Help! (Leather Helmet Newbie)

Hi everyone! I just purchased a Cairns N5A Leather Helmet off of Ebay. The owner before be put a Bronx bend in it. Which I like..No problems there. I just a little concerned with a crack on the back of the helmet where the skull cap meets the brim..heres some photos.

What should I do? Not worry about the crack near the Skull Cap/Brim merging zone, and just paint the cracks in the paint..or am I worried Over nothing?

Thanks in Advance!

TCSS

0 members like this

Attachments:

Replies are closed for this discussion.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by ff/emt 2155 on May 8, 2010 at 9:03am

sorry kid has to be taken out of service

Permalink Reply by Gregory Borg on May 8, 2010 at 11:56am

I would not worry about it. Are they just paint cracks? If so sand and repaint. My Cairns has some cracks in the same place but it is rock solid.

Permalink Reply by Michael Meadows on May 8, 2010 at 12:26pm

Gregory it looks like more than just paint cracks. It looks like the leather may have been crompromised those look like pretty bad cracks to me. I wouldn't trust it until I got someone who knows what they're doing to examine it closely and go from there. You only have one head and one life and I wouldn't use anything like that until it was inspected. Sorry dude but sometimes that happens on Ebay. It may be fine but have your equipment officer check it out before you use it. I'd hate for you to get in trouble for using defective products or, much worse, read about you on the secret list. That's one list I wouldn't want to be on.

Permalink Reply by Brian Mackie on May 8, 2010 at 12:29pm

I am thinking what Kevin says. Maybe you could ask your chief about the liabilities / insurance/ workers comp. thing in the event you get bonked on the noggin and get hurt. Will that helmet be sufficient? In my opinion..Nope.
I still am astounded that firefighters are still having to buy their own gear. I can't get that! However, if it were me, I would be buying new rather than someone else's headache ( no pun intended) The helmet is pretty important!
Good luck with that though.

Permalink Reply by Michael Meadows on May 8, 2010 at 12:51pm

Brian I know several firefighters from where I used to live that buy their own helmets and stuff. It's a departmental thing I guess. The dept. I'm with now said I could buy a leather fire helmet and one of these days I'll have one I've wanted one for years. However the dept. I'm with also said they had to inspect the helmet that I get and they think I'm crazy for wanting a leather one because they are heavy. The one I have right now is a traditional bullard. But one of these days I'll have a leather. One of these days..........

Permalink Reply by Jack/dt on May 8, 2010 at 1:07pm

The only question that needs to be answered: Is it still NFPA compliant?
Do you really think that that can be answered by folks in here looking a picture?

It's your head.

Permalink Reply by Derek R. on May 8, 2010 at 1:08pm

I know nothing at all about leather lids, aside from what I saw on the show,"How's It Made". But could a good quality leather worker repair it and inspect it for structural integrity?

Permalink Reply by Michael Meadows on May 8, 2010 at 1:15pm

I think that's why the dept. I'm with wants to inspect what I buy if I ever get the money. That way they can make sure it's NFPA compliant and safe for me to use. That way too it can be recorded somewhere that it was looked at and checked and safe for records. By the way the traditional I have was issued. But what I wouldn't give to have the money for a leather.

Permalink Reply by Ben Waller on May 8, 2010 at 1:22pm

I wear a N5A, but I wouldn't wear a helmet that had either a) been modified by a previous owner ("Bronx bend") or b) had visible cracks that deep.

Ever consider that the visible cracks might be why the previous owner is getting rid of it?

ebay isn't exactly the home for top-quality firefighting gear, either.

Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on May 8, 2010 at 3:05pm