Advice RE Face & Head Protection

[Rick86]

Okay, so I'm looking for some advice and recommendations here. To date, for head/face protection I've used either a mesh half-mask coupled with mesh goggles, was great and allowed me the most flexibility obviously, but I only play CQB and after a few to many hit's to the face where the half-mask and goggles didn't cover, I upgraded to a full face, fencing style mask.

Now, it did the job well enough, but because the mesh part is sculpted (Sort of like the shaped angle of a human skull) it tends to rest on parts of my face (Yeah, I'm fuller faced, Read: Chubby) and as I found out, you sure as hell still fell the sting when BB's hit the mesh resting on your face. That it also has openings in the back is annoying as during the 'Dead Man' walk back to spawn, I've had more than a few shots creep around the straps and hit me in the head.

So I shelled out over £105 for a PJ Fast Helmet With Steel Mask And Goggles G4 System, since it was full cover and seemed like it would serve well. Sadly, I don't know if I got a dodgy knock-off from the Middlesex supplier I bought it from on Amazon, but it didn't survive half an hour out of the box before one of the spring catches that allows you to change the size or fully remove the visor of the mask snapped away and prevented the visor being put back on. So I put that to the roadside and went back to the fencer style mask.

After yet another face injury, I've once more looking for a replacement. I was going to shell out another £100 and get the Wosport Tactical Helmet from Amazon (The Devtac Ronin Replica) however Amazon had no reviews on it, and searching around is getting me some mixed information. Some places are claiming the replica is utter garbage, that both the hard plastics its made of, and the material of the lenses, shatter under a 350FPS shot at close range, not ideal if true. While others are saying the helmet can easily take 420FPS without a scratch. I planned to get the mesh lenses, but it's still leading me to question the action of buying this helmet, as continued healthy eye-sight isn't something to be taken lightly.

Can anyone shed any light with personal experience, or recommend something in the head/face protection market that I should maybe look into?

Thanks.

 

[Skara]

Glue some foam around the edges of your fencing mask, easy and cheap solution to make it 100% full seal..

And use one of your helmets without visor..

 

[Rick86]

Glue some foam around the edges of your fencing mask, easy and cheap solution to make it 100% full seal..

And use one of your helmets without visor..

Thanks, but I don't keep faulty products so the helmet was returned, and irregardless of that, the fencer mask/helmet can't be worn with a helmet over it, the shape and design of it prevents such. Thanks though.

 

[LightningCh]

I wear a custom made heroshark mask with ear protection (£75 or something with postage) and full seal goggles

Then I just put a hood up to cover the rest lol.

Only unprotected places are my forehead (if the hood slips back) and the small gap between my nose and goggles. Other than that, pretty much seals me in from bbs. (Oh and front of throat is also a weak spot for me)

 

[djben9]

Not sure this is much help but I wear a fast helmet or cap with goggles and the V2 mask that covers ears. My brother and his friend also wear similar but mesh goggles , never had any issues 

 

[Druid799]

This is one of my many skid lids .

It's a dragon red OPS core helmet , the lower face guard was from ebaybanned The lense is a motorbike iridium visor dremel'ed down to fit then I've attached the visor to the helmet with slots cut in to it just below the helmet brim which I've slotted adhesive Velcro through so it's easy to change it out for a clear visor I've got .

View attachment 32721

 

[Rick86]

Hmm, from what I'm seeing and reading, both on here and on the web in general, it sounds like it would be more advantageous for me to do a three-piece helmet setup, helmet, eye-pro an a half-mask and maybe hook the pieces together, or at least in part. I'll have to have a scan through amazon and such places and see if I can't find a setup that I can put together.

 

[Duff]

Hmm, from what I'm seeing and reading, both on here and on the web in general, it sounds like it would be more advantageous for me to do a three-piece helmet setup, helmet, eye-pro an a half-mask and maybe hook the pieces together, or at least in part. I'll have to have a scan through amazon and such places and see if I can't find a setup that I can put together.

Yep. You can zip tie the lower face mesh to the goggles, can keep the straps on as optional. Get a snood doubled over for your neck. Fit them close to your helmet and you should be golden.

My face pro has a double strap and my beard helps it stay in place. But i use glasses over goggles because of sweating/condensation issues. The bandana is to protect my neck as I get too hot in snoods.

 

[djben9]

Hmm, from what I'm seeing and reading, both on here and on the web in general, it sounds like it would be more advantageous for me to do a three-piece helmet setup, helmet, eye-pro an a half-mask and maybe hook the pieces together, or at least in part. I'll have to have a scan through amazon and such places and see if I can't find a setup that I can put together.

end of the day there is no right or wrong option, except eye pro is a must 

i go goggles, then face pro then helmet, so goggles last to come off

i also have the smaller half mask adapted so it fits on the helmet with the clips/rail...

annoyingly it sometimes feels tight or kinda presses on my face so im not talking 'clearly' but that can be fixed...

you just need to be comfy at the end of the day  

 

[Albiscuit]

Seems you either need to find seperates as you said, and find what works for you.

Or maybe look at a paintball mask like a Dye i4 or similar.

took me the best part of a year of buying helmets, goggles masks etc to work out what I find comfortable and practical. Funnily enough it was the cheapest solution of cap, basic nuprol mesh goggles and a bikers neck warmer with a cut down mesh mask underneath

 

[Careless]

theres a couple of different variations of the fencing style mask tho, the one that i use is the MA19 i think , it rests more or less on the top of your head but can rub on your cheek {i have shaped it close to my right cheek so i can scope up so thats probably why} , i wont use anything else as it offers really good all round head protection, the other variation is by black bear? , which is ok i guess but doesnt offer any protection past the face and probably sits differently in comparison

 

[Rick86]

Right, so at it goes right now, I'm thinking of getting the Nuprol Airsoft Fast Railed Helmet, the Nuprol NP Pro Mesh Goggles (Mesh as I can't find a decent pair of no-fog goggles with interchangeable lenses and I prefer my eyes aren't generally visible to people or to exposed to light since I have light sensitive eyes) and a cheap, non-brand Lower Face Mesh-Mask since it gives front and ear protection. I'd prefer something branded that offers protection both front and side, but again, couldn't find anything suitable.

Opinions, comments, suggestions or anything before I put the order in? Thanks.

 

[djben9]

Looks ok to me and similar set up to what wear, the mask i use is from patrolbase but that looks like a newer one anyway?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dsports&field-keywords=v2+mash+mask

oh and helmet is good as it has the dial adjuster  

 

[Rick86]

Looks ok to me and similar set up to what wear, the mask i use is from patrolbase but that looks like a newer one anyway?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dsports&field-keywords=v2+mash+mask

oh and helmet is good as it has the dial adjuster  

Yeah, I looked at those masks and liked them, but felt the one I'd picked was more up-to-date and had less mesh overall, so would be more comfortable if it ends up sitting close to my face as so many tend to.

And it's good to know about the dial adjuster, the info didn't mention that, and those are nice to have for a decent fit (My bike helmets have them) so thanks for letting me know.

 

[djben9]

no problems, it shows it in pics so hopefully it will have one!

tempted with a new one at some point as the straps on mine are starting to come apart