Best Caving Helmet (2021 Buyers Guide)
Are you planning for a venturesome journey to the sky-high mountains, upheaval terrains, and to some of the gloomiest caves? It can be a truly daunting task considering the hazards and risks involved. But with the right safety equipment, you can enjoy every bit of journey with proper safety.
No one wants to deal with a head injury right in the middle of an exhilarating adventure. That’s why I wrote this list of the best caving helmets, which will save your day and your head too.
Tontron Adult Hiking Climbing Caving Work Helmet
Tontron Caving Helmet comes with a blend of safety, comfort, and durability. The outer shell comes with the high-density ABS, which is backed by an EPS impact foam to provide gentle but enhanced protection from the inside. This fusion of this premier quality material empowers the helmet to meet CE EN12492 climbing helmet safety certification.
The sleek design isn’t meant for the mere purpose of attractive beauty. Instead, it is crafted to provide immense comfort and uncompromised safety. You will find a six-hole ventilation system, which enables proper breathing and helps you get rid of a sweat-soaked head after the caving experience. These vents also prevent small falling stones from hitting your forehead.
Caves can grow pitch dark, and surviving without a light isn’t a great idea. The headlamp buckles are compatible with the universal headlamp setting. Tontron Caving helmets are light weighted and are available in all sizes ranging from 49-60 cm. The straps are adjustable you can revamp straps to fit nice and snug.
With all these safety and comfort features, Tontron can compete with any Caving Helmet priced twice high. This helmet is going to last years you won’t need to buy a new one any soon.
Black Diamond Half Dome Climbing Helmet
With a Black Diamond Half Dome Climbing Helmet on the checklist, you are out of harm's way, and good to go. It comes with a hybrid design incorporated with modeled EPS form. Low-profile polycarbonate shell makes it as light weighed as a feather, the review says you can hardly feel something is on your head. Isn't it just great keep a lightweight head while caving! The redesigned and upgraded version features a low profile suspension system for an easy but protected head. It has a streamlined shape with a lot of ventilation, which keeps the air running through the helmet. The clips are available so you can buckle up a headlamp to find your way through the dimmest of the caves.
The straps are attached for easy adjustments, which can be handled with a single hand. The chin strap provides the helmet stronger hold over your head. No one wants a spelunking helmet hanging loosely on their head.
Customers love the half-dome shape for its comfortability, lightweight, and premium quality protection. Though large-headed people might not find a perfect fit for them, but if you find one, it’s going to last pretty long. Don’t be shy trying your luck, and get your hands on this astounding and feature-full cave helmet.
PETZL Alveo Vent Helmet
Are you looking for a helmet that offers you heavy-duty protection, homely comfortability, and attractive design? Well! You need to bring a smiling face on, PETZL Alveo Vent Helmet has got all the features covered. It does not matter if your destination is a rocky hill station, an intensely dark cave, or it’s a steep climb you look to take on, this helmet is an all-rounder. It is has a lightweight design with lots of vents to provide effective ventilation. The inner is a foam padding, which gives it a tall appearance, but it is very comfortable from the inside.
PETZL Alveo Vent surpasses the CE EN 397/12492, ANSI Z89.1-2009 certifications, and ranks as Type 1, Class C, and UIAAA.
It will stay firmly on your head even if you go jumping. The chin strap, which is more than 50 daN, will hold the helmet tightly in case of any unfortunate falls. Reviews say no movements what so ever while working, climbing, and caving.
It features a center-fit adjustment system, which fits comfortably and stays right at the center. The extra padding allows the user an optimum adjustment to their liking.
Any sorts of headlamps, protective shielding, and hearing protection can be attached and adjusted accordingly.
PETZL - Vertex Vent Hi-Viz, Yellow
This PETZL-Vertex Vent Hi-Viz is one of the most comfortable helmets that come with a six-point textile suspension to super-fit all sizes, and the inner comfort foams are interchangeable. It also has a center-fit, which can be adjusted by a two-wheel adjustment system. So, the helmet will stay pointed to the middle of your head. As an added feature, PETZL offers a fit and flip mechanism. Fit and flip integrate stability as now the headband can be adjusted to a low position too. Carrying your helmets can be a pain sometimes with some of the bulkier options, but this feature-full helmet folds into a shell for easy transport between caving adventures.
When it comes to protection, PETZL uses ABS, nylon, polycarbonates, and high strength polyester to make the toughest shells you will find around. With these materials used, the build quality certifies CE, EN 397, EN 12492, ANSI Z89.1, and it’s a Type I Class C, EAC. It has shock absorption abilities through the deformation of the outer shell.
The controllable ten-hole ventilation system is the most talked feature of PETZL Vertex Vent Hi-Viz. Now you have sliding shutters that can be closed on rainy days.
A lot of protective accessories can be attached to enhance the protection as per your requirements. Easy clips are attached on the sides, which can hold eye shields, and headlamps with mounts or elastic headbands can be installed for lighting purposes. The nape protector will keep you protected from rain and sunlight.
Another interesting specification is the protective coating, which makes the helmet splash and dirt resistant. This PETZL helmet will not go rough even after a bumpy hike.
What we looked at
Material
When choosing the Best Caving Helmet, the first thing we want to assure is that it meets safety standards. The standards set by CE and UIAA are considered trustworthy in grading different helmets. No one wants to glorify the added features and sleekest designs until a caving helmet provides reliable protection. In the end, the supreme goal is to keep your heads safe from any uncertain accidents.
Where it is significant that the material of the helmet should be strong enough to withstand reasonable rock falls, on the other hand, it needs to have shock-absorbing abilities too. These Best Caving Helmets pass many lab tests. During these tests, artificial rock drop scenarios take place, and it is confirmed that the helmet is capable enough.
These caving helmets have a finished protective coating that makes the helmet waterproof and splash resistant. The protective coating will determine the life and durability of the product. If the layers wear away, the water and dirt will make the shell material brittle, increasing the chances of breakage. We recommend Caving Helmets that use certified material for the outer shell and a quality protective coating.
Comfort
Comfortability is the second most significant point on the checklist of Best Caving Helmets. Caving adventures can prolong up to a couple of days or weeks even. During these adventures, helmets are the gear that stays on you all the time. You can find yourself in intense difficulty if you bought an uncomfortable helmet.
Discomfort can be due to several factors; wrongly picked size, nonadjustable headbands, loose chin-straps, heavyweight, and ineffective vent holes are some key aspects.
Many spelunking helmets come in a universal size, which may or may not fit your head. Especially, if your head size is towards the larger side than its more likely that you won’t find a suitable fitting. It is recommended to buy helmets that offer adjustable strap and headbands so that you can mold the helmet to your head size and shape.
Chinstraps and elastic bands offer helmets firm grip over your heads. This is very crucial as a loosely hanging helmet can fall off during climb and hikes.
You definitely don’t want to go bareheaded while you’re caving, and you have a wide option of helmets to choose from to pick one that you’ll actually want to wear.
Headlamp Mount
Your caving gear is incomplete without a flashlight included, and it’s pretty obvious that you need both hands to climb a hill or move through the cave. So you need a flashlight to be fitted in the helmet, and this can only be possible if the helmet has an external clip to attach the light.
Headlamp mounts are present in most, but not all Caving Helmets.
Value
There is no doubt that head protection is immensely paramount and that you should spend well while buying your cave gear. The key here is to spend well but wisely.
You should not be spending 100’s of dollars to buy the best helmet around. We rank and grade our list of best caving helmet by looking deeply into its value for features. It should not be the case that after spending 150 dollars, you end up buying a useless helmet. Instead, a Caving Helmet might cost 100 dollars, but these dollars should be worth it in terms of the specification, added protection, or comfort it provides.
It can’t be the best until it is price effective.
Caving, climbing, and hiking all seem to be dangerous and risky tasks. The pleasure and joy of these daring adventures can be enhanced or ruined depending solely upon the gear you choose to take with you. These picks will provide you extreme protection, feel of a 5-star comfortability, and value for price so that you can enjoy most from the exhilarating experiences in the cave.