Camera Helmets

BASE813

Now I have at last bought myself a new camera (a cheeky little PC330) - I am looking to get a camera helmet - Can anyone suggest a decent camera helmet (top mount or side mount) that also offers some reasonable head protection.........

eb66to77

Re: [BASE813] Camera Helmets

http://www.Skyhelmets.de is a good site for some great helmets at a great price. ALL CARBON FIBER!! They are in with BASE Town Media and BASE jump themselves as well as skydiving. Everyone at the Local DZ wears them and love them. It is worth checking out.

There are also the other obvious choices. Good Luck!

TomAiello

Re: [eb66to77] Camera Helmets

How is the head protection? I've been a bit dissappointed in the protection offered by many skydiving helmets. They seemed more designed to protect you from flailing limbs and hard docks than real impact, in some cases.

I've particularly noticed a lack of protection at the back of the head, and a tendency to use light "cushion" foam, instead of heavy "padding" foam.

eb66to77

Re: [TomAiello] Camera Helmets

I have not seen any crash tests with them but I had a demo for a while until I had to unwillingly send it to the dealer in the states and can vouch for the quality. They are made from 100% Carbon Fiber with the Quality Padding(non-yellow open cell) and cover the back of your head as well as the other large brands.

Unfortunately I was still broke for an afore mentioned reason and didn't get to jump it. I know, however, that many of the huckers here wear them and like them. Maybe I will get to jump one of them in the near future when it gets warm enough for my warm blooded ass, I.E. Less than three feet of snow in the valley. If you have seen any of the Current BASE Town Media Vids you will be able to see some of them in action. So to make a long story short I have not BASE'd one but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

abirdie

Re: [BASE813] Camera Helmets

check out Rawa
very good quality helmets with nice cases
for reasonable prices
bsbd a.

FIREFLYR

Re: [BASE813] Camera Helmets

With a little ingenuity you can mount a helmet to anything!
As far as head protection goes, check out a paragliding helmet,they are sturdy and light,no face shield either.
cheers,~J

pope

Re: [BASE813] Camera Helmets

There are virtually no skydiving helmets on the market that offer any "real" head protection--ie: distributing the force applied to the shell in a "critical impact" situation to the helmet instead of the head/brain. To date, the closest you'll find is a ProTec. Far and away the best helmet for head protection COMMONLY used in skydiving/BASE.

Carbon Fiber, Kevlar, etc. Doesn't mean SHIT. It's the LINER that makes a helmet good, not the shell. If you're concerned with a high-quality helmet from a PROTECTION standpoint, I'd get a protec and build a camera helmet out of it. Otherwise, I'd look into the MTB/Ski/Snowboard/MX markets to try and adapt something there. If you don't mind the size, look into adapting a full-face MX/MTB helmet that is DOT or SNELL rated to work for jumping.

In short, ProTec is still the best compromise for your dollar or pound or Euro or whatever).
pope

BASE813

Re: Camera Helmets

so would people say that you are going to compromise head protection for a decent snag protection camera mount?

I have seen people with protecs etc with camera mounts and they look horrible with definate snag factors, but the helmets with decent mounts I am questioning whether they give decent head protection - which is why i posted this.

I like the look of the full face enclosed side mount helmet (skysystems (i think)) and the bonehead optik or bonehead M3T but not sure about the camera mount options on this..........

anyone have thoughts of those?

TomAiello

Re: [BASE813] Camera Helmets

I have a friend who knows how to sculpt carbon fiber and some other surfaces like that. He's able to take a bonehead (or whatever helmet you like) with a "snag prone" camera mount, and sculpt a cover around both pieces so that it's smooth and snagless. You might see if you could just find someone who could do that custom with whatever helmet you prefer. I know I've talked to guys who do that kind of thing for cars (usually for custom interior detailing and what not) and found that their rates were actually very reasonable (especially compared with the cost of a new camera helmet).

PhreeZone

Re: [TomAiello] Camera Helmets

Tom, where would you look such a thing up in the phone book at? I'm wanting to have some custom camera mounts made and my skill at fiberglass/carbon fiber is on par with a 5 year old.

TomAiello

Re: [PhreeZone] Camera Helmets

I just went to automotive places. Not auto part stores, and not mechanics, but rather the guys who put on graphics, install stereos, that kind of thing. The first place I went to didn't do it, but knew exactly who in town did. Apparently there's a segment of the car market where the in thing is having carbon fiber dashboards, door panels and what not, so the guy I found had lots of experience forming custom shapes to fit cars.

BASE813

Re: [TomAiello] Camera Helmets

In reply to: I have a friend who knows how to sculpt carbon fiber and some other surfaces like that. He's able to take a bonehead (or whatever helmet you like) with a "snag prone" camera mount, and sculpt a cover around both pieces so that it's smooth and snagless. You might see if you could just find someone who could do that custom with whatever helmet you prefer. I know I've talked to guys who do that kind of thing for cars (usually for custom interior detailing and what not) and found that their rates were actually very reasonable (especially compared with the cost of a new camera helmet).
nice one........ sometimes some of us forget to think outside of the box...................

op5e

Re: [BASE813] Camera Helmets

A friend of mine has been doing her own camera mount for a warlock or similar.

Cameras are expensive and if not treated right can be broken easy. I would suggest to make a plaster cast of the camera and give that with your helmet. My friend placed the camera in a plastic bag, then dunked it in playdough. After this she filled the hole in the playdough with plaster of paris and then waited for it to set. Worked out suprisingly well as something to work with and work around. And her camera is safe from the evil clutches of fibreglass, paint and the like.

Faber

Re: [TomAiello] Camera Helmets

what about them ski/snowboard helmets. im looking at some at this point. they look like they give more protection but still keep down the weight.. and theyre cheaper than most of the crap "helmets" we can get in skyworld.

TomAiello

Re: [Faber] Camera Helmets

In reply to: what about them ski/snowboard helmets.
I like them. For overall protection, I think I like some of the mountain biking helmets the best.

Faber

Re: [TomAiello] Camera Helmets

did you try to mount a cam on thouse??
did it work out?
hard shell somtimes dont like if you drill holes into it(like it could crak=ruin the helmet)

TomAiello

Re: [Faber] Camera Helmets

In reply to: did you try to mount a cam on thouse??
Nope. Pro-Tec's take camera mounts very well, though, and although I've never used this particular helmet, for example, it looks like it's cheap, offers good protection, and with some shell work ought to be easy to make snagless (and with a camera mount, if you wanted).

BASE813

Re: [eb66to77] Camera Helmets

In reply to: http://www.Skyhelmets.de is a good site for some great helmets at a great price. ALL CARBON FIBER!! They are in with BASE Town Media and BASE jump themselves as well as skydiving. Everyone at the Local DZ wears them and love them. It is worth checking out.

There are also the other obvious choices. Good Luck!
for some reason that web page does not work for me

thanks

eb66to77

Re: [BASE813] Camera Helmets

Hmm? Maybe your browser is blocking the transfer URL. Try this URL http://skyhelmets.de/Hauptseite.htm. If that doesn't work just try jumping without a helmet Just kidding, I tried that a couple times and it changed my part line.

TomAiello

Re: [BASE813] Camera Helmets

Neither of the Skyhelmets.de pages works for me in Safari. Both work fine in Internet Explorer. You might try switching browsers.