Petzl is good. I use an Ecrin Roc. First choice of most Mountain Rescue Teams in the U.K. Cheap is bad. Any high end climbing helmet should serve you very well. Pick the one that is the most comforable. Don't use an industrial hard hat. A chap in the U.K. did. Fell off the cliff whilst climbing. First impact seperated him from his helmet. Second impact killed him. He had a chin strap on the helmet. Problem is that the chin strap on an industrial helmet is designed to seperate if the helmet is struck from certain directions. This is designed to prevent strangulation or a broken neck. Worked exactly as advertised. With fatal results.

A reasonable question: what purpose?
General purpose, mostly outdoor recreation.
I do not want to buy a HardHat for each
purpose.
Specific activities: hiking on steep rocky slopes,
recreational logging, mtn biking, long distance
car driving, working on my house,
general hiking = trolling for cougars.
Winter and summer use.

Do not need ANSI, OSHA or other certification;
these are a plus. I really do not know where ( if)
these rules are enforced.

Thanks. I'm also considering a bug out (and recreational) mountain bike so I'll have to get a good helmet anyway.

Frankie

Hike4Fun,
For your purposes a Petzl Ecrin or similar helmet would be a cood choice. Pro-Tec makes some decent helmets that may suit your purposes better. They are less expensive but can be warmer then the Ecrin.

Pro-tec also makes some helmets that are suitable for cycling but can be sucsessfully used for other purposes as well.

There really isn't a single helmet that does all. The Petzl Ecrin fills many hiking, prepardness and rescue needs, but not all.

Just came across this while doing some shopping, sounds like it fits the needs, except on price. It's certified for multi-sports use, whatever that means.

http://www.rei.com/online/store/ProductD...gory_rn=4500752

My next helmet is definitly going to have the clips for attaching a headlamp, I just can't figure out how to keep it in place without modifying the helmet in some way.

The best helmet is the one you will wear. It needs to be light and comfortable. Most people don't like to wear a helmet, me included but when you spend enough time outdoors & in the woods you start seeing weird things, like falling branches ... I work construction so I like a standard hard hat for most outdoors applications. The ones with a brim offer additional protection from rain & sun, I pin a bandana in the back to protect my neck from the sun, it really makes a difference ...



A visor can be attached for serious brush busting or when using a chain saw, axe etc ...


and for cold weather you can attach a liner :



You can get more ideas here: CFE These types of helmets are inexpensive so you can keep one at home, in the garage, in the car etc ... They are used by SAR, lumberjacks, construction etc... And they come in a bunch of cool colors !!! <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />