So. Want to test the group/expert pov on a bump helmet that's comfortable, low weight and low cost would be nice too. I have a high cut ballistic helmet and a crye cap but each falls short in one way or the other. I find myself wanting to take the rig off after not having it on long at all. Part if this is, at least for me, the chin strap sucks poison dart frogs. This is for a single tube setup with nothing else on the helmet. Probably going to binos at some point.

If it wasn't for the fear that I'd be making an irreverable fashion mistake I'd be very tempted to stick a shroud on my bike helmet and try that. Very comfortable and light plus my bike helmet has a flat front and room for mount.

Never served in the military so coping with the whole helmet thing is not in my sops.

As always thanks in advance for the info.

I have an amazon lancer. Not ballistic, but cheap and I hear about as light as they get. It still sucks once you have everything up there. I'm wearing mine while I work at my desk to build the muscles. But damn, taking it off after even a few minutes I make the same relief sounds as when my wife takes off her bra after a long day.

Dang. I thought it was just me.

My son is in the infantry and never complains about that (other stuff oh heLL yeah) so i just assumed it was me. I can and do wear that bike helmet for hours and the chin strap does not suck.

Going to look on Amazon. Thank you.

Do you have the 4D pads? They make quite a bit of difference, IMO

I think the pads that came in the ballistic helmet are not great and I will be upgrading them at some point* but it's the weight thats getting to me.
*Actually probably the whole liner system will go.

@steviesterno16

Do you know if that helmet actually provides impact protection?  I have a Team Wendy that I bought secondhand at a good price, but they queered the rails and I have to buy queered attachments.  One with standard rails would be nice.

@trails-end yeah it is impact resistant. I would say at least as much as a bicycle helmet. It's nicer than some bike helmets I've owned. I have also cracked my noggin into a number of things while wearing it and I'm still good

this morning wearing the helmet and NOD i forgot how high up it folded, and when I bent over to kiss my toddler it bumped him pretty good with it. whoops

Tag, for information. I have a ACH, but no rails or cover. Using a Rhino mount or maybe it’s Rhino II. I bought new pads a few years back, don’t recall what they are.

The team Wendy LTP bump, Mtek or Ops core carbon bumps w/ 4D pads.

Throw on some heavy USGI armor and a 100 lb rucksack and that little 3 lb helmet doesn't register on the pain scale.  Soldiers have a lot of conditioning as well.  Wearing a helmet for days at a time makes your neck strong.


My ops-core bump weighed much less than my ops-core MT ballistic.  The bump helmet didn't balance as well and with just a PVS-14 on the front it felt front heavy.  The ballistic helmet was heavy enough that it didn't need a counterweight to feel comfortable.

Also evaluate what you have attached to the helmet and what you really need.  A helmet with NV and mount is one thing; Throw on a counterweight, a flashlight, an IR strobe, electronic ear-pro, and more and that helmet quickly ends up very heavy. Disregard, my reading comprehension sucks today.

Revision caiman in my opinion

Ops Core Bump + 4D pads works well for me all night long. It gets hot during extended hog stalking or during the summer nights, but that's just the nature of covering a heated object.

I have a PT Bump helmet.. which was one of the cheapest options TNVC had when I bought it (if I remember right where I bought it).
I was thinking of getting some 4D for it.. but wasn't sure if 4D would fit right.  Feel like I should buy a better one and get the 4D for that one.

Got the lancer from amazon. Very satisfied with this solution.
Thanks one and all.

This one is stupid light and comfortable.

MTEK PTS FLUX

Attached File

Those that purchased a low cost bump helmet I have questions. Is the shroud Metal? Can you use ACH pads? Is the chin strap decent? I was looking at some on Amazon. What model did you get on Amazon? One Tigris, Lancer, etc?

Soft appendages and all.

I bought an Ops Core bump initially for my TNVC PVS-14,
but it was undersized due to the sizing standard reset,
so I bought a Lancer a few months ago to upsize. That
helped a lot. Then I found the Midwest IIIa's at Kota
and needed a ballistic for a class so I bought one of
those. After all of that, I bought a deluxe set of the
4D pads. With a combo of the 4D's, and a few of
the original craptastic pads, I was able to make
all 3 helmets way more comfortable. The ballistic
is still heavy, but way better. The Ops Core & the
Lancer, are still light, but again, more better.

Also, I did add an H-Nape harness to my ballistic
and that seems to have helped with it, as well,
but I haven't worn it for an extended period of
time, yet.

Cheat to oversize on the helmet if you are the
edge of the sizing break, and make it up with
the deluxe pads, if needed. But keep in mind
that helmet comfort is very subjective & head
shapes vary widely.

Good luck!

Got the lancer  based on a recommendation in this thread in response to my OP.
Shroud is not metal but my rhino fits it tighter than the 2 other shrouds I have which are metal. YMMV
My lancer fit without adding any of the extra pads that came with it. Just a lucky outcome. Came with alot of extra pads btw.
Note: some of the lancers have ventilation holes and some don't. The chin strap on the lancer is ok. Easy to adjust. Hopefully it won't start to self-adjust after a little use. Comfortable enough imo for now. In truth more comfortable than the one on my crye soft cap or my ballistic helmet.
Based on my son's recommendations I ended up with Team Wendy epic air pads rather than 4Ds. I will be trashing the pad set that came in my ballistic pot as soon as I figure out what chin strap to buy. Those 4D pads look great. Don't see how you could go wrong with either. I have hi-cut helmets but my son has an issued helmet that is not and being in the infantry he spends a lot of time in it.  I'm guessing but I think these after market pad sets from TW and 4D will work in about any helmet of the same size. If I'm wrong hopefully someone will jump in with a correction.

@zoe17

Still got the giggle factor going on with the 14. (TNVC is to blame :) )

There seems to be two different lancers, the one that goes for around 60 has a metal shroud, the one that goes for around 40 has a molded in plastic shroud. I actual have bought both and gave the cheaper one to a friend so he had something he could fit to his head. The one with the metal shroud, I got for about 40 bucks at the time, but they all seem to be around 60 now (metal version ).

edit the top one of the links is the 41 buck metal shroud one I have, its my main helmet now.

https://www.amazon.com/Lancer-Tactical-CA-725B-Helmet-Rails/dp/B00KHHF3YY/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=bump+helmet+tactical+lancer&qid=1591283862&refinements=p_89%3ALancer+Tactical&rnid=2528832011&sr=8-8

https://www.amazon.com/Lancer-Tactical-Medium-Industrial-Constructed/dp/B01DYRO6EQ/ref=sr_1_7?crid=336AEEX3B61VY&dchild=1&keywords=bump+helmet+tactical&qid=1591283448&sprefix=bump+hel%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-7

https://www.amazon.com/Lancer-Tactical-CA-334T-Airsoft-Helmet/dp/B00OF81JNA/ref=sr_1_13?dchild=1&keywords=bump+helmet+tactical+lancer&qid=1591283561&sr=8-13