs to go too. Anytime you "test" safety gear it has paid for itself many times over. Total replacement is safest and we usually find upgrades or slightly different units we like better over the years.

Hu

[Ward Barnes]

Howdy Folks.  As well as using my chainsaw helmet when working a tree I also wear it when on my tractor.  The ROPS (roll over protection structure) has a nasty habit of catching a low lying limb from my apple trees when I mow under them and the resulting spring action can whap the back of my pumpkin head quite hard.  Left my ears ringing on one occasion, but, I still had my ears!

God Bless, Ward and Mary.

[RCBS]

A buddy of mine has a Rockman hat and its the nicest I've come across.  I currently have a Husqvarna branded hat from Lowes.  Planning to upgraydde to the rockman soon.  Very nice hats.

[sprucebunny]

I have whatever brand Labonville sells for $35. It has lasted very well.
Before that I had 2 Stihl helmets. On one the ear pads disinegrated from using bug repellant. On the other something broke and I can't get it apart and my luck with repairing those helmets has been poor.

[AdkStihl]

Does Peltor still market a helmet system?

[Philbert]

I believe that Peltor and AO Safety were both bought by 3M - you may see the familiar products with new names.

Philbert

http://multimedia.3m.com/mws/mediawebserver?mwsId=66666UgxGCuNyXTtnxTXOxT6EVtQEcuZgVs6EVs6E666666--&fn=HeadFaceCombinationLflt.pdf

This shows a UK address, but I assume that they are also sold through US distributors.

[beenthere]

Bailey's, our good sponsor, carries a variety of helmets and headgear, including Peltor.

http://www.baileysonline.com/Safety-First-Aid/Helmets-Headgear/

[AdkStihl]

If you were to choose between the 3M/Peltor OR Oregon, which would it be?

[beenthere]

For me, I've not used the Oregon.

[Philbert]

I have used the STIHL and Husqvarna helmets (lighter weight) and the MSA forestry system helmets (heavier duty). Have not seen the Oregon branded ones.

As a practical matter, someone is making the branded helmets for these saw companies, and the same ones may be available with different branding.

Helmets with ratchet suspensions are easier to adjust when you need a haircut or a snugger fit, and worth the extra few dollars if you have a choice.

Philbert

[Lanternguy]

i have the combo ear, mesh face guard helmets from both Echo and Stihl and much prefer the Sthil one.  the echo ear muffs broke on me as they use a cheaper plastic attachment that snapped.   The stihl unit just seems likes its better made, i think cost more as well

[DonT]

What evere helmet you buy make sure it has the ratchet adjustment at the back.For cold weather I wear a polyproplyne(sp) beanie. I have a Pacific helmet they are pricey but they are a nice helmet.  Pfanner has just released there new helmets in Noth America.I am sure they are nice but a little star wars  ish for me.   DT

[DeerMeadowFarm]

I have whatever brand Labonville sells for $35. It has lasted very well.

I have one of these as well. When it arrived, one of the ear muffs didn't snap down very well/tight to my ear. They sent me another one. Within a month the other original one was doing the same thing so they sent me a replacement for that one as well. The replacements have lasted a couple of years but they are getting weak; I have to push them tight to my ears.

Prior to that helmet I used a Husqvarna helmet system for 10+ years. The only reason I switched was because I was afraid it had deteriorated from UV over the years and it was an older style 4-point suspension system. I kept it to use with my weed whacker and the ear muffs still snap down onto my ears tighter than my new one does. :(

I wish the parts were interchangable but the muffs from the old one don't fit on the new one or I'd have swapped them a long time ago!

[7sleeper]

The ultimate helm system Pfanner Protos!



here is a video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oB9DHof2sVo

But they cost around 190€!!! here! I don't have one  :(, I only have a peltor. 

7

[HolmenTree]

Here's my 2 main helmets a Pacific Kevlar on the left and on the right a Petzl climbing helmet.
Both helmets have a chin strap built into the suspension, which is very important in helping survive a struck bye.
Struck byes from a tree or part of a tree are the major causes of injuries and fatalities in tree felling or removal occupations. Major hazard for a climbing arborist is electrocution.
When hit by a struck bye the chin strap prevents the helmet from leaving the wearers head leading upon impact.
To explain further a outside branch or part of the hazard can flip a non chin strap helmet off the wood cutters head, a split second later a solid part of the tree or tree part can then impact the unprotected head. Many timber fallers have been killed in this exact scenerio.

My brimless Petzl climbing helmet offers the best unobstructed view while working aerial in the tree. I always have a whistle attached to its chin strap tail for easy access to warn passer byers or workers below.
Our sponsor Bailey's sells both these helmets. [that's who I bought them from   ]
Also speaking of hazards look at the toe of my logging boot in the right hand side of the picture, thank goodness for steel toes....and the boot is still waterproof.


 

[jargo432]

I use the hat that I wear at work.  Here's one...

http://www.uline.com/BL_1090/Cap-Mounted-Earmuffs

[davidw]

I have the Elvex ProGuard that has the quick adj. head strap, which cost me $40. I found another use for the helmet last week when I was using a chipper from Home Depot. I was feeding a 3" dim. twisty branch when the branch twisted 120*, waffled me on the head and whipped across my face. I stopped the machine and got my head gear on!
I made the decision this year to get safe when cutting wood, chaps, helmet and steel toe boots.
David

[HolmenTree]

Don't go cheap on head protection guys......your head is worth a lot more then that. ;)

[BEEMERS]

I have the Husqvarna helmet as advertised on Baileys.Helmets take a little getting used to. Ive had terrible head injuries and learned my lessons ( notice that's plural?) For me at least it became multi purpose after getting comfortable wearing it.
I skid with a dozer..another guy mentioned the rops...pulling back branches and letting em fly in your face..it seems those posts are spaced exactly for that to happen..on frozen ears!!! frozen cheeks!! Ive screamed so loud, Ive been whipped like a..had the welts too. Put the ear muffs down.face shield down.plow through daring them to slap you...try it after getting used to the helmet...wonder why you would ever not wear it..for face protection.

cut for long with a helmet then cut without....sawdust in your eyes..dust in your eyes.wonder how you ever did it before and why.Im talkin the face shield part here.

Get used to the ear protection..then try without!! wonder why you ever ran that screaming loud monster without muffs!It seems insane that you did it all your life..after your used to hearing protection..

and the warmth? I find nothing warmer than a hard hat.. a liner if needed but I feel they replace any hat/cap for warmth PLUS warm ear muffs.
MANY positive options not even discussing saving your life from head injuries..AND they are generally bright orange and could make you seen and safer where you run the risk of being hurt by NOT being seen by others..
I don't see anything but a ton of positives..Wear your helmet/faceguard/earmuffs/hearing protection/winter hat/save your life device.

[DeerMeadowFarm]

Did I mention that my screen doesn't stay up on it's own anymore too? :(

[WUDPIRAT]

First helmet was a Forester, a little cheap, ear muffs wouldn't clamp tight.
Next helmet was from LaBonnville, much better quality and the muffs fit tight.
Then my Grandson gives me a Stihl helmet and gloves, the helmet was too heavy and didn't fit my fat head. So I swaprd the Stihl for the Labonville that I had given him earlier.  I just knew he wanted a Stihl helmet to go with the  little Stihl saw he had bought (the baby saw). I just luv the gloves.
He has cut me alot of wood with his baby saw but sometimes he asks to borrow the big saw,Dolmar 7900. then I know I'm getting a load of big stuff.

Hey Meadow, don't spit with the face shield down. Don't ask. :-[

FREDM

[DeerMeadowFarm]

Hey Meadow, don't spit with the face shield down. Don't ask. :-[

FREDM

Well, now it just begs to be asked!

[clww]

I wear a hard hat. In the winter, I adjust it larger by six clicks and wear a beanie knit cap under it. Makes a world of difference. Always wear chaps. ;)

[Joe Perkins]

Surprisingly, the 'chainsaw helmet' is not just for the saw.  The mesh visor and hearing muffs on some help in that respect, but one of the biggest dangers is a falling limb from a tree you are cutting on, or one that gets knocked loose by another tree falling, bouncing, etc.  That took me a while, and some reports on logging injuries/deaths, to understand.

Most helmets are classified as 'Type I' and protect from impact from above via a web suspension.  We are also seeing more 'Type II' helmets that protect against side impact; these typically have a foam liner (like a bicycle helmet), which makes them slightly heavier, hotter, and more expensive along with increased protection.

Most saw manufacturers (STIHL, Husqvarna, etc.) sell a branded combination helmet with the visor and hearing muffs.  Petlor and A.O. Safety (now 3M?) also sell one. These are usually pretty light and available from your chainsaw dealer. MSA sells heavier duty versions, based on construction hard hats, if you need a more durable one.

I like the combination helmets (still need safety glasses underneath the mesh screen).  Some guys prefer full brim helmets with separate ear plugs and safety glasses.  Climbers need a helmet with a strap to stay on, and no bill or visor to get caught by branches.

Bottom line is to choose one that you will wear, which means it should be comfortable, and fit the work you do.  

Philbert

Which chainsaw helmet will you prefer for a beginner?
As a beginner, I don't have any experience on helmet know-how. That's why I started little bit research on chainsaw helmet. On my research, I find this article reviewed different types of chainsaw helmet where I like this three helmets -
1. Husqvarna ProForest Chain Saw Helmet
2. NoCry Forestry Safety Helmet
3. STIHL Woodcutter Helmet
But still unable to pick one cause I don't know which one will be good for beginners.

[John Mc]

Joe -

A couple of things to look for in a helmet:

Look for a 6 point suspension: there are three straps crossing over your head inside the helmet holding the helmet off your skull. (Where each end of a strap attaches to the helmet is one "point" of the suspension.) I find these tend to be more comfortable than the 4 point suspension in some cheaper helmets. The 6-point suspension is generally safer than the 4 point, since it spreads the load of any impact better.

If others may be using the helmet (shared with a family member who may occasionally use it, for example) spend some time trying out the size adjustment system to make sure it's easy to use and durable. The extra cost of a helmet with a wheel ratchet size adjustment can be worth it: it's more likely that a user will actually take the time to adjust it properly.  This quick adjustment is also helpful if you sometimes wear a hat or liner under your helmet.

Even a low-end inexpensive helmet is better than going bare-headed.

The most important thing is to find one that you find comfortable and will actually use.

I used an older version of what is now sold as the Husqvarna Functional Forest Helmet system for years and was happy with it. I also have a newer Husqvarna Technical forest helmet. I find this more comfortable. I did have an issue with the hearing protection coming unattached from the helmet, and not wanting to stay reattached. Husqvarna replaced it. Hopefully, they've corrected that issue by now.

A friend has one of the Stihl helmets and likes that.

I've heard good things about the Pfanner Protos Integral Forestry Helmet, but have never tried one on. They are really expensive.

[Joe Perkins]

Hey John,
Thanks for the information. It's a helpful one!

[Old Greenhorn]

I just realized this thread is from 2013/14. :D Good stuff never goes bad.

Anyway, I just wanted to add a couple of points for other readers that might happen along in another 7 or 8 years. ;D

 First, you keep referring to a 'beginners helmet' and I wanted to point out that a branch that wants to 'take you out' doesn't care how much experience you may have. No matter your 'level' you need a good quality hat to do the job. So do what you are doing, shop and choose carefully.
 The second thing I wanted to throw out there is that plastic helmets have a life, which is generally listed as 5 years from the date of manufacture unless it is damaged or takes a serious blow. This is set by the manufacturer (some say 2-3 years!) and enforced by OSHA in commercial settings. They have no authority over the landowner, weekend warrior types of course, but the point is that they degrade. Anybody should be aware of this and when it gets ratty, replace it. Some spend their lives on a garage wall and will obviously last longer, but plastic does not retain strength over long periods of time. Use some common sense.
 Here is why I mention this: Just last week on another thread there was mention of this expiration date thing, and I checked my hat the next day when I used it. Turns out mine 'expired' 7 years ago! I fact, I think it was expired when I bought it new (but I can't remember the year I bought it). So then I checked the date on the inexpensive one I bought as a loaner for the grandsons when they are "helping" me with chores. (We try to get them in the habit of safety glasses, hard hats, and hearing protection especially when these apply, it's a good habit to start young.) Anyway, I just bought that hat last year and it was made in 2014! That means it is 2 years 'expired'. So at long last, my point is that if I ever buy another plastic hard hat I will check the manufacture date as soon as I receive it because the last two I got were expired before they came out of the bag.
 Get a good hat from a reputable supplier and check the date when you get it. Send it back if it is too old.
 For myself, I am tired of this nonsense and I ordered the hat I always wanted, an aluminum Skull Bucket (in hi-vis orange). I call it treating myself, but in reality I will expire before this hard hat.  ;D I will get some more plastic ones for the Grandson's and watch the dates more carefully. They are young (5, 7, and 8 ) so I go with cheap for now and when they start swinging tools themselves, we will hook them up with better stuff. They keep leaving the stuff in odd places so I guess I have to make up a rack for them to hang their stuff on so we can both find it, but that's another matter. I should also make a rack high up on the shop wall to hang these out of date hats, the oldest I have was made in '83 (nice hat, but long out of service for me, the harness cracked years ago).
 Check your dates folks! LINK HERE.

[Philbert]

I have asked several manufacturers about the 'expiration date' on hard hats / helmets.  This is from the MSA website (bold is their emphasis, not mine):

"So, does a hard hat have an "expiration" date?
 
Technically speaking, the answer is no.  . . . 
 
That said, most manufacturers have recommendations on helmet and suspension lifespans. MSA hard hat shells should be used no longer than 5 years, while suspensions should be replaced after 12 months. Both are the maximum time frame for replacement, calculated from date of first use.
 
The date of manufacture is stamped or molded onto the hard hat shell, usually on the underside of the brim. Similarly, the suspension will be marked with the month and year of manufacture, along with the headband size. Remember the recommended replacement date is from the day of first use.  . . .
 
Depending on the environment, application and use, the shell might need replaced as often as every two years.
 
Some visible signs of hard hat damage, such as cracks, dents, or holes, are easy to see and are obvious reasons to remove the hard hat from service. But even scores or scuffs on the surface might signal that it's time to retire it."

They emphasize that the way you take care of it makes a big difference, and recommend that you inspect it carefully before each use.

Philbert