Mr
(2009-08-04)
Ultra fast delivery; packaged well helmet looks the great; really pleased with this purchase.
Perfect
(2009-07-25)
I am very pleased with this helmet. It looks perfect with the (allegedly, and I hope truly) real Canadian Second World War era helmet net I picked up on ebay garnished with WPG scrim. The customer tip in the reviews of the WPG repro net about wetting the net and spreading it over the helmet worked exactly as described. I would only add, it's easier to spread the net over the helmet with the rim resting on the table, then turn over as you are tightening the string.
Re: the chin strap, it is new, real leather, and there's no getting around the initial stiffness. First time through the rings is hard, but feeding it back and forth makes it smoother; looping it back through one ring is even tougher, but once done, and fed back and forth some, the going gets a bit smoother. But this goes with the territory when using natural fibres. I leave mine loosened but still connected through the rings, and then tighten them after slipping on the helmet. I was at the Canadian War Museum this afternoon, and their 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion dummy had a Mk I Airborne helmet with rings of precisely that size and shape.
I bought a size 7 3/8 which seemed a *bit* tight in places on my 59.5cm head, but I used a hat jack in it for a few hours to compress the padding, and the fit was then noticably more comfortable. But it is meant to be snug on the head for jumping into prop blast; wear on the ground will help break in the liner further over time. The helmet is at least a pound lighter than the current Canadian ballistic fibre helmet from Gallet.
Since the liner is not expandable, all that can be done in winter to accommodate keeping the ears warm is to adjust the length of the chin straps and prop the helmet on top of a cap comforter or balaclava.
Overall, this is everything it was described as being, and an excellent purchase.
Re: the chin strap, it is new, real leather, and there's no getting around the initial stiffness. First time through the rings is hard, but feeding it back and forth makes it smoother; looping it back through one ring is even tougher, but once done, and fed back and forth some, the going gets a bit smoother. But this goes with the territory when using natural fibres. I leave mine loosened but still connected through the rings, and then tighten them after slipping on the helmet. I was at the Canadian War Museum this afternoon, and their 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion dummy had a Mk I Airborne helmet with rings of precisely that size and shape.
I bought a size 7 3/8 which seemed a *bit* tight in places on my 59.5cm head, but I used a hat jack in it for a few hours to compress the padding, and the fit was then noticably more comfortable. But it is meant to be snug on the head for jumping into prop blast; wear on the ground will help break in the liner further over time. The helmet is at least a pound lighter than the current Canadian ballistic fibre helmet from Gallet.
Since the liner is not expandable, all that can be done in winter to accommodate keeping the ears warm is to adjust the length of the chin straps and prop the helmet on top of a cap comforter or balaclava.
Overall, this is everything it was described as being, and an excellent purchase.
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Thanks, wonderful repro
Philippe - France