Recommended lightest helmet ??

topcat

Active member
Since having a wee off on my bike pre lock down my neck has been giving me much grief.

I need to lighten the load on my head.  I've taken the battery pack off the helmet to waist mount.  I know I'll hate this but needs must.

I'm using an Ecrin which isn't exactly light weight.

I'm not too bothered about robustness: if I have to replace more often then so be it.

Most light weight climbing helmets seem to have large air vents which don't seem like a good idea for caving.  Or indeed for mountaineer ing....

Any suggestions?

Cheers
TC
 

Mike Hopley

New member
I'm happy with my Petzl Sirocco, which is as light as you can get. The original version looked too bashable, but the current one is more robust.

One issue with this type of helmet is mounting a light. I don't think it's a good idea to drill holes in the softer materials like polystyrene or polypropylene. You can use the headband clips, but it will move around more.

If you have a Petzl Ultra or new Duo, then you can throw even more money at Petzl and use the Sirocco Adapt mounting plates. That's what I have and it works well, but does introduce vendor lock-in.
 

PeteHall

Moderator
Depending what caving you are doing, are you just after bump protection, or protection from falling/ stuff falling on you?

I made a very lightweight helmet for my 2 year-old by stitching some camping roll-mat into a bump-cap. I also chest mounted the lamp to reduce weight. This is fine for simple horizontal caving, but obviously if you're doing anything more involved, you'd want a proper helmet  :eek:
 

JoshW

Well-known member
the boreo seemed pretty lightweight when I was taking a butchers at it a few hidden earth's ago
 

Pete K

Well-known member
Another vote for the Petzl Boreo. Their 'group' helmet the Panga is also no heavyweight but very well built. I use both regularly.
 

mikem

Well-known member
Whichever one fits you best...

Recommended for durability:
https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/reviews/climbing/climbing-helmet/petzl-boreo

Compares weights (lightest tend to be more foam construction, so not as durable, but there is a newer version than this, which is presumably one Mike Hopley has):
https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/reviews/climbing/climbing-helmet/petzl-sirocco
 

enki_ck

New member
I recommend the other way arround. Keep your helmet and light, strengthen your shoulder and neck muscles. You'll thank me later. I dislocated two discs in the neck part of my spine, hurt like hell, couldn't even lift a cup. And my caving setup is a Petzl Vertex Vent and a Elspeleo Rescue, so more than a kilo. But if you want a normal life with such an injury working out is the best medicine. Swimming backstroke only, and actually SRT are excellent ways to make the neck supporting muscles up to the task.
 
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