Are you thinking about buying 3M hard hat attachment style headsets like the Litecom, but aren’t sure which type of hard hat to use? Helmet-mounted hearing protection headsets let you wear both a headset and hard hat simultaneously.
There are two different types of hard hats that work the best and are recommended by 3M. This post will walk you through the different types of helmets and discuss which ones work best and the one type you’ll want to stay away from.
Bonus: We’ll show you how to switch your Litecom hard hat attachment headset to a headband headset with a simple fix!
What's Covered
- Importance of Hard Hats
- Which styles are compatible?
- Cap Style
- Climbing Style
- What's not compatible?
- Full brim style
- Switch hard hat attachment headset to a headband headset
Importance of Hard Hats
Hard Hats are important because they protect your head from, impact, falling/flying debris, objects, burns, and electrical shock. They’re so important that OSHA requires hard hat use for employees working in areas where exposure to head injuries can occur.
When buying hard hats make sure they are OSHA compliant and incorporate standards from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
Read about OSHA’s 1926.100 Head Protection Standard
What Styles Are Compatible?
Here are the two hard hat styles that fit with the hard hat attachment headsets.
Cap Hard Hat Style
Cap hard hats or standard hard hats work great with hard hat attachment headsets. This style of hard hat has a small front brim similar to a baseball cap. You’ll see these mostly worn on construction sites or industrial settings. These are typically inexpensive and versatile for a wide variety of wearers.
This cap hard hat will typically have a four-point suspension system with a dial to adjust to the diameter of your head.
Climbing Helmet Style
The climbing style hard hat is another option 3M recommends when wearing a hard hat attachment headset. Don’t let the name fool you. Although these are often worn by pole climbers you don’t have to be climbing to wear these.
The climbing style has chin straps to stay secure on your head when moving around in odd positions or on a windy day. If you fall or have a large impact, climbing-style hard hats won’t fall off.
Premium climbing hard hats have more adjustments for a better fit, are more comfortable for long shifts and have better air circulation on hot days than low-end standard climbing hard hats.
What Won't Work?
Full-brim hard hats are ones whose brim goes around the entire hard hat, almost like a cowboy hat. A full-brim hard hat WILL NOT work with 3M hard hat attachment headsets. This is because the brim obstructs the attachments on the side, meaning the earmuffs won't cover/reach your ears.
People like wearing this style of headset because it offers protection from the sun giving you more shade but it's not recommended for hard hat attachment headsets.
Switching from a Hard Hat Attachment Headset to a Headband
You’ll notice with 3M hard hat attachment headsets; they don’t include an over-the-head headband. Luckily, there is a way to change from a hard hat attachment headset to a headband headset, without purchasing a new headset.
This is good for users who want to use their headsets for communication and hearing protection purposes with or without their hard hats.
The only way to do this is by purchasing a replacement band. These go for around $75.
What you'll need.
- 3M Replacement Rubber Headset Assembly – FB-F-US-R,
How we can help
We at First Source Wireless can help find the right headset that meets your team's needs. 3M offers a variety of headsets perfect for construction, industrial, airlines, and more. Talk with our experienced sales team today for more information.
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