Strap or no strap on helmet?

[Robert P]

I've been collecting gear to climb some trees to take them down, watching youtube videos, reading about it. Looking at helmets listed on ebay and amazon under chainsaw helmet, tree climbing helmet, arborist helmet - some have chin straps and some don't. The obvious reason would seem to be to keep it from falling off while you're up in a tree but I've seen comments for and against using a strap.

Thoughts, experiences?

Thanks.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Four way attachment, always. Why would one NOT want their skullbucket secured to their head?

Welcome to the TreeHouse, Robert! How'd you stumble upon us?

 

[CurSedVoyce]

I play it simple...
Climbing helmet has strap... felling and ground helmet... no strap...
If I fell the spar after I climb it, probably still have the climbing helmet on..... Unless it got too hot...

 

[cory]

Straps are cool, i went for years with no strap, now use a strap full time. For one, it lets me climb etc with earmuffs up without the helmet falling off, used to need one muff down to keep it on my head when doing stuff in a low noise environment.

I like a basic Petzl

 

[Robert P]

Four way attachment, always. Why would one NOT want their skullbucket secured to their head?

One commenter felt it presented a safety hazard in that if a falling branch snagged the helmet he would rather it pull the helmet off and not his head with it. I don't know how plausible that scenario is or isn't.

Welcome to the TreeHouse, Robert! How'd you stumble upon us?

In the course of doing research to do some DIY tree removal. Thanks for the welcome.

 

[MasterBlaster]

I can't imagine a falling branch snagging your helmet so hard you'd want it to come off your head.

 

[pantheraba]

I think that commenter has a rich fantasy life. I remember reading about a climber who took a fall (maybe 20 feet, can't remember the height but could have been bad) from a spar on a slope. The slope worked in his favor and the fall did not hurt him...but, he tumbled/rolled down the slope, his non-strapped helmet came off and he broke his skull from a rock he tumbled into.

Use a strap.

 

[RopeArmour]

Strap is just there to hold in place and snap apart if pulled tightly.
Strap is the way do go with out is like no laces for your boots it can be done but why not be prepared

 

[Marc-Antoine]

One commenter felt it presented a safety hazard in that if a falling branch snagged the helmet he would rather it pull the helmet off and not his head with it.

Your head is better attached than that.
Actually, the fact that a limb pulls your helmet off your head is pretty rare. Maybe 2 or 3 times for me in 6 years, by twigs brushing me in a messy tree.
First thing in wrecking a tree is you must take care at the surrounding area, knowing where you are and where the tree is. You need to avoid colliding (or be collided by) parts of the tree. It's mandatory, because he's way stronger than you, even the small limbs can hurt you badly. Keep your head and all your body out of the way of moving parts and you should be fine.

 

[flushcut]

I play it simple...
Climbing helmet has strap... felling and ground helmet... no strap...
If I fell the spar after I climb it, probably still have the climbing helmet on..... Unless it got too hot...

Yep yep. (somebody post those two aliens from Sesame Street to round out this post)

 

[CurSedVoyce]

 

[Bermy]

Straps! Petzl ecrin roc or vertex vent
I've been struck on the head twice when up in the trees, no strap would not have been good.
How many times do twigs and small branches get hooked in it, too many to count, but its still on my head at the end of the day.
Even my groundie hubby has a forestry helmet with straps, no way its going to fall of when bending over and dragging branches.
The lady I work with overseas just has a construction helmet on the ground, it regularly gets knocked off by branches or when we are bushwhacking to get to a site...irritating.

 

[HolmenTree]

Yes and when the outside of the branches knocks your helmet off, your bare noggin will meet the solid piece of the tree part a split second later.

 

[Burnham]

The reason the USFS climbing program rejected standard hardhat use in favor of real climbing helmets with full harness/chinstraps back in...oh, maybe 1972 or so ...was that the reality of a fall from aloft was likely to entail multiple knocks through the canopy. That helmet better stay put to protect not the first bump, but several more. Enough said.

Arguments about hazards from the helmet being firmly affixed to your noggin remind me of similar protestations against seat belt requirements in cars and trucks...frankly, it's idiots make both cases imltho.

 

[MasterBlaster]

http://www.grainger.com/product/NORTH-BY-HONEYWELL-Chin-Strap-6XNE8