Favorite Helmet?

[verticaver]

I've owned the Ecrin roc for 18 years, a vertex for about 4 years and lately, I've purchased a Petzl Altios.

It has turned out to be a fantastic helmet, I just can't say enough about it. It's very similar in design to the Elios, but differs in the added mesh suspension, which levitates the helmet off your head. It's the most extraordinarily comfortable helmet I've ever put on and I'm glad to recommend it as the best helmet out there for caving. It's so light; you almost can't tell it's there.

I found the Ecrin to be a great helmet for caving and would buy another one if the Altios wasn't as superior as it is. I originally bought the Vertex thinking it would be a great caving helmet, but my final opinion now is that it is too heavy to be good for caving. The headband doesn't seem to tighten down very much and it was always falling forward over my eyes in a crawlway, so I I no longer use it. It is great for rope access and rappelling outdoors.

[gturner6ppc]

I was always partial to my Edelrid Ultralight but ended up giving it to my caving partner who lost his. So now I either wear a Petzl Ecrin or a Petzl Altios, except that I usually have to loan those to my housemates. The trip before last I wore an old custom helmet that I made out of a composite of fiberglass on the inside and outside seperated by 3/8 inch of end-grain balsa wood. It looks much like a modern US military helmet, weighs next to nothing, and is so strong that I can lay it down on its side and stand on the ear. It doesn't even flex. I have another pure fiberglass helmet that I made by molding my head, however it mostly just fits me and looks pretty stupid. The last trip I took I even had to loan out my fiberglass composite helmet, so I wore a US issue WW-I trench helmet that was worn in the First World War by my caving partner's ex-girlfriends great grandfather. It fits well but only has a single leather chinstrap.

Anyway, I was thinking of getting another Edelrid Ultralight so I went to their website and saw a fold up climbing helmet called the Madilo!

Check it out.

http://www.edelrid.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=268&Itemid=365

If that ain't the darndest thing I ever seen.

[verticaver]

Anyway, I was thinking of getting another Edelrid Ultralight so I went to their website and saw a fold up climbing helmet called the Madilo!

Check it out.

http://www.edelrid.de/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=268&Itemid=365

If that ain't the darndest thing I ever seen.

That is very neat. I don't know if it'd be cave worthy in the long run, but it seems to pack down pretty good, for a helmet.
Interesting find for sure.

[gturner6ppc]

Yeah, i'd have some worries about mud getting into the sliding mechanism for the side panels, not to mention the potential difficulty of mounting a light on it, but on the other hand you could tell other cavers that you bought it because the cracks you go through are too small for a regular helmet to fit even if you take it off your head.

[cavedoc]

So which helmet is the largest? I had an old style Ecrin that fit well, but it was marked as a large. Got another and even with all the adjustments let out, it's a tad tight. It still seemed the largest of the ones I sampled at that vendor. Any suggestions for those of us with swollen heads?

[Scott McCrea]

Any suggestions for those of us with swollen heads?

You asked for it.

[cavedoc]

The 3rd seems to be the green alternative in helmet choices.

[bronzzhorse]

Thats too funny Scott..

[Squirrel Girl]

Thats too funny Scott..

I truly did LOL!

[ek]

I've owned the Ecrin roc for 18 years, a vertex for about 4 years and lately, I've purchased a Petzl Altios.

It has turned out to be a fantastic helmet, I just can't say enough about it. It's very similar in design to the Elios, but differs in the added mesh suspension, which levitates the helmet off your head. It's the most extraordinarily comfortable helmet I've ever put on and I'm glad to recommend it as the best helmet out there for caving. It's so light; you almost can't tell it's there.

I found the Ecrin to be a great helmet for caving and would buy another one if the Altios wasn't as superior as it is. I originally bought the Vertex thinking it would be a great caving helmet, but my final opinion now is that it is too heavy to be good for caving. The headband doesn't seem to tighten down very much and it was always falling forward over my eyes in a crawlway, so I I no longer use it. It is great for rope access and rappelling outdoors.

Is the Altios as compact as an Elios?

Do you suppose Petzl will ever make a helmet that is to the Altios as the Spelios is to the Elios (i.e. an Altios with a Fixo Duo LED 14 headlamp factory-mounted on it)?

[verticaver]

Do you suppose Petzl will ever make a helmet that is to the Altios as the Spelios is to the Elios (i.e. an Altios with a Fixo Duo LED 14 headlamp factory-mounted on it)?[/quote]

The Altios, as best I can tell, is the Elios helmet redesigned with the added benefit of this suspension, which makes quite a difference. Many Elios users have complained about how hot an Elios can get sometimes, as the foam inside sits on your head. They are the same size as best I can tell.

I do think that eventually, Petzl will likely come out with a "Speleo-Altios" version featuring the Duo, being their flagship light for caving. To be honest, I'm kinda surprised that Petzl's best light system aimed at caving is still the Duo, after all these years. I'd figure a company like that would have made an incredible metal housing light system like the Stenlight by now, not still using plastic.

[ek]

Why would you think that? Petzl has always been transitioning things from metal to plastic, not the other way around...