Guys, don't get complacent out there!!!

[slowp]

I have worn plastic, heavy plastic, and aluminum. I prefer the aluminum. It is lighter and cooler than the plastic. How does it stay on? Well, you need to find the perfect fitting suspension and get it adjusted just right. A good fitting hardhat will stay on even when unplanned acrobatics occur in the woods. A poorly fitted one will fall off and roll down to the creek, where you wish you could leave it.

Here are Real Pro Loggers wearing the current styles. Some like plastic, some don't.

View attachment 229120 View attachment 229121

 

[PARTSWOODCHUCK]

Man! Luckliy the limb was nice enough to stay attached to the tree. That makes the whooping A LOT more tolerable, by slowing down gravity. I got whacked last month cutting hemlock at work to stock up for this summers milling needs. There was a 6" by 20' very dead hemlock pole about 10 feet in front of the tree I was felling. I make my box, then back cut, tree starts to fall right where I want it. Next as always I take a few steps back and look up to avoid widow makers. Tree falls and the butt comes into contact with the pole, the pole pops straight up. I'm thinking "okay it went straight up now it will drop straight down".....

NOPE the tree rolled on arrival to the ground and the pole headed for my melon like a pro steroid induced baseball swing!! UH-OH, at this point I'm trying to outrun my shadow with the sun at my back. I look back to guage where it's gonna smack me, just as I suspected my cabbage is the primary target. I tucked my head as far into my chest cavity as it would go and tilted my head in preparation of getting my eggs scrambled. Whack! the ten foot belly slide that preceeded my coworker's ghostly palor and slack jawed expression was actually kinda fun but the resulting headache was deffinately not worth the ride.

My buddy never wore a hardhat either, I demonstrated the effectiveness of the Husqvarna Pro Forestry Helmet "strictly" for his benefit.

 

[Slamm]

I've sure had some whoopsy in the logging area, but never had to use a helmet to the point that I broke one. I like the plastic helmets because they hold two other forms of safety devices ready for my immediate use ..... face shield and ear muffs, that combination makes the handiness of the plastic helmets quite attractive to me overall.

I'd say the plastic helmets have proven themselves quite a bit or they wouldn't be used or made anymore. I'm not sure of the whats or wheres, where metal helmets are even used anymore other than forestry fields, but either way its best to have something on your melon or a good crack on the helmet could be a little more serious.

Sam

 

[MCW]

Don't worry about us and our antiquated tin hats. It's called "making a choice"...something that we're allowed to do here.

You can keep wearing your style and we won't make fun of you for looking like Roger Ramjet the Space Cadet.

I don't see where your plastic helmet will provide any more protection than our aluminum ones. They both have similar suspensions.

Hey I'm certainly not making fun of either style of helmet and as Philbert mentioned if they make the safety standards all is good. In my mind though I think they both have benefits. The aluminium helmets would be better at stopping penetrating type force such as a sharp, hard branch at full speed. The plastic helmets would be able to absorb more blunt force and spread it more evenly through both the plastic's flex and the suspension. The force in an aluminium helmet is worn 100% by the suspension and then by your head. Personally I'd feel safe in both styles but would think the plastic helmets would be more comfortable.
I suppose my way of thinking is along the same lines as modern vs. old cars. Many people think that the older more solid cars are safer. Crash testing shows that this is not that case as although tougher the driver wears a lot of the force in an accident whereas newer cars are designed to absorb most of the impact so the driver doesn't have to cop it.
I'd actually really be interested in some hard data from helmet manufacturers. I actually think that the aluminium helmets would come out second best across a wider range of impacts but the plastics would lose with a few as well. A $15 plastic helmet may not win much at all

 

[Slamm]

Hey I'm certainly not making fun of either style of helmet and as Philbert mentioned if they make the safety standards all is good. In my mind though I think they both have benefits. The aluminium helmets would be better at stopping penetrating type force such as a sharp, hard branch at full speed. The plastic helmets would be able to absorb more blunt force and spread it more evenly through both the plastic's flex and the suspension. The force in an aluminium helmet is worn 100% by the suspension and then by your head. Personally I'd feel safe in both styles but would think the plastic helmets would be more comfortable.
I suppose my way of thinking is along the same lines as modern vs. old cars. Many people think that the older more solid cars are safer. Crash testing shows that this is not that case as although tougher the driver wears a lot of the force in an accident whereas newer cars are designed to absorb most of the impact so the driver doesn't have to cop it.
I'd actually really be interested in some hard data from helmet manufacturers. I actually think that the aluminium helmets would come out second best across a wider range of impacts but the plastics would lose with a few as well. A $15 plastic helmet may not win much at all

I was just at a forestry class a few weeks ago and it seemed they were sure pointing out how the plastic ones were better at saving your head than the metal ones, they were showing the shattered plastic helmets and how the guy just walked away or was dinged but not dead. The instructor was stating same as your car analogy that the studies show the quality plastic helmet to be better than metal, just like the newer cars are suppose to fold up and absorb the energy before getting to your head.

I know of 4 guys that are related to our cutters and they all had plastic helmets on and in all cases the plastic helmet shatter and the force to the head was lessoned enough that the guy could walk away ..... dizzy, but walk away. Some of the branches that hit those four were upwards of 6" out of big trees and that one hit on the upper right of his head, it shatter the helmet and between the plastic and suspension pushed his head out of the way instead of just slamming into it. That nano second type of force transfer and absorbtion is crutial to difference in the outcome of the incident.

I'll stick with quality plastic, it's what most all steel workers, construction workers and such wear, there are studies and standards to have apparently shown that plastic is as good or better and its what people who's brains are worth a lot more than mine are wearing, plus as I have stated before they typically are outfitted with two other forms of safety devices for my eyes and ears that allow for instand on and instant off use, which is just as much a safety issue and benefit to saving my head and body as anything.

Sam

 

[MCW]

Well said Sam and I'm not surprised by what you were told (couldn't rep you either dammit)...

 

[blsnelling]

Man! Luckliy the limb was nice enough to stay attached to the tree. That makes the whooping A LOT more tolerable, by slowing down gravity.

Actually, that made it worse. That limb didn't just fall. It was leveraged and accelerated by the tree it fell into. Had it broken off, it would have simply fallen. I basically was slapped.

 

[brendog84cj8]

Never fear! I had full intentions of wearing this hardhat, but I'm now the proud owner of a NOS MacT. A forum member here kindly picked one up for me and shipped it to me. You know who you are. Thanks!!!

Nice Hat. I got one just like it yesterday. I am just a guy with a firewood habit and figured after a few close calls over the years and seeing you take one to the dome it was time for a hat.

 

[paccity]

the thing to take from this is no mater what you wear , it won't do any good if it's not on your melon . i actually wear my tin in the woods even if i'm not cutting. you never know when something is going to drop out of the canopy. and odds are that you'll never see it coming . cheap insurance in my book.

 

[madhatte]

the thing to take from this is no mater what you wear , it won't do any good if it's not on your melon . i actually wear my tin in the woods even if i'm not cutting. you never know when something is going to drop out of the canopy. and odds are that you'll never see it coming . cheap insurance in my book.

Agreed 100%, and I've followed that philosophy for about 15 years, since I bounced a hemlock top off my dome from about 80 feet up. No harm done but it was a good wake-up call. Plus, everybody looks bad-ass in a tin hat.

 

[Philbert]

In my mind though I think they both have benefits. . . . . I actually think that the aluminium helmets would come out second best across a wider range of impacts but the plastics would lose with a few as well.

. . . it seemed they were sure pointing out how the plastic ones were better at saving your head than the metal ones, . . .

Remember that the standards for these things are a minimum; one brand, or material, or style might be much better at protecting you in specific circumstances than another. Nothing might protect you adequately in other circumstances (direct hit by a 10 foot diameter sequoia).

So go with what you prefer and what you will wear. But if it doesn't meet the basic standards, be very wary of it.

Philbert

 

[slowp]

the thing to take from this is no mater what you wear , it won't do any good if it's not on your melon . i actually wear my tin in the woods even if i'm not cutting. you never know when something is going to drop out of the canopy. and odds are that you'll never see it coming . cheap insurance in my book.

I don't know if a hardhat would have saved me. One time, I was walking in a unit with a logger, and there was the sound of a branch falling. The 5 inch diameter old growth branch impaled itself hard, about 6 inches away from my shoulder. We both gave each other the look of Ruh Roh! We did have on hardhats.
One needs to be especially protected when walking through a recently opened up stand. All sorts of things get hung up in the tippy tops of leave trees.

 

[Philbert]

I don't know if a hardhat would have saved me. . . The 5 inch diameter old growth branch impaled itself hard, about 6 inches away from my shoulder. We both gave each other the look of Ruh Roh! We did have on hardhats.

Well, at least your friends would have said, 'She did what she could', instead of, 'If she had only been wearing her hard hat'.

I guess that hikers, and hunters, and any wilderness users are at some risk. But tree cutters probably aggravate the situation by hacking at, or shaking, or cutting trees; dropping things with big thuds; felling trees that pass through other trees' branches; etc. More so than mushroom hunting in your Birkenstocks.

Philbert

 

[edisto]

Plus, everybody looks bad-ass in a tin hat.

Except maybe this guy...

 

[paccity]

Except maybe this guy...

may have no brain, but at least he's got a lid on.

 

[branchbuzzer]

may have no brain, but at least he's got a lid on.

Hey smart guy, it's the scarecrow that needs the brain! The tin man is short on cardio power.

 

[paccity]

Hey smart guy, it's the scarecrow that needs the brain! The tin man is short on cardio power.

your right. i need the brain.

 

[Eric106]

the thing to take from this is no mater what you wear , it won't do any good if it's not on your melon . i actually wear my tin in the woods even if i'm not cutting. you never know when something is going to drop out of the canopy. and odds are that you'll never see it coming . cheap insurance in my book.

Agreed 100%, and I've followed that philosophy for about 15 years, since I bounced a hemlock top off my dome from about 80 feet up. No harm done but it was a good wake-up call. Plus, everybody looks bad-ass in a tin hat.

It's interesting what hazards we become sensitized to. I had an uncle that was an avid hunter, camper, gunsmith, target shooter, outdoorsman, etc. and he would never even go for a walk in the woods without a blaze orange hat at the minimum. To him the ever present danger was getting accidentally shot by someone who didn't see you. If you told him he should wear a hard had every time he went in the woods because of falling limbs he would have thought that was silly, who gets hit in the head walking through the woods?

...
I guess that hikers, and hunters, and any wilderness users are at some risk. But tree cutters probably aggravate the situation by hacking at, or shaking, or cutting trees; dropping things with big thuds; felling trees that pass through other trees' branches; etc. More so than mushroom hunting in your Birkenstocks.

I think that's probably the heart of the issue. Though if Brad wears his new blaze orange hard hat he'll be covered on both accounts.


-Eric

 

[blsnelling]

I think that's probably the heart of the issue. Though if Brad wears his new blaze orange hard hat he'll be covered on both accounts.


-Eric

:biggrin:

 

[Slamm]

In the forestry class I was in they stated that statistically speaking, the first 1-3 years of a loggers career was the most dangerous, and then the next say 3-15 was pretty minimal, as far as deaths and injuries, and then it skyrocketed back up after around 15ish years due to complacency and thinking that they knew it all.

I'm at around 7 years, so statistically I'm in the safe zone, LOL.

Sam