jasonRose 0 #1 September 15, 2005 Last night after completing our three way, I turned and tracked stabilized on my belly and threw out my pilot chute at 3200'. During deployment not only did my main come out but my Bonehead gunner helmet decided it wanted more free fall time and poped off my head . I watched in total disgust as my helmet plummited to earth and made note of where the helmet impacted. I landed in our DZ landing area and took a short car ride to see the helmet carnage but to my suprise the helmet was sitting next to a tree like some one gentley placed it there. Not a scratch on the helmet or the ditter.. Any helmet and ditter that can take the impact from a 3000'+ fall kicks ass in my book.. BONEHEAD RULES!!!! Some day I will have the best staff in the world!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skybytch 259 #2 September 15, 2005 How'd it come off? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hobbes4star 0 #3 September 15, 2005 Isn’t a helmet only designed to take one serious impact?if fun were easy it wouldn't be worth having, right? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Spatula 0 #4 September 15, 2005 Do you have the metal chin strap closure? I've been informed that it's not a very secure closure. I have a gunner also, and have the plastic clip style. So far no problems. But I'm not 100% satisfied with it either. Not sure what else can be done. Its the only two closures that are offered by Bonehead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livendive 8 #5 September 15, 2005 QuoteIsn’t a helmet only designed to take one serious impact? That's the case for "real" helmets. Skydiving helmets aren't designed to crush the same way. Blues, Dave"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
outlawphx 1 #6 September 15, 2005 QuoteIsn’t a helmet only designed to take one serious impact? That's true for a motorcycle helmet with a head in it at impact, as the foam liner compresses to absorb the impact and permanently deforms. You could probably drop an empty motorcycle helmet and still use it, as long as the outer shell stayed intact. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
outlawphx 1 #7 September 15, 2005 I wonder if the tree broke the fall... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jasonRose 0 #8 September 15, 2005 QuoteHow'd it come off? LOL.. Well I wonder this also.. I think it was a combination of a few things. Loose helmet strap and possible riser smack. When I found the helmet the chin strap was still connected. Some day I will have the best staff in the world!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jasonRose 0 #9 September 15, 2005 QuoteI wonder if the tree broke the fall... There was a couple of pine needles stuck in the liner. The tree had to brake the fall. Talk about lucky because surrounding the area was asphalt and concrete.. Some day I will have the best staff in the world!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
pilotdave 0 #10 September 15, 2005 We had a good one a couple weeks ago. A woman lost her Z1 right out the door at 14,000 feet... apparently got kicked on exit or something. It was a very long spot... she was in the first group, I was in the second group. I barely made it to the DZ, some people in my group landed off. The first couple people in her group landed, started talking about how much it sucked that she lost her helmet. After talking for a little while, they spotted something crash onto the DZ. Her helmet landed right in the landing area. Cracked the visor, but that was it. Had to have been in freefall for at least 4 or 5 minutes. Perfect spot... for the helmet anyway! Dave Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AndyMan 7 #11 September 15, 2005 Here's a picture I took earlier in the season. I love it because it shows how badly I sucked backflying at the time, and how I even had issues tieing my shoes... plus I got the shot of the helmet. The helmet was a Z1, it it came off of one of the RW guys without any encouragement. It too was found in a field with no damage. _Am__ You put the fun in "funnel" - craichead. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigSky 2 #12 September 15, 2005 Wow you are lucky dude! That story makes me re think my chin strap, I just loosened it for some more comfort, I think I'm going to tighten it back up. Was it a pro-track in the helmet? If so how slow did it say it was going?“Sometimes when I reflect back on all the beer I drink I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and their hopes and dreams. If I didn’t drink this beer, th Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #13 September 15, 2005 A guy at my DZ had his chin strap come unthreaded (clip stayed in, but the strap came out). Helmet stayed on his head, but it just gives you yet another correct strap routing to pay attention to. Glad you found your helmet, Jason."There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jasonRose 0 #14 September 15, 2005 Quote Was it a pro-track in the helmet? If so how slow did it say it was going? My pro track said I deployed at 2700' and did not record my helmet's solo. I wish it would of recorded the FF speed that would of been cool to see. Some day I will have the best staff in the world!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jasonRose 0 #15 September 15, 2005 Thanks.....I think I will be purchasing a chin cup very soon. After seeing $400+ doing a solo makes the price of a chin cup look cheap. Some day I will have the best staff in the world!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GravityGirl 0 #16 September 15, 2005 I had to retrieve a Pro Tec off the runway this weekend. Also undamaged. But an airplane did have to abort his landing because of the unidentified obect. Doh! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Peace and Blue Skies! Bonnie ==>Gravity Gear! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tetra316 0 #17 September 15, 2005 I forgot to fasten my chin strap on my bonehead once while doing a tandem. I could feel it starting to come off as I was exiting and spent the entire freefall flying with one hand on my head. Even managed to hold a heading the entire skydive that way! That was a lesson I won't forget for a while. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skybytch 259 #18 September 15, 2005 QuoteLoose helmet strap My Gunner has the seatbelt style clip; the strap would loosen up in no time, even with a rubber band to hold the excess. I got tired of that and didn't want to tie a knot in it, so I adjusted it to how tight I wanted it to be and hand tacked it down with supertack. That worked pretty good until my crappy tacking job started coming apart, so I had a local rigger run a couple straight stitches across it. And now it ain't gonna ever loosen up again. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #19 September 15, 2005 QuoteQuoteLoose helmet strap My Gunner has the seatbelt style clip; the strap would loosen up in no time, even with a rubber band to hold the excess. I got tired of that and didn't want to tie a knot in it, so I adjusted it to how tight I wanted it to be and hand tacked it down with supertack. That worked pretty good until my crappy tacking job started coming apart, so I had a local rigger run a couple straight stitches across it. And now it ain't gonna ever loosen up again. Ooh, good idea. I have the same style and I'm always futzing with it. It hasn't loosened up in freefall to where it's been a concern, but I could see that it might."There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
darrenspooner 0 #20 September 15, 2005 1st jump I made with my bonehead it was flapping around 2 inches above my head, despite tightening it well. So I fitted it and tightened it at home, then sewed it in the one spot. Hasn't move since. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hottamaly 1 #21 September 15, 2005 The tacking down of the chin strap should be done to all helmets no matter who's they are. It just makes sence since there is allot of money in dytters in there, let alone the cost of the helmet. And Bonehead is the company name, not the style of helmet geesh Skydiving gave me a reason to live I'm not afraid of what I'll miss when I die...I'm afraid of what I'll miss as I live Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob.dino 0 #22 September 16, 2005 We'd a pretty-much identical incident, except it was an elbow to the back of the head that dislodged the brand-new Z1 at 12k. Found in perfect nick. A while back we had a student lose their Pro-tec during an AFF jump. The student lands uneventfully, and the TA asks them where their helmet is. Cue a *Thump* as the helmet hits the ground about 20ft away from the pair of them . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nate_1979 9 #23 September 16, 2005 I've had the metal clip on the strap for my Gunner release during freefall in the past.. I still have not changed it to a plastic clip, but it's on my list of things to do... In my case I noticed that the helmet started getting a little "light" on my head as it started to come off, put my hand on it and held it for deployment... FGF #??? I miss the sky... There are 10 types of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tdog 0 #24 September 16, 2005 QuoteQuoteIsn’t a helmet only designed to take one serious impact? That's true for a motorcycle helmet with a head in it at impact, as the foam liner compresses to absorb the impact and permanently deforms. You could probably drop an empty motorcycle helmet and still use it, as long as the outer shell stayed intact. My motorcycle instructors taught us that a fall from 4 feet to hard ground = throw the helmet away... Hairline cracks could cause the helmet to not work as designed, or worse... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #25 September 16, 2005 QuoteMy motorcycle instructors taught us that a fall from 4 feet to hard ground = throw the helmet away... Hairline cracks could cause the helmet to not work as designed, or worse... That's basically true for "real" helmets. Skydiving helmets aren't really any good for any sort of true protection. They keep your hair from going crazy in the wind, keeps your dytter in place and protects your head from bumps on the AC, from getting kicked in freefall and from scraps when PLFing a landing. Beyond that, skydiving helmets are basically worthless...actually, show me a skydiving helmet that holds a true safety rating. Not that little rating for skateboard helmets that Pro-Tecs have, but true full blown safety ratings that are useful for the speeds we're doing. I've had an old Mindwarp for nearly 5 years, its been good to me. Its been droped, scraped, kicked, thrown (as a joke, but still) and flat out bounced HARD on concret. I still use it for just about every jump (that I'm not wearing a camera) and it does exactly what I need it to do. Just a couple of months ago it took a HARD hit for me in freefall doing a speed star. Someone decided to fly the black-hole of a burble I have and our helmets met. I saw stars and it took about 1000' to clear my head, but my helmet was fine (it was a very hard hit). My longwinded point is, although that's a good rule of thumb for motorcycle helmets, for skydiving helmets its pretty pointless. If its cracked, get rid of it, if its not, go on with life. Our helmets don't serve the same life saving purpose.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
