Best Logging Helmet System

[beenthere]

timberfaller390
:D :D :D

I figure they can learn to put the seat down....seems like a couple times would be enough that they'd do it automatically like.   ;D ;D   ....either that, or you don't put it up, and see how that sets with 'em.

[Tombstone]

Ed-

  I agree the rain is a real drag!

[Maineloggerkid]

Ive got a skull bucket, but I don't wear it, it has a bullet hole in it. Kinda freaks me out. I have always worn just a regular peltor system.

[timberfaller390]

Where did the bullet hole come from?

[Maineloggerkid]

It used to be my uncles , and one time he set it down, and a little while later someone shot it.

[zackman1801]

More reason not to put it on your head, people want to shoot it.

I have seen regular hard hats in aluminum but my guess is they stopped making them because they probably arent safer than plastic, plastic is cheaper to make, plus it doesn't dent. I wouldn't replace a plastic one with aluminum for the fact also that they would warm up and be like an oven on your head. thats the one thing i like about plastic, if it falls off it doesn't get big dents in it causing it not to fit right or be unsafe to wear.

[Ron Scott]

All of our hard hats during the 1960's were aluminum with plastics replacing them due to the safety requirements when working around power and electric lines.

I have both hard hats of both aluminum and plastic and still wear an aluminum hat when marking timber and inspecting timber harvests. They are very light weight. The main thing is to keep the suspensions maintained.

[jokers]

I just bought one of the skull bucket full brims from bailey's so I'll give it a try and see how I like it since my husky helmet got runned over by my log truck. One thing I know I'll like better is not spitting snoose juice in my face shield because I forgot to flip it up beforehand :

Get yourself some of those Bug Eyez mesh goggles to go with your full brim helmet and you`ll have a first class setup, just don`t forget your ear plugs or you`ll end up deaf like me. I like the way that a full brim keeps alot of moisture falling from trees from falling down the back of your collar.

[timberfaller390]

Regaurdless of what saw or how big or for that matter equipment in general I am running I always have the right safety gear. It's just not worth it to lag behind on this subject. Before the skull bucket I always had ear muffs and a face shield now there are safety glasses in the log truck jeep and tractor and ear plugs in my pocket.
I have found that since I have been wearing ear plugs for the saw and carrying them in my pocket that I do alot of stuff that I should've been using them for. I now find myself reaching for my ear plugs for things that before I wouldn't have givin a second thought to.

[moonhill]

I have gotten hooked on the muffs with a radio.   Have thought of adapting them to the helmet.   As long as I don't mess with the safety factor.  I wear a ball cap while running my mill so I can wear the muffs.  I don't like the push in ear plugs.  At times I want a large brim hat for sun protection but that doesn't work with a set of muffs.  I don't see the full brim hard hats here, have often wondered why.  I would like to try the screen goggles some day.  It's hard to wear a pair of safety glasses with muffs, the leak factor.  And they chip screen sure does make a nice spit catcher, don't forget to flip it up.  I find the chip screens mechanism to be cheep.  All it takes is a few catches in the over head brush and some plastic piece is broken.  Room for improvement.    Tim

[VTLogSlayer]

The best helmet system that i have found is made by Pacific Helmets.  Super strong kevlar...which is kinda expensive but well worth it.  My roommate has one for tree climbing, and i will be getting one for x-mas this year.  You can find them  at www.sherrilltree.com.  You have to order the muff and visor system separately but definitely a top of the line helmet.

[okie]

My vote is for the husky. I wear one at work, works great and is 10X's more comfortable than some of the others they have bought us. I really ought to buy me one for when I am milling and felling trees but I am cheap and get earplugs for free.

[rebocardo]

The main feature I have come to appreciate most is the face screen, I used hard hats and muffs for a long time, but, once I started using the face screen I never went back to the old way.

Much less ends up on your glasses and when you are cutting a log with the saw in the vertical with the bar end down it really cuts down on the amount of stuff you eat. Plus, it really saves on branches and wild flora catching you in the face, plus, helps on keeping the ivy bits off your face.

I always wear muffs, no plugs, because it really cuts back on the bugs, both annoying and biting, from getting in and on your ears. Removing them multiple times in an hour, to hear someone else or to hear a tree as I am making the final cut, would just invite shoving something foreign back into my ear with the plug.

[VTWOODKID]

I have a stihl helmet and i dont like it. The ear muffs on it flop around and when the shield is up it sticks out a mile. My dad has a husky helmet and i use that at home. Much more comfortable, better ear muff fit, and nicer shield.

[SouthernVT LawnLogger]

I have purchase the New Zealand Pacific helmet and i love it.  i will not think twice about getting one.  they are the most rugged helmet i have ever used.  the Peltor ones are nothing compared to this one with a much more compact helmet for any use.  I use mine as a climbing helmet.  With the adjustable back you can put a light weight hat on under it and tighten it down to were it is comfortable.  going to school in the Adirondacks its nice to have a warm head when it is -20 out.  the visor on it comes down and protect you from particles coming up under your face mask.  i think it was one of the greatest purchases out of any.  I actually dropped it out of a tree over the summer from about 80 feet and once i got it back at the top of the tree it didn't even look harmed.  i would recommend it to any one.  it is way stronger than either husky or the peltor.  More and more people are starting to invest in them due to better assets the helmet has.

[beenthere]

Welcome to the forum..SouthernVTLawnLogger

Do you have a pic you can post of the helmet...with you wearing it?

Would like to see it with a hat underneath too..

thanks. 

I see our Sponsor Bailey's has these Pacific helmets listed online.

[timberfaller390]

finally got around to ordering my bugz-eye goggles to go with my skull bucket, should be here by the end of the week.

[SouthernVT LawnLogger]

i am sorry i can not up load the  photos if you would like pictures i could email them to you.  sorry for the inconvenience

[chevytaHOE5674]

When felling I wear a older Mac-T aluminum hat with a new ratchet suspension system in it. I wear ear plugs and safety glasses as well.

When I'm up in the tree i have a Petzl helmet.

[OutPost]

After 30 yrs of screens & muffs I got a full brim resin helmet, Bugz mesh goggles, & silicone ear plugs. I'd just taken on a small sale full of dead standing swamp Ash & decided to upgrade. Full brim fiberglass deflected the only widow maker ever snuck past me. Face shield would've torn off, pulled everything else with it, & collar bone likely fractured. I'm sold on full brim resin. Plugs under a fleece beanie or balaclava work way better than muffs over one. Mesh goggles are tougher than any screen & don't fog-ice up subzero. Deer flies stay out of them too. Nice change all around.

[moodnacreek]

I still where the first one I bought in the eighties after getting hit in the face by a knot, a pelter. It has been repaired many times because all the others I bought where not as good of a design and got used for parts. The peltor screen hinges close to the helmet and that makes it the best.

[ex-Engineer Wannabe]

Well, I started this thread quite a while ago, but the frightening memory of a "spring pole" [sorry for the southern vernacular] brushing by my face brought me back to thinking about this again.  My old Stihl helmet system has seen much better days, so I'd like to revive this thread again and ask for some updates.

It's been over a decade since this thread was started, so I assume that there must've been some advances over the years...so, once again, I'd like to ask for thoughts from the folks on the FF: What's the best logging helmet system out there?

Thank you kindly for your time ~ EEW

P.S. - The spring pole release I mentioned would've certainly broken my neck had it been about 4-inches to the left, so I highly recommend a heavy duty logging helmet at the very least.    

[John Mc]

I really like the fit and weight of the Husqvarna Technical Forest Helmet. I've previously owned their lower end helmet (currently called their "Functional Forest helmet) and a Stihl helmet. Both of them were fine, but the Technical Forest Helmet was a LOT more comfortable, and I liked the way the visor flipped up out of the way better. (I thought the indicator showing when the helmet has reached the limit of its recommended exposure to UV light was a nice addition.)

My only problem with it is that the hearing protection popped off my first one after only about a half dozen uses. Once that happened, I could pop it back on, but it would never stay: just adjusting the ear muff caused it to pop back off. To their credit, Husqvarna sent me replacement ear muffs, with no hassle. Unfortunately those popped off again a couple months after the warranty ran out. I emailed Husqvarna, and they came through again, shipping me a complete new helmet. That helmet developed the same problem after a dozen uses or so. I have never been able to figure out how to get the hearing protection reattached in a way that does not just pop off next time I touched it.

Both of these were just as the helmet was coming available in the US. I still use them in warm weather, and just wear ear plugs with them. I wear a helmet with working ear protectors when it's cold out.

I liked the helmet enough that I'd buy another one, if I knew that Husqvarna had solved the problem. I just haven't herd anything one way or the other.

[Old Greenhorn]

I gave up on plastic helmets this year and I never bought one with the muffs attached. Everybody I see with them fights with them all the time, they break and get caught on stuff. The helmets expire 5 years from date of manufacture (not purchase) so you could buy a hemet that had been in the supply chain for a couple of years already and only get 3 years out of it. I know this is an OSHA thing that doesn't apply to 'civilians' but truthfully I don't want that one bad window maker to find me wearing a helmet that might be compromised I the slightest. SOme things you only get one chance at, you know? I wear ear plugs in warm weather and muffs around the back of the head at other times. I got an aluminum skull bucket and am very pleased with it, but the suspension could be better and I fight with it a little. Slowly shopping for a replacement suspension. I put a full metal screen on mine. I started with a plastic screen and it broke the first time I got whacked with a branch while I was limbing. The steel gets whacked too, but it doesn't break and I can bend it back in place. I replace it about yearly or so. Only complaint is when the sun is over my shoulder and it shines on the inside of the screen, it can be pretty hard to see. I may try a clear screen sometime but I know that will scratch. I took one head hit back in June that sent the helmet flying and when we finally found it, it was just fine. 
 Now if you are OK with plastic, the best helmet system I have seen is the Pfanner Protos but it is pricey at around 300 bucks. The ear pieces fold up INSIDE the helmet and don't provide catch points. Several face mask options available also including clear. I was in a class and the instructor had one and loved it. It's a bit flashy for my tastes but he would be easy to find in the woods. It had some other nice options that impressed me at the time, but I have forgotten them now, sorry.
 Good luck, whatever you get, I hope it never gets 'tested'. :D

[PoginyHill]

I purchased a Pfanner Protos helmet earlier this year. Haven't used in much except for some firewood bucking and a bit in the woods. The real test will be this winter for me. But so far the fit and feel is worth the $300 compared to the conventional Stihl or Husqvarna type models for under $100. Even the mesh shield is easier to see through.