Best Leather Helmet?

[JuniorHero]

Hey guys.

Asking the guys w/ experience here. I'm looking into purchasing a leather helmet to inaugurate my entrance into the interior structural firefighting world in roughly a year.

So, I want your votes/comments bassed on price and overall quality..

I'm looking at a Paul Conway American Heritage Leather, the Cairns N5A New Yorker, and the Cairns N6A Sam Houston

[FiftyOnePride]

If you are dead set on leather dont let CALFFBOU get ahold of you.

Lol, others like Gonzo and E229 will tell you whats what in the leader-world.

[FiftyOnePride]

Forgot those...

[FiremedicMike]

I like my cairns sam houston, but only after I made modifications to it. The sam houston sits high on your head, so I simply cut the little pad out and put a towel up there that was about half the thickness, now it sits perfectly on my head.

The cons to the cairns leathers as we've experienced in our dept is the paint. Any and every fire we go on seems to cause the paint to bubble and chip here and there, exposing the leather, necessitating stripping and repainting, which is a pain in the butt.

We have recently switched to the paul conway heritage 2 which is a fiberglass helmet wrapped in dyed leather, giving you the best of both worlds, that is, light weight and superior heat reduction. Also being that the leather is dyed, repainting is not neccessary.

[CALFFBOU]

Originally posted by FiftyOnePride
If you are dead set on leather dont let CALFFBOU get ahold of you.

LOL!!! That was pretty funny! Phenix does make a very light
weight leather. Here is your link- www.phenixfirehelmets.com

ALSO- you can find a lot of nice used leathers on www.ebay.com

-Bou

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

Bou... I looked at a Phenix leather at the New England Fire Rescue Expo, not bad!

[cellblock]

This is a perfect example of a WHACKER thread.
After you spend all of that money on Leather hements instead of wearing what you are issued make sure to flip through the Galls catalog for some whoo whoo lights and a siren set for your POV.

[TFDNICK]

I like the Cairns, but I forget which one. One of the two is not NFPA approved. Thats the one I wear. It is much lighter that the NFPA approved model.

[ndvfdff33]

Cellblock..Don't yah know not all depts issue gear..Some make you buy....Don't forget that....And if he wants to buy a Leather thats his choice...You must know all about flippin through catalogues for lights and sirens

[42VTExplorer]

This is a perfect example of a WHACKER thread.

Guess you'll fit in here well, Cupcake. You're one to really talk about the "whoo whoo lights and a siren set" for a vehicle...Your vehicle takes the cake.

Cupcake, do us all a favor, if you're going to criticize someone, how about doing it in a way that we can't nail you on too?

[CALFFBOU]

Originally posted by CaptainGonzo
Bou... I looked at a Phenix leather at the New England Fire Rescue Expo, not bad!

I put a lot of heart into every helmet I make...Bou




(just kidding, I dont work there)

[DeputyChiefGonzo]

Originally posted by cellblock
This is a perfect example of a WHACKER thread.
After you spend all of that money on Leather hements instead of wearing what you are issued make sure to flip through the Galls catalog for some whoo whoo lights and a siren set for your POV.

Looking in the mirror again, Cellblock? You make this so easy...

I have had department issue "pleather" helmets and department issue "salad bowls", aka "tactical tupperware". How many helmets have I gone through in my 23 years "on the job"?

8! I got an average of 3 years out of pleather and tupperware before they needed replacement.

Pleathers:
3 cairns 1010's at an average of $210 each: $630
Helmet fronts for same: $150

1 Bullard traditional, $210 plus $50 for the front: $260

Tactical tupperware:
4 Cairns 660 metro's at an average of $165 each: $495
Helmet fronts for same: $120

Total for the "department issue stuff": $1,655!

My N6A Sam Houston: (paid out of my clothing/uniform allowance) $409
It's been through hell, fell off the rig and skidded through an intersection once (don't ask ), and all I have had to do is touch up the paint.

I know jakes who have the same leather helmet that they were issued when they got on the job.

I just ordered a new N5A New Yorker. My N6A will become my backup lid., the bullard is going on the wall in my garage with my other "retirees"...

Why have two leather helmets?

[size=large]Because I can![/size]

PS: the closest thing to a red light on my POV is the tailights.. I don't need one and don't want one! If I get recalled to a fire, there will be plenty of it left and plenty of other important stuff to do when I arrive safe and sound!

[FiremedicMike]

Well sir, thank you for your concern as to my whackerness, but my department bought my leather for me, as it does for every firefighter here.

Thank you come again

[CALFFBOU]

Originally posted by 42VTExplorer


Guess you'll fit in here well, Cupcake. You're one to really talk about the "whoo whoo lights and a siren set" for a vehicle...Your vehicle takes the cake.

Cupcake, do us all a favor, if you're going to criticize someone, how about doing it in a way that we can't nail you on too?

Wow Cellblock...You just got served. (By an Explorer even!)

[backdraft663]

Originally posted by 42VTExplorer


Guess you'll fit in here well, Cupcake. You're one to really talk about the "whoo whoo lights and a siren set" for a vehicle...Your vehicle takes the cake.

Cupcake, do us all a favor, if you're going to criticize someone, how about doing it in a way that we can't nail you on too?

Ouch!!! I bet cupcake dont have a come back to that one.

[CaptainMikey]

CAIRNS IS THE ONLY WAY TO GO!!!! I prefer the Sam Houston over the New Yorker. Just my prefrence ( but I dont have one yet) I am getting leather when I advance to Lt. Or when I come across some cash. Conways are good helmets, but they are chicken feed compaired to a CARINS.

[fireems38]

I was never a fan of leather due to the weight and price, but after i went to the new england fire/rescue expo and saw some, I gained interest in them. One of our dept. members bought one there and recieved it the other day. He bought the cairns houston in natural leather. BEAUTIFUL, the whole helmet is freakin sweet. Its got that new leather smell and he even got to break it in at a fire like 2 days after he got it. Really like the natural look.

[ff7134]

What they make helmet out of things other than Leather.....I just never knew.

[pumper41]

This poll is flawed, the best leather helmet, the Phenix TL2 is not even listed!

For light weight, balance and comfort the Phenix is the best.

[Rescue101]

Gonzo,What ails you?Never tell the Caliboose that we on the EAST coast ever look at ANYTHING built on the left coast.He'll swell up like a puffer fish.Remember WE are the originators of lifetime leather.Geez what I gotta do,drive down and give ya the "rule" book on cd? T.C.