Couple of questions...radio mic and salad bowl helmet...

1st...I'm looking at getting some kind of radio mic setup that can be used with or without an SCBA mask. Something like either a throat mic or a bone-conducive mic. Anybody here use one of these with the SCBA mask and hood on? Or should I just stick with a shoulder mic like the cops favor?

2nd...I've been issued a Cairns 1000 helmet (older...no safety concerns but something a little lower profile without the gigantic visor would be nice, especially since we work a lot of MVAs) and I am looking at picking up a salad bowl type helmet (yes, I know, completely opposite the direction most firefighters would go). The Morning Pride Lite Force Plus lowpro model catches my eye...how are they? I know the Ben II from them is decently regarded. Or should I be looking at either the Phenix or Cairns (the Defender visor is tempting) offerings instead?

I would forget Throat and Bone mics for Firefighting. For many reasons.

1. They are not clear or reliable enough. I have used them before (not Firefighting) and was not impressed with the clarity. VOX mode is impractical in a Firefighting application and the PTT Buttons they offer would never work with the heavy gloves (too small) nor the heat. Police are not wearing heavy clothing, hoods and gloves in tempatures of several hundred degrees
2. With the mic completley under your hood when wearing your full PPE, should it become dislodged, you will have no safe way to communicate and no way to fix it.
3. I would be amazed if any department would even allow you to consider using any sort of aftermarket Mic setup on such a critical application. A mic failure in an IDLH situation can easily be fatal if you become lost or trapped. Use what they issue.
4. What about hearing? Throat and Bone mic's are so that people can hear you. You still need either an earpiece (also absurd for Firefighting as it can fall out/become dislodged and blocks sound in one ear lessening your hearing to what is going on in the room) or a speaker on your coat.

A speaker mic is the best option. It's large enough to easily find on your coat, even if it becomes unclipped, easy to find the PTT button with gloves (Motorola even makes one with a button on each side and mic on each side).

As for helmets, the Cairns Defender shield is a great. I did a write up on it in detail in another thread. Absolutley no downside to it. You can order most any brand of helmet without a large fold down faceshield. You don't need to order a modern style helmet to not have a shield.

Check out the Guardian Speaker Mic system at www.fire-talk.com