Logging helmet for hot temps

[teakwood]

I need a safety helmet for the next thinning. the dead branches are really small on the teaktrees, not bigger than 1-1.5" in diam but they hurt also. Its very hot here, up to 95 degrees.  I need a full vented lightweight helmet. would like faceshield and removable ear muffs. What works for you guys?

[HolmenTree]

Myself living in Canada people laugh when I give advice how to work in the heat.
I get lots of summer days here getting  43C+(110F)
When it gets that hot I stay home but in the 90'sF I wear this wide brim white helmet with a white curtain that covers my neck and ears.
Plus screen safety glasses for ventilation for humidity and sweat fogging up problems.
Ear plugs are alot more cooler then muffs.
And to keep the sweat out of my eyes a cotton terry cloth head band pad . I keep a half dozen on hand and change them throughout the day.

I've tried vented helmets but none work as good as this setup. Bright summer sun high in the sky kept off the head.


 

[teakwood]

I remember a foto of your peltor helmets, the white ones. Are they good and still available?

Can it get that hot in canada? ???. The hottest here is maybe 36-37, but the sun is brutal at the 90 degree angle she is here near the equator and it gets hot from 8am to 4pm.  We log just in dryseason, start at 6am and if i get till 11am falling without getting overheated i am happy and go home and come back at 3pm until 5pm. At 6 its dark :D

I like earmuffs better but when they start to give me a headache i change to plugs

[HolmenTree]

I'm on the central plains provinces in northern Manitoba. A ouple of years ago it hit 42C (110f) by lunch time. I packed it in for the day when I noticed the mirage waves of heat in the air.
Yep climb with the vented Peltor but it doesn't beat the wide brim with curtain.


 

[teakwood]

Where did you buy that wide brim helmet. What brand is it? so i can find that online. does it have vents?

[HolmenTree]

Where did you buy that wide brim helmet. What brand is it? so i can find that online. does it have vents?

The helmet is branded North made by Honeywell.
The curtain is made by W.E. Chapps. It velcros to the inside of the helmet.

Vents, don't need them . I'm bald and I get sunburn spots on my head through the vents on my Petzl.
You want to keep the heat of the sun's rays off your head whether you have hair or not.

But if you want vents then drill holes...then your modification would alter the impact protection which under safety regulations is a no no.


  

 

[CTYank]

I'd try a ~20 cc brushcutter with chainsaw-cutter blade for thinning of the sort you describe. In summer such a tool can involve much less exertion than a chainsaw. Much less footwork, where you cover a wide area just by turning. And ... you work standing up- a BIG PLUS.

A 9" $15 Forester blade can really spit some chips on a small LIGHT (rigid-shaft of course) machine, which can be used at elevations from your toes to above your nose. Of the machines currently available, I'd suggest looking at Hitachi/Tanaka, Husqvarna. Of course with a harness that prevents the blade from cutting you up. Those Forester blades can be sharpened in minutes with 3/16" file; they're very un-fussy too.

All of what I'm suggesting would involve getting the job done with min thermal stress. Good Luck.

[teakwood]

Holmen,
I found on ebay, 2 helmets like yours, 12 cotton terry head bands and 3 curtains for 80$, thats alot cheaper than a good logging helmet. Will try you system, kinda like the idea with the curtain, i get neck sunburn pretty often, and the sun is really no choke here! What brand plugs have worked best for you? I have some older ones but i think they may have stiffen up over the years, not very comfortable. I never liked to use googles with the chainsaw, i dont get something in the eye often.

[HolmenTree]

Holmen,
I found on ebay, 2 helmets like yours, 12 cotton terry head bands and 3 curtains for 80$, thats alot cheaper than a good logging helmet. Will try you system, kinda like the idea with the curtain, i get neck sunburn pretty often, and the sun is really no choke here! What brand plugs have worked best for you? I have some older ones but i think they may have stiffen up over the years, not very comfortable. I never liked to use googles with the chainsaw, i dont get something in the eye often.

I use 3-M  E.A.R. Classic plugs, wore them since the 1970's.
Eye protection is a no brainer. The ones I showed above are not googles. They're safety glasses with a wire screen mesh to prevent fogging up and are cooler to wear with the good ventilation.

[teakwood]

The order has arrived ;D

The helmet is gigantic, will see if i get used to it :D

Do you use the sponge inlet or not underneath the cotton terry?

Thanks, Ramon

  

  

  

 

[HolmenTree]

Cool Ramon! Now you look ready to join the French foreign legion ;D
It's up to you, extra sweat absorbency is good.
My foam band wore out years ago.

[HolmenTree]

The helmet is gigantic, will see if i get used to it :D

Thanks, Ramon

  

  

  

 

I'm wondering how you're getting used to the helmet?
You must be having lots of hot weather at the moment. From what I've heard from some locals just getting home from vacationing in Costa Rica it's in the 90's/30's Celcius.
The helmet may seem huge but that extra inside space keeps you cooler with the extra ventilation, plus more brim area to keep the high sun off you.

Doesn't have a chin strap but a strap around your face and neck would only hold more heat, but it does have a low mount ratchet harness adjustment  to keep it positioned on your head good.
The 6 point webbing suspension offers the best impact protection.

[alabama]

This is what I have and it is light weight compared to some and used by many airborist.

http://www.stihl.com/STIHL-power-tools-A-great-range/STIHL-Personal-Protective-Equipment/Gloves-safety-glasses-head-and-ear-protection/Head-protection/21993-1525/VENT-PLUS-arborist-helmet-set.aspx

[teakwood]

Well, i just work 2month a year in thinning my plantations, you dont really get used to those hot temps. My pfanner ventilation pants helped a lot to make me less tiered, the are very comfortable and light. I dont think i will ever get used to the helmet for a full days work. Costa rica is very beautiful for holidays, to work its another story! :D.  We start early and when i am tiered or dont support the heat anymore i just stop and go back to the house and rest, heck i am my own boss and i dont care  if it takes me some days more to get the job done.

Now its dryseason, summertime, in the morning its 27celcius/ 80's and at 10am its 30/ 86 and at 2pm its 35/95, and no shadow!!  I dont know anybody who works productively at those temps, so why bother!   

[HolmenTree]

When I used to fell timber for the big forestry company, when it got up to those high summer temps we would shut down in either those July or August hot months and take a summer vacation.
The spruce we cut was almost as combustible as gasoline in those temps. So I would go cut for a contractor who worked as much as he could.
We'd start work at 5 am and go home by noon. Sunrise at 4 am and sunset past midnight up here.
Was quite productive doing that.

[RPF2509]

I always found the plastic hardhats seemed warmer than metal ones.  Not sure if the sun's rays penetrate the plastic or not.  Hate the plastic ones that 'glowed' in the sunlight (plastic somewhat translucent).  My metal Macdonald - T is still in service after 20 years.

[HolmenTree]

I own 3 or 4 aluminum MacDonald T's I've  worn over the last 40 years. They conduct heat from the sun like crazy. Probably the reason frying pans are made out of aluminum.
T's work great in the cool moist climate of the PNW rain forest where they belong, but not out in the hot blazing sun of other regions.

Also to mention the forestry company I logged for banned them. Reason was they punctured easily from struck by's.

Just my 2 cents  :D