Best helmet carry system?

[Alex G]

I’m MYOG-ing a backpack for backcountry skiing and my top priority is a great helmet carry system. Does anyone have a helmet carry that they like? So far my ideas are:

1. Epoxy some webbing to the helmet and add tiedowns to the pack.
2. Y-strap on the top.
3. “Brain/lid” style closure that can go over the helmet.
4. Mesh on the front (like a zimmerbuilt quickstep or similar).

Anyone have thoughts?

[Matthew / BPL]

I have no experience with carrying helmet but I would be hesitant to use adhesives out of concern for impacting the structural integrity of the helmet. Can you do something like #1 with some loops of cord/shockcord going through vents?

[YoPrawn]

Strapped to the top of the pack, like a bear canister or pack lid, but with the main goal of NOT putting strap pressure on the helmet itself, but to connect it to the top of the pack by the helmet’s straps.

That’s assuming you have an UL helmet. If your helmet is a tank with a thick hard shell, then just strap it down anywhere it won’t get banged hard by hitting trees or rocks. Obviously with the helmet not upside down to catch it full of snow. :)

I personally just wear my helmet the whole time, since it is extremely lightweight being a climbing helmet converted for snow use. Only weighs like 8 ounces I think.

Worst place is on the bottom or sides where it will get banged around if going through trees or boulders uphill.

[S Long]

Blue Ice gear makes a helmet holder that clips on that I like quite a lot. It fits a lot of different packs. I think Grivel makes a similar one.

[Philip Tschersich]

It probably depends on how secure you want the helmet to be. This is the lightest (8 grams) and simplest thing that I have come up with and it will attach anywhere on the pack where you have a gear loop or daisychain. Take two plastic guyline adjusters (or similar) that have a hole in the middle, and a length of quarter inch shock cord. Make a loop out of the cord where it goes through two helmet vents and there is a little bit of slack in the resulting prussic. Tie a love knot or a Flemish bend around the main shock cord line so it is all gathered in one bundle at the knot.

To mount the helmet simply pass one of the guyline adjusters out through a helmet event, then the other guyline adjuster through the daisy chain, and then feed it out through an opposite helmet vent, making sure the guyline adjusters are sitting flat and perpendicular to the vent opening. Depending on the size of your vents, you might need a different size or shape of plastic stopper. Also, to make sure there’s no chance you lose the helmet, I would clip the chin strap through the daisychain as well.

 

[Matthew / BPL]

⬆️ That’s great.

[Albert H]

Deuter also makes a helmet-carry attachment.  It has clips at each of the 4 corners that makes for an easy and secure attachment to almost any pack.  It’s made out of slightly stretchy material and hold the helmet well.  I have logged many ski touring miles with this system.

Of course, most backcountry ski/board packs now have a built-in helmet sling that tucks away when not needed.

[Tjaard Breeuwer]

wow, that is so light! But unfortunately, way to fiddly for me, especially in winter, when I don’t have bare hands.

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