FirstSpear Helmet Covers
http://www.first-spear.com/
I was excited to see that FirstSpear had created two different helmet covers for the crowd who own Ops-Core helmets. With the way those helmets are flying off the shelf people are grabbing whatever color they can find in stock. I managed to get a FAST Base Jump in Multicam before these covers were mentioned however I still wanted one. Early in my use of this helmet I was speared in the top of the head with a twig through on of the holes which wouldn’t happen with the cover. I also got the cover to help protect the helmet and for the better laid out Velcro surface. I have both versions of this cover so I will show lots of pictures of each as I go on.
Pro’s
-Fits on the helmet well (Hybrid fits tighter to the helmet)
-Easy to put on once you get all the Velcro unstuck from itself
-Stays put on the helmet
-Large and well thought out Velcro surfaces for mounting counterweights, patches, strobes etc
-Color matched Velcro is a nice touch
Con’s
-Price may be too high for some to justify
Overview
Having seen how badly my issue cover got beaten around when I was in the Army I was looking for a way to protect my new lid. At the time I got it there was no other cover and guys were modifying Crye Airframe covers to fit. I am no seamstress so that wasn’t up my alley. FirstSpear released these two covers and I figured I might pick up them and see how they worked out.
First thing I can say is the mounting method for these is a million times nicer then fighting cotton fabric and attempting to wedge plastic bits into the rim of the helmet. The stretch fabric of the cover allows it to go over the helmet and not require herculean strength to force it to cover everything. I got tired of seeing guys with the back of their helmet done and the plastic wedge in the front half hanging out because they couldn’t manage to get it in. Both covers use the three existing (two side and one rear) Velcro panels on the helmet. Then you stick four sticky Velcro patches to the inside of the helmet and pull the two straps at the front and two at the back and stick them to the Velcro circles. Total time to do this was less than five minutes and most of the was unstitching all the Velcro that managed to stick to itself. When both covers are on the Hybrid is tighter to the helmet while the regular one has some folds on the top due to being more stretchy.
The layout of the cover is fairly simple once it’s on the head. The NVG bracket in the front is enclosed by a pentagon shaped opening to not interfere with its use. The strip of fabric at the bottom of the bracket where the two retention hooks attach to the helmet is a reinforced material compared to the rest of the helmet. This helps so that if you have a mishap hooking it up and it catches the fabric it won’t rip a hole in it.
Other than protecting my helmet and stopping twigs from itching my scalp for me I got the cover for the useful Velcro layout. The area that normally has Velcro on the sides now extends to the top. The top section is made longer to allow a variety of strobes and lights to attach to it. I have a V-Lite on the top but a Manta or VIP would work great there. The rear of the helmet is also better allowing for the attachment of counterweights or strobes. I currently have a EOG weight in the back and a Pegasus with some Velcro tape on it mounted to the rear of the helmet. The size of the Velcro area allows for varying sizes and shapes of counterweights or even a battery if you are running an Anvis. The shape of the cover hugs the top of the accessory rail of the Ops-Core so that you are still able to mount lights, earpro, eyepro and Contours to it.
Conclusion
The only real difference between the two covers is that one has a mesh panel on the sides. I prefer the mesh look as it helps to further visually break up the look of your helmet.
The price of the cover may scare some people off after dropping the cash on the helmet however it’s there to keep it in good shape. Not only does it protect your helmet from all the hazards the helmet is protecting you from but it also improves the functionality of the helmet. You can pick these up for $70 USD from FirstSpear or any of their dealers. I should also mention that even though you select your helmet from the list and a size you will still get a generic one for the most part. Both of mine were labelled M-L and for the FAST. I ordered the Base Jump L-XL however these fit just fine. Now I just need the helmet hut they make so it can have a nice padded home for travel.
