Helmet Suspension and Padding

[endy]

Hi there, I am very new to the community and am looking for people's ideas (and/or photos) of how they padded out the inside of their helmets. I have plenty of memory foam padding pieces left over from the military that I think might work to some degree, but as far as attachment to the interior of the helmet goes I could use some advice. Should I use adhesive velcro, glue, some combination of the above? Is it worth adding a chin strap or other retention device? Thank you very much.

[gmrhodes13[Staff]]

I use yellow foam a lot softer than most, 2 x 2 inch pieces, one on ether side of the head and a 1/2 inch piece in the shape of a clover leaf for the top similar to original helmets. If you do a forum or google search you will find lots of different ways people have padded helmets 

https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/37272-helmet-padding-options/?tab=comments#comment-494153

 

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=stormtrooper+helmet+padding&client=safari&hl=en-au&prmd=isvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwimmPilm4PfAhUSfisKHUDRDbIQ_AUoAXoECBIQAQ&biw=768&bih=922

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

1 hour ago, gmrhodes13 said:

I use yellow foam a lot softer than most, 2 x 2 inch pieces, one on ether side of the head and a 1/2 inch piece in the shape of a clover leaf for the top similar to original helmets. If you do a forum or google search you will find lots of different ways people have padded helmets 

https://www.whitearmor.net/forum/topic/37272-helmet-padding-options/?tab=comments#comment-494153

 

https://www.google.com.au/search?q=stormtrooper+helmet+padding&client=safari&hl=en-au&prmd=isvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwimmPilm4PfAhUSfisKHUDRDbIQ_AUoAXoECBIQAQ&biw=768&bih=922

Holy crow!  I didn't realize that that second reference existed... COOL, and thanks for the link!

[justjoseph63[Staff]]

3 hours ago, endy said:

Hi there, I am very new to the community and am looking for people's ideas (and/or photos) of how they padded out the inside of their helmets. I have plenty of memory foam padding pieces left over from the military that I think might work to some degree, but as far as attachment to the interior of the helmet goes I could use some advice. Should I use adhesive velcro, glue, some combination of the above? Is it worth adding a chin strap or other retention device? Thank you very much.

As for how to hold them in I would suggest Velcro.  Trooping can will make you sweat (even with fans) and being able to remove them for cleaning is a must.  

Before permanently attaching any to the top, make sure you don't have a "bobblehead" look, and can see clearly below you (to a degree).  In my first bucket I added padding to the top, and realized that my helmet sat too high and I was constantly tilting it forward just to see.  I removed the padding in the top and voila.  Having it on the sides is a given, as it hugs your head and allows the bucket to move when you turn your head.

You don't really need a chinstrap, as you won't be able to bend over far enough for it to fall off!

[endy]

Thanks Bud, that gives me a good idea of the level of padding some people are using. Did you glue the pads on or are they secured via velcro?

[endy]

1 hour ago, Bud Spaklur said:

EVERYTHING is Velcro. I lined the interior with soft Velcro so that everything can be configured easily. I bought two different thicknesses of helmet padding off Amazon. You can see in the forehead there’s a thick and thin pad together. This helped get the helmet from resting on my nose. Trust me, something seeming to be as simple as installing padding was a big pain in the butt to get right. Also keep in mind when/if you include a power bank (or two in my case), the balance of the helmet gets shifted and can tilt. You’ll just need to play around with it to get it right.

 

I got these: Aftermarket Upgrade Fit Kit Pads... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A4TNQ8A?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

 

And these: NEW ORIGINAL US ARMY ISSUE - PADS... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004RCLM8Q?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

 

 

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Thanks for the advice and links, its appreciated.

[endy]

11 hours ago, Bud Spaklur said:

EVERYTHING is Velcro. I lined the interior with soft Velcro so that everything can be configured easily. I bought two different thicknesses of helmet padding off Amazon. You can see in the forehead there’s a thick and thin pad together. This helped get the helmet from resting on my nose. Trust me, something seeming to be as simple as installing padding was a big pain in the butt to get right. Also keep in mind when/if you include a power bank (or two in my case), the balance of the helmet gets shifted and can tilt. You’ll just need to play around with it to get it right.

 

I got these: Aftermarket Upgrade Fit Kit Pads... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00A4TNQ8A?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

 

And these: NEW ORIGINAL US ARMY ISSUE - PADS... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004RCLM8Q?ref=yo_pop_ma_swf

 

 

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Sorry to double post, when you lined the interior of your helmet with soft velcro did you use self-adhesive strips or a chunk of velcro or did you glue it in? Trying to figure out which velcro product to buy off Amazon. Also, how did you double up the front helmet pads? I have kind of a small head so being able to stack the padding will probably be a good thing. Thanks again.

[Frank75139[501st]]

Sorry to double post, when you lined the interior of your helmet with soft velcro did you use self-adhesive strips or a chunk of velcro or did you glue it in? Trying to figure out which velcro product to buy off Amazon. Also, how did you double up the front helmet pads? I have kind of a small head so being able to stack the padding will probably be a good thing. Thanks again.

I believe he used self stick velcro for his. The entire helmet is velcro so those pads can move anywhere and it’s easy to put velcro on anything (fans, batteries, etc.) to have it stick in there, plus they are removable to clean. I personally used a hard hat liner. I found it easier, just another thought to throw in there.


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[endy]

1 minute ago, Frank75139 said:

 

 

I believe he used self stick velcro for his. The entire helmet is velcro so those pads can move anywhere and it’s easy to put velcro on anything (fans, batteries, etc.) to have it stick in there, plus they are removable to clean. I personally used a hard hat liner. I found it easier, just another thought to throw in there.


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That is another great idea that I am going to have to investigate. I am probably getting a little ahead of myself since my bucket won't be here for awhile, but its fun to start thinking about how I am going to make it fit my head and what accessories I want to throw in (fans for sure, I sweat like crazy, probably TMI there). Thank you for the feedback its really appreciated for an aspiring trooper like myself.

[Frank75139[501st]]

Now is the perfect time for researching all this. You’ll find as you read a ton of build threads there are 100 different ways to achieve the same thing, it basically comes down to what you like best and what you want to do. As long as you stay within CRL there is basically no wrong way to do it.


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[Harbinger[IPM]]

My Anovos helmet came with a hardhat liner and I did not like it one bit.

 

I used some tactical helmet pads I bought from Amazon ( just do a search, tons of sellers, they all run around $15/20):

 

 

The pads are already backed with loop velcro. They also came with some round velcro pads to attach them to the helmet, but they fell out after one troop so I replaced them with the industrial-strength stuff.

Edited December 5, 2018 by Harbinger

[endy]

Thanks again. I am looking at lining my helmet with strips of this stuff to give 90%-100% coverage to allow the positioning of pads, fans and iComm components. I am thinking 5 yards should be enough, but will probably buy 2 just to be sure and to have replacements when I inevitably rip a section(s) out.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00H3R9S1K/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A11IQW8TKYGOQ9&psc=1

Edited December 5, 2018 by endy

[endy]

3 minutes ago, Bud Spaklur said:

I think you’re the first person I’ve suggested using Velcro to, to go forward with it. Yes, two orders is good. You’ll definitely use one spool to line the helmet. It takes surprisingly more Velcro to cover the interior than one would think.


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It just seems like such a modular, easy to configure system to have the entire interior lined with soft velcro. I can re position stuff quickly in the field even.