How To Make Your Hard Hat More Comfortable
Learn how to properly adjust your hardhat to stay cool & comfortable
Hard hats are an essential part of workplace safety on many worksites. But because a poorly-fitted hard hat can be uncomfortable to wear, some professionals choose not to wear one — even when they should to keep them protected! Thankfully, modern hard hats are designed to help keep you cool and remain securely on your head without inflicting headaches or making you uncomfortable on the job. Learn how to achieve a more comfortable fit for the best protection on the jobsite with our tips below.
Choose The Right Hard Hat For Your Work
If you find yourself doing a lot of work in the heat, like outdoor construction sites or stifling mine shafts, consider a ventilated hard hat. Vented hard hats feature slits in the crown of the helmet. These openings create more airflow which allows sweat to evaporate more quickly, keeping your head cooler.
However, ventilated hard hats are not a safe choice for electrical engineers or those working in high-voltage environments. Because of the vents, no vented hard hat can be Class-E rated for ideal electrical protection. Workers in need of Class-E certification will have to choose un-ventilated hard hat models.
Class-E-certified hard hats provide the greatest protection from electrical shock. Glass-G hard hats provide some protection while Class-C hard hats are conductive and provide minimal protection against electric shock. To learn more about the different voltage and type certifications available for modern hard hats, learn how to compare different hard hat styles with this informational resource.
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How To Adjust A Hard Hat Suspension For A Proper Fit
The best modern hard hats feature an internal suspension that can be adjusted to fit your head. It should be adjusted so that it’s tight enough to stay securely in place, but not so tight as to apply pressure to your skull which can lead to headaches.
Find out how the suspension system works on your particular hard hat. For example, the MSA V-Gard (our most popular hard hat model) is available with the innovative Fas-Trac III ratchet suspension. Don the cap and press down on the top of the hat with one hand and the self-adjusting straps will conform to the size of your head. Then, adjust the rear suspension to achieve the right tightness. The wheel at the back allows you to easily tighten or loosen the suspension with a ratchet action. The Fas-Trac III suspension features a handy wheel that can easily be adjusted even while wearing bulky work gloves. Other manufacturers offer similarly adjustable suspensions for greater comfort.
Keeping Cool In Your Hard Hat
Wearing a hard hat can cause your head to sweat, especially in hot conditions. Most modern hard hat suspension units feature integrated sweatbands that provide cushion as well as sweat absorption. Additionally, you can order compatible sweatband accessories for your hard hat for greater sweat protection. At CustomHardHats.com, we also offer terry cloth sweatbands compatible with MSA hard hats.
Some accessories even provide additional cooling. For example, you can dunk special sweatbands in cool water, then install on your hard hat. These sweatbands are cut and shaped to attach securely and safely to your particular hard hat model. The evaporation of the water will help keep your head and neck cool throughout the workday.
If your old hard hat is inflicting headaches or keeping you too hot while you work, upgrade to a modern helmet from industry-leading brands like MSA, ERB & Fibre-Metal. They’ll not only look sharp with your custom graphic or logo from CustomHardHats.com, they’ll provide a more comfortable fit no matter what kind of work you need to get done.