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Best place to buy a helmet


Black Bear

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The Gallet is probably the nicest helmet but very spendy. I bought a Gentex from Government Sales 8 years ago and it's still serving me well. I paid $735 for it brand new, I think they are closer to a grand now. I like the dual visor, have a yellow tinted as the second one which is great in snow and flat light. Added ANR to it a year ago which I like 99% of the time.

 

Government Sales also sells refurbished helmets.

 

http://aviationhelmets.com/

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I bought mine at Helicopter Helmet. You measure your head yourself and mine was a good fit but I had to adjust the ear cups with Velcro pieces that are supplied. It was $1400 for a Gallet 250, with one visor. I paid like $50 extra for the volume control. It is super light and super comfortable. I would highly recommend biting the bullet and get the best NEW helmet you can. If you wear it every day like I do, it's worth every penny.

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I have three helmets. My primary one was bought at Government Sales (and went back to them this last spring for a new visor assy and some refurbishment work. I keep a couple others as backups, primarily in case I have an electrical problem in the first.

 

You can find a used helmet and refurbish it, but you usually don't end up saving much over new. There's also a lot to be said for having a helmet that's not populated with someone else's sweat.

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I have three helmets. My primary one was bought at Government Sales (and went back to them this last spring for a new visor assy and some refurbishment work. I keep a couple others as backups, primarily in case I have an electrical problem in the first.

 

You can find a used helmet and refurbish it, but you usually don't end up saving much over new. There's also a lot to be said for having a helmet that's not populated with someone else's sweat.

I always wear a skull cap to prevent populating my helmet with my own sweat.

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Sweat aside, you never know the true structural integrity of a used or refurbished helmet, particularly if you're not purchasing it directly from the owner. That kind of defeats the purpose of protecting your noggin. Also, I had heard at one point that there were some questionable components being used by a few well-known suppliers and resulting in knockoffs, so do your homework above and beyond to ensure what you're buying is a true product.

 

I wore a legit SPH5 for awhile and although on the heavy side, it would've been perfectly comfortable otherwise if I had outfitted it for long term use...at the time I had an LH250 on order so I didn't bother.

 

I keep waiting to hear something good about the Alpha Eagles as I was expecting to be assigned one, but "most uncomfortable thing ever" is the repeated feedback so I guess I hope mine never shows up!

 

Gallets are the lightest but undoubtedly the most expensive. In this instance I think you get what you pay for. I pulled my LH250 out of the box when it arrived, put it on my head and flew away. No complaints, much thanks to Rob at Merit Apparel in FL who is a total pro at this, even from across the country. I highly recommend him if you're going Gallet. I got the metal mic boom on recommendation for long term use and abuse, CEPs, hush kit, and yellow/smoke dual visors.

http://www.meritapparel.com/helmets.htm

(hope the link works, I'm on my phone)

 

I haven't done it myself yet as I still use my A20 elsewhere, but I have a few friends who retrofitted their helmets with ANR headset components. It doesn't sound too complex for a reasonably handy individual and is probably cheaper than paying for all new parts up front. Ditto on the skullcap...the liners are nice and all, but after awhile, just ewww! :)

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