An ‘interesting’ moment at USPA Nationals this year… while standing outside of the main hanger with my beloved camera helmet in hand (Bonehead Flat Top Pro), another video guy gave me an earful. He started by asking me if I had tested the cutaway on the helmet yet. I replied that I was aware of the bulletins from Bonehead about some having problems, and that they requested everyone make sure the helmet was not over-tightened…
I had not tested it, but always made sure to stick my finger in the gap between the back plate (bone) and the side of the helmet to make sure there was about half an inch of room as noted by the manufacturer.
I’ll be honest; the results scared the shit out of me
In hindsight, that wasn’t a good answer and the other video guy proceeded to rip into me pretty aggressively. He pointed out that he tested his, and it failed all together. His dropzone tested another dozen or so helmets, and every one of them failed to release as well. Further, he mentioned there wasn’t a fix for it, the failure wasn’t acceptable, and many of them had moved on to other helmets with working cutaway systems. There wasn’t much I could say to argue any of those points. It is safe to say that this scared me a bit, and sparked serious contemplation…
##Test Fail
As soon as I got back, I tested the cutaway. I put the helmet on like I always do, I tested to make sure the gap in the back matched what the manufacture recommended, then proceeded to pull the cutaway handle. I’ll be honest; the results scared the shit out of me. Not only did it fail to just fly off like you would expect when you cutaway a main canopy, it was still stuck firmly on my head. It failed in spectacular and frightening fashion.
After pulling the handle, it failed to release. I then grabbed the bone and pulled; it still wouldn’t release. I continued to try by manually pulling the loop out of the hinge, and still had no success. My last desperate attempt was to physically pull on the hinge and unlock it. As you may have guessed, the helmet stayed firmly on my head. I was only able to remove my Bonehead FTP by using the standard method.
The thought that went through my head at this point was not a good one- Hey asshole… even pulling at 4K, you would be a grease spot by now if you had to get rid of a fouled helmet.
you would be a grease spot by now if you had to get rid of a fouled helmet
So now what? Do I need to look at another helmet too? Do you realize how much time, effort, and money I have invested in my beloved FTP!?!? Does any of that matter if your beloved might kill you? Fuck. Now what?
##Back to Bonehead
I was planning on sending my FTP back to Bonehead at the end of the season anyway to have them refurbish the helmet. They recommend having the buckles/brackets/liners replaced every three years, and I was due. Part of that conversation with them included the talk about the earful I got at Nationals, and my failed tests. They understood there was a problem and seemed somewhat perplexed as to how to fix it.
##Impressed
At first this concerned me, but what happened next impressed me. Not only were they open about there being a problem and not having a fix yet, they had a timeline for resolving the problem, and they engaged me for my help and feedback. They asked me if I would be interested in videoing the test of the failure and reporting any additional findings. Over the next few months they sent me possible fixes to test out, and we tried different hardware configurations. I made the videos and sent them privately for them to review.
##New Design
A few weeks ago they sent me their new hinge design to test and evaluate. The hinge seemed to be designed with some longer and smoother lines that would help prevent the cross bar from jamming or hanging up. I installed it on my helmet and fired up the GoPro to test it out. I am very happy to report that after installing and adjusting the prototype new hinge, it worked like a charm. Just as you would expect for a cutaway, I pulled the handle and the helmet left instantly.
##Go Public
I was happy to send that video to Bonehead, and also happy to hear that they supported the idea of making the failure and fix footage public for you guys to see.
Below is an edited video with footage from several of the tests.
If you would like the new hinge, anyone who bought their helmet after 1st Jan 2012 will get the new hinge free (with proof of purchase) and only pay shipping (it’s small enough to ship US mail). Otherwise the cost of the new-style hinge will be $50.
Bonehead FTP cutaway failure and fix… as tested by Zach Lewis
