Hard Hat Height

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big john

Senior Member
Location
Portland, ME
I'm starting a job that requires us to wear hard hats constantly. No big deal, except that I'll be doing a lot of confined space and I get tired of smacking into things and having my hat knocked off because of how high the hat sits on my head.

I'm searching for a "lower" hard hat. I've been seeing different styles of hardhats online; some that claim to have "three point height adjustment" (from AO Safety, North and others) and one from Bullard that claims to be a "low profile" hardhat.

I haven't been able to find any of these in stores to look at them or try them out. Anyone have any idea if these actually make a difference as far as height is concerned? Or is my only option to just order one and hope it works?

Thanks.

-John
 
sii

sii

Senior Member
Location
Nebraska
These aren't bad, about as close as I've ever been to feeling like I'm not wearing one. http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PMPXNO=5876909&PMT4NO=0

Grainger is a good source of hard hats because they ususally have most of the styles in stock and can direct ship to you if you find a style you like but they don't have the right color.

Another good place for items like that is if you have an industrial gas supplier nearby. They also usually have several styles on the shelf. They tend to have some pretty cool designs if that trips your trigger. I can't seem to find it online or remember the brand but mine has a bald eagle flying through flames carrying an American flag.
 
iaov

iaov

Senior Member
Location
Rhinelander WI
The mill I used to work at did not require hard hats but the last couple years I was there I wore one because I got tired of hitting my head! Yep I knocked it off my head on occasion but it sure beat banging my head.
 
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peter

Senior Member
Location
San Diego
"I get tired of smacking into things and having my hat knocked off because of how high the hat sits on my head."
I quite agree with you. There is about 2" of air space between the top of your head and the top of the hardhat.
Good luck with your search.
~Peter
 
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Karl H

Senior Member
Location
San Diego,CA
This is my number one complaint about hard hats. In service I almost never
wear hard hats, I wear a simple baseball cap,very rarely do I bang my head on
anything,But, when I put on a hardhat I turn into a human pinball.
 
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pbeasley

Senior Member
Location
Orange County, CA (for now)
Hard hats work...

Hard hats work...

Karl H said:
This is my number one complaint about hard hats. In service I almost never
wear hard hats, I wear a simple baseball cap,very rarely do I bang my head on
anything,But, when I put on a hardhat I turn into a human pinball.
Click to expand...

I spend 1 year out of every 3 on a construction site. For some reason, that seems to be the year I spend alot more time at the chiropractor... go figure. Our company issues Skullgard? Protective Headwear

I have also learned not to complain to much about that 2" gap. Had a piece of steel (2"x2"x30"angle iron) land on my head from about 40', point down. you can see where the point punched through the helmet fibers and went through that hat about 1/4". without the 2" suspension to absorb the shock it probably would have been in my head:mad:. It wasn't till about a year later that anyone was willing to admit who the careless bastard was that kicked it off the scaffold... they wanted to keep me out of jail I think.:mad::wink:
 
steelersman

steelersman

Senior Member
Location
Lake Ridge, VA
Karl H said:
This is my number one complaint about hard hats. In service I almost never
wear hard hats, I wear a simple baseball cap,very rarely do I bang my head on
anything,But, when I put on a hardhat I turn into a human pinball.
Click to expand...


I agree with you wholeheartedly. I can't stand hardhats, but we have to wear them most of the time where I work since there are actually safety personnel employed by the GC to enforce PPE, glasses and safety vests as well. I always bang my head on stuff with the hardhat on, not to mention the pain in the neck it "literally" becomes from being top heavy. :)
 
Besoeker

Besoeker

Senior Member
Location
UK
I think pbeasly has it in one.
Get smacked just once on the head and you will realise the benifit of wearing a hard hat.

Some years ago, I had in injury to my head. As is usually the case, it was an entirely avoidable incident but it resulted in an ugly gash/gouge in my head. Blood spurting everywhere.

It was on an oilfield in the Sahara, miles from anywhere but. as it happened, the base had a medical facility and a doctor stitched up my head. No anaesthics and about 15 stitches. Ouch again. And off to work I went.
Communication from that region was limited but I did ty to prepare my sweet wife to expect a bit of an injury - we Brits can play it low key...
Job done and I still had the stitches in when I flew home, but in consideration for the sensitivities of other passengers, I wore a baseball cap to hide the ugly stuff.

When I got home and Mrs B saw the extent of the damage, she wasn't altogerther surprised. She knows me....
By then, the wound was on the mend and it was time to get the stitches out.
Mrs B, having been in the medical field, did that. She wasn't impressed with quality if the stitching.

Her comment "With that quality, I wouldn't give him a job as a tailor." sums it up.

Anecdotal and water under the bridge.
 
George Stolz

George Stolz

Moderator
Staff member
Location
Windsor, CO NEC: 2017
Occupation
Service Manager
Karl H said:
This is my number one complaint about hard hats. In service I almost never
wear hard hats, I wear a simple baseball cap,very rarely do I bang my head on
anything,But, when I put on a hardhat I turn into a human pinball.
Click to expand...
I used to feel the same way. If you are forced (or force yourself) to wear a hardhat daily, then the human pinball action goes away exponentially. You learn how big your head is when you're at work, and your natural movement changes to match it.

Besides, where else do you keep your flashlight and iPod mini? :D
Photo8.jpg


(I guess I should note I have since upgraded to the iPod. :D )
 
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Karl H

Senior Member
Location
San Diego,CA
George Stolz said:
I used to feel the same way. If you are forced (or force yourself) to wear a hardhat daily, then the human pinball action goes away exponentially. You learn how big your head is when you're at work, and your natural movement changes to match it.

Besides, where else do you keep your flashlight and iPod mini? :D
Photo8.jpg


(I guess I should note I have since upgraded to the iPod. :D )
Click to expand...

I have spent hundreds of hours wearing hard hats working in
Exxon,Shell,IP,and HLP plants and never did I learn how big my head is.
:D Don't get me wrong I'm not against hard hats, I have seen what will
happen to a human skull, when a spud wrench falls from 4 decks and makes
contact with someone taking a break ,and not wearing one. NOT PRETTY!

You better hope the "Safety Man" doesn't see that IPOD in your hard hat.
Don't worry I won't tell anyone. :D
 
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Karl H

Senior Member
Location
San Diego,CA
George Stolz said:
What's more deadly - taking a strike to the hat with an mp3 player velcro'ed in there, or having a first aid kit crammed in there? ;)
Click to expand...

Well ,just between you and I. With a first aid kit crammed in your hard hat
you will hear a metal object banging and clanking thru catwalks on its
route to impact your head. With a MP3 player velcro'ed in your hard hat
you may not hear the banging and clanking of an object en route that
might end your life. I was setting up a "Skyclimber" in a boiler one night,
all of a sudden I hear a faint noise of something falling above me, I yelled
to my co-worker to MOVE! A 25lb piece of slag landed exactly where I
was, before I moved. The 25lb piece of slag fell from 400' above me
(give or take),my hardhat would not of saved my life,but my hearing did.
That's one reason radios,MP3 players,or Ipods shouldn't be used on a
jobsite. If you've never worked in a boiler, "Slag" is the residue of
burned coal dust that sticks to the high pressure steam pipes. Slag
is almost as hard and heavy as a rock. Slag deposits can be huge,
like VW bug huge. :D
 
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big john

Senior Member
Location
Portland, ME
Thanks for the replies thus far. Don't get me wrong: I have no problem at all wearing the hard hat. It'd just make my day that much easier if I had a hard hat that I felt fit me properly. That's why I was wondering if anyone had tried any that had an "adjustable height".

-John
 
cadpoint

cadpoint

Senior Member
Location
Durham, NC
I've worn a V-Gard Protective Caps Full Brim (like Iwires-photo) from MSA consist of a polyethylene shell and Staz-racket. It's the most comfortable hat that I've ever used. The forehead liner is a plastic vinyl with breath holes and with a backer sponge (plastic), I just wash it every so often...

It does not sit low on my doom but thats another subject matter! :wink:

i beleive a hard hat is good for two years,(OSHA Requirement) I'm only two months into a fresh one... bought on line, and theres tons that will sell you one like Here
 
Mule

Mule

Senior Member
Location
Oklahoma
If you can get the hard hat requirement reduced to a bump hat, they make bump hats that are acually a ball cap and are quite comfortable. They just have a hard plastic insert...

Im like the rest of you, wore them for 30 years. They have saved my bacon many times, in fact I have a tiny existing fracture on the front side of T9 that would have been alot worse accident to my head if I had not had the hard hat on.

I dont wear one now unless its needed or required....
 
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