Anyone have issues with darker colored climbing helmets absorbing heat in summer, etc.?

It really is a non issue, however when inexperienced/first day peoples are ground crew the color helps - it is certainly not counting crew either - but have enough people try to clean up when the saw sound stops to like having some color on them, I have missed noticing people wearing olive green clothing, luckily no one was hurt...

And these aren’t rules (except for the one about actually wearing a helmet)....
 
Dang, now I want to do an experiment on a sunny day. Put my black and white helmets over bowls of water or something for an hour on a sunny day. Then check the water temperatures. No doubt the exterior of a dark helmet gets hotter. I just wonder how much of that heat is actually transferred to the inside. To be more scientific, the "head" would need to more closely approximate a human (heat input, sweating, etc.), would need tests at different wind speeds, etc., but I'm not *that* curious.
 
A number of years ago I read an article that was written about an experiment that a NASCAR crew did with under-hood temperatures. There was a belief that since the inside of the engine compartment was out of the sun color made no difference.

They setup three cars the same way. One was a black engine compartment, one white and one checkerboard. The three cars were run on a test track...not in a race, so that conditions were the same.

Result...checkerboard was the best solution. White did keep the compartment cooler but they thought it was just a bit too much.

Digital thermometers are so cheap now that this would be a pretty easy expirement to run for helmets
 
climbingmonkey24 said:
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I know it’s true because it is why I bought the black helmet I have now. I also know companies that earn high 6 figs that shop sales. I even once worked at a large outfit that had harnesses that looked like they were used to clean up oil spills. Never inderestimate the power of a sale price...
 
Tom Dunlap said:
A number of years ago I read an article that was written about an experiment that a NASCAR crew did with under-hood temperatures. There was a belief that since the inside of the engine compartment was out of the sun color made no difference.

They setup three cars the same way. One was a black engine compartment, one white and one checkerboard. The three cars were run on a test track...not in a race, so that conditions were the same.

Result...checkerboard was the best solution. White did keep the compartment cooler but they thought it was just a bit too much.

Digital thermometers are so cheap now that this would be a pretty easy expirement to run for helmets
Click to expand...
Sounds like white was the best solution, they just didn't like all white! I wonder how a high heat output, high air velocity test like that compares with the milder conditions with a helmet. Enquiring minds want to know.
 
Dan Cobb said:
Sounds like white was the best solution, they just didn't like all white! I wonder how a high heat output, high air velocity test like that compares with the milder conditions with a helmet. Enquiring minds want to know.
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Other factors may be at play. Having worked in a service environment the color black reveals oil leaks whilst the color white does not...
 
I got the impression that the point of the test was to determine the best color for minimizing engine bay temps, not to determine the best color overall for real world conditions. Maybe I'm wrong.
 
Dan Cobb said:
Dang, now I want to do an experiment on a sunny day. Put my black and white helmets over bowls of water or something for an hour on a sunny day. Then check the water temperatures. No doubt the exterior of a dark helmet gets hotter. I just wonder how much of that heat is actually transferred to the inside. To be more scientific, the "head" would need to more closely approximate a human (heat input, sweating, etc.), would need tests at different wind speeds, etc., but I'm not *that* curious.
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Dan, my little test was much less complicated. I had a black Kask Zenith and a red Petzl Vertex. Both class E. (No vents). I put them side by side right side up on my tailgate atlich on a sunny day. Temps was low to mid 80’s. After lunch was done I put my hand inside each. The black one was noticeably hotter.

I just replace the black Kask with a white one.

Tony
 
Dan Cobb said:
I got the impression that the point of the test was to determine the best color for minimizing engine bay temps, not to determine the best color overall for real world conditions. Maybe I'm wrong.
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Just suggesting there may have been other filters on the final outcome of the report...
 
Dan Cobb said:
Dang, now I want to do an experiment on a sunny day. Put my black and white helmets over bowls of water or something for an hour on a sunny day. Then check the water temperatures. No doubt the exterior of a dark helmet gets hotter. I just wonder how much of that heat is actually transferred to the inside. To be more scientific, the "head" would need to more closely approximate a human (heat input, sweating, etc.), would need tests at different wind speeds, etc., but I'm not *that* curious.
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I like this idea. I think put a basketball or volleyball under the helmet, something that would make contact with the underside of the helmet. Then just feel the surface with your hands side by side after a couple hours in the sun. You would need two basketballs, two helmets. I do not have these things.
 
There are non contact thermometers for around $6. Put stakes in the ground. Helmets on top. Leave in the sun for a half hour and take inner and outer temps. I think this would be accurate enough to compare.

It's evident that the darker colors will be hotter inside. But...how much?
 
climbingmonkey24 said:
Currently I have a Kask Super Plasma helmet, color white. I'm considering getting a new one, maybe color black. I've pretty much always had lighter colored helmets. First one was blue, second one was orange, and now I have the white Kask. Anyone ever have issues with a darker color helmet becoming too hot, etc. especially during the warm months when the sun is strong?
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Yes. One of my old forestry buckets was dark blue and it got hotter than hell in the sun. Maybe the new materials aren't so bad, but I'm pretty sure color is still significant as it's absorbing the full spectrum and not reflecting much.
 
Tom Dunlap said:
A number of years ago I read an article that was written about an experiment that a NASCAR crew did with under-hood temperatures. There was a belief that since the inside of the engine compartment was out of the sun color made no difference.

They setup three cars the same way. One was a black engine compartment, one white and one checkerboard. The three cars were run on a test track...not in a race, so that conditions were the same.

Result...checkerboard was the best solution. White did keep the compartment cooler but they thought it was just a bit too much.

Digital thermometers are so cheap now that this would be a pretty easy expirement to run for helmets
Click to expand...
Great info! Thank you
 
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