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Padding a helm
March 10, 2009 - 11:44pm
So my new helm finally arrived a couple of weeks ago and with the weather warming up I'm itching to get my kit back in fighting trim, especially now that I have a helm I can actually see in! I was hoping some of the local heavies might have suggestions for what kind of foam to use to pad a helm and where to get it locally.
In the past I've used the old standby: blue sleeping mat from WalMart, but after getting knocked out at Pennsic last year(by one of the Tuchux no less, the shame) I'm on the lookout for a better solution. Anyone have suggestions? Thanks in advance.
March 11, 2009 - 12:27pm
#2
Couldn't say if we both got
Couldn't say if we both got eaten by the same 'chux. The one that nailed me was well right of my position in the shield wall. Caught me square in the grill with a full force spear thrust. I saw something coming out of the corner of my eye and like a sucker I dropped my sword basket and turned my head to look *pow*.
Anyway, while we're on the subject of helms, any thoughts on rigging a decent chinstrap? This is my first nice helm and I can't bring myself to thug rig it.
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If I remember correctly, that same Tuchux put me on the side lines too. Remember when I walked out and said, "hold up some fingers... s**t, 5 isn't the right answer is it..." I don't think that it was our helms or their padding that were the unsafe part of that situation.
I still use essentially blue camp foam. The trouble with it is that it's getting harder to find. More and more, people are getting inflatable camp pads, which don't do so well once you cut them up. The new thing to look for are Yoga or Pilaties mats. I also found a green/silver camp pad over at REI. I just put new padding in my helm with the green/silver stuff, so I don't know how it works out quite yet, but I'm optimistic because it not only has the normal squish, but has a crinkle cut cross section (like a W, or a ruffles potato chip) so it can deform to absorb impact as well.
A lot of times, people actually over-pad their helm and get in trouble. If you shove too much stuff in there, then shove your noggin in, you compress all the foam between your head and the metal. Then, when you get hit, more of the force goes into your head because the foam can't squish anymore. Just watch out for that.