Laddie and I got an earlyish start this morning, out cutting brush on the road shoulders again. We took a little side trip to check out an anomaly in the wash far downstream from my stomping ground – it seems there’s a seasonal spring that right now is running like crazy. Laddie got to declare war on an entire kennel full of dogs several times his size from the safety of the Jeep, and also wade in very shallow water up to his belly, all in the same morning. 🙂
He’s taking a happy nap at the moment.
Coming back, I decided it was time to review this newish bump cap insert I’ve been wearing for work the past month or two…
You can buy entire caps, or just the insert like this one which fits easily into whatever cap you prefer. I found it profoundly uncomfortable, to be honest, until I learned to wear it over a bandanna. Possibly someone less follicularly challenged wouldn’t have that issue, but it turns out a plastic skullcap right on your pate isn’t the most comfortable of all possible headgear. There’s more than one reason helmets and hard hats have suspension systems.
And on the subject of comparisons with real safety gear, this one is embossed all over its interior with bloodcurdling and ass-covering disclaimers that indicate you’re far safer teasing Kodiak bears while sticking forks in live electrical outlets than ever wearing this thing in any situation where you might get bonked in the head. If I thought there was some danger of something really heavy landing on me, I’d leave this home and pull an actual helmet out of my gear bag. But for just trimming junipers, sometimes overhead, it’s fine. It’ll protect your noggin from light bumps and scrapes, and that’s all it’s for.
It’s made to be as adjustable as the cap you stick it into is, and it stays on your head without any hassle as long as you don’t invert. More ventilation would be nice, but I don’t really see how that would work. Tie a bandanna on your head before you put on the cap, and you’re good. It’s cheap and light and unobtrusive and gets more wear time than the helmet does.
One thing you might want to think about is wearing a cap without a button on top. I can tell you from personal experience sometimes the button hurts worse that whatever hit the cap.