Be sure to follow the manufactures recommendations on set-up to get the best protection and fit. Normally a high-cut style helmet from a good manufacturer will already include their top tier suspension and pad systems, but if they don't you can revert to the same guides above to improve them. That's why it's essential to add a little comfort to your headgear if you can deal with the extra weight, especially for cushioning. If you're a soldier, you already know the demands of wearing your helmet for extended periods. For more options on a better harness system, explore our guide. Most helmets contain an H-Harness system suitable for light-duty use, but it can quickly become ineffective when adding extra accessories or equipment.
It often takes a little maneuvering to get a suitable setup. Pads: Most issued ballistic helmets will have a five- or seven-pad system.However, we have a few experienced infantrymen at Hard Head Veterans to walk you through the process.Īs part of your ACH setup, your helmet will need a few essential elements: When considering all the standard operating procedures involved with the military, it's hard to believe there are no hard and fast rules for an ACH setup. One of a soldier's most fundamental tasks is setting up his advanced combat helmet (ACH). We have an awesome guide here on some of those options as well.
If you need to use full comms headsets with your helmet and are not issued a high-cut type helmet, we would highly suggest an aftermarket option. This is where you need to ask yourself, what do I need? Do you need the ability to mount a light on your helmet? Are you wearing the helmet for extended periods? Is most of the use with the helmet happening at night with NVGs? Do I need to use communications headsets in conjunction with my helmet?Īn issued helmet can be upgraded to accommodate the majority of these needs and we will cover that, but you may be into it cost wise about the same as an aftermarket helmet at that point depending on accessory choices. This means you have the bare basics in pads, chin-strap, and a night vision shroud. The majority of you are working with an issued ballistic helmet that typically falls under the ACH/ECH or MICH category.
How to set up your combat helmet isn't always covered in boot camp and unless your unit has specific SOP's you might be on your own there as well! We are fortunate enough to have several members of our team with extensive Special Operations experience who help put this helmet set up guide together! As with any gear, set up will be user-specific, but we will cover common set-ups for the basic "grunt" up to "I have way too much stuff on my ballistic helmet!"įirst rule:Always look cool! While most books, shows, and videos about the community make most of us cringe the CBS show SEAL Team must have had a little help as the helmets are mostly set-up as they would be in combat in the teams.