How many times have you attempted to throw your throw line and had your hard hat fall off? So many times at climbing competitions I have witnessed climbers get disqualified because of the lost hard hat. So if climbers lose their hard hats during a climbing competition where there really isn’t any danger, how many times have climbers lost that same hard hat during a dangerous work day? Many times climbers will remove their earmuffs from the top of their hard hat because it makes the hard hat too top heavy and more prone to falling off.

So the question is, how do we make the hard hat stay on our head? Maybe try out a helmet instead! Climbing helmets feature a chin strap that can easily keep the helmet on your head while throwing throw lines as well as when you are swinging in the tree. In the event of a misstep and a big swing, the helmet will stay on your head instead of falling to the ground where it surely won’t be protecting your head!

Climbers that tend to have issues with their hard hat falling off due to the unbalanced earmuff problem will be at ease with a comfortable helmet and the convenient chin strap. Many times climbers and groundsmen alike don’t use separate earmuffs because they have to get them out of the truck. If the earmuffs are on your head it’s pretty hard to forget to put them on. All of the helmets that we carry can easily have a set of earmuffs added and attached in a matter of a minute.

If you are working around energized conductors, be sure that your helmet or hardhat is Class E rated. A Class E rated helmet is designed to reduce exposure to high voltage conductors and offer dielectric protection up to 20,000 volts (phase to ground). Some helmets have suspension systems that help reduce the impact force of a blow to the top of the head and others have a foam system that is meant to break apart when an impact is taken to the head.

The Petzl Vertex is a great example of a suspension based helmet. A suspension based system has straps attached that will break away from the helmet if something strikes the helmet with enough force. The breaking of the straps reduces the amount of energy by absorbing it. This reduces the forces that would be impacting your skull and neck.

The Petzl Alveo, Kask Helmets, and CT Helmets all are great examples that feature a foam based protection system. A foam based protection system has foam padding spread throughout the top of the helmet. When the helmet is impacted the foam absorbs the energy and breaks apart, once again protecting the head and neck from the heavy load.

Either 3M Muffs or Forester Muffs can be used to protect your hearing while cutting or chipping. The muffs very easily attach to each helmet and are ready to work for you within a minute! Noise induced hearing lose is a big problem in our industry. Something as simple as a set of ear muffs can make or break your hearing. Get a set for your helmet so you can hear your grand kids later!

 

Check out some of our helmets here: