Review: TMC Airframe Helmet

[Killcore]

Yeah for late Christmas presents!

Canada Post was nice enough to drop this off at my door early this morning so I'm now going to give a short review on overall quality of the helmet.

First thing you'll notice that the packaging is very simple. Just a bubble bag with some information on the helmet you purchased. In this case I have a tan AF helmet.



Now, here's a nice touch. Apparently you can get a large/XL helmet too! For me that's the first I've seen for helmets. Especially since I have a large noggin and this AF Helmet just doesn't fit at all. Now if one can only find TMC website and directly order a XL helmet that would be awesome.



On a quick inspection everything on the helmet looks complete without any manufacturing errors.





But taking a closer look on my helmet you can see there's some spur marks when the helmet came out of the mold.



Looking at the back of my AF helmet you can also see another manufacturing blemish on the right hand side of the image. It looks like a crack or a dent in the helmet but really it's just the nylon material having a discoloration at that point.



The inner of the helmet is what you expect. Some cheap pads with some really stick tape attached to it. It also comes with a second set of pads if you want to add more or change it out. A warning on the velco sticky tape. Once you put them on the helmet it's pretty hard to take them off without tearing the glue off the velcro. So decide carefully where you want those pads.

The chin strap is your regular chin strap. Nothing really special there.





Overall, I give the helmet 7/10. It's a nice helmet. Sadly it does not fit on my head and the manufacturing blemishes are distracting. A light dusting of kyron paint would most like fix up those visual issues. But I'll leave that to someone else to do.

[Conker]

Standard chinstrap? That's a replica of the OPS-Core H-Nape. Much better than the average fakemich chinstrap!

[ILLusion]

Now when is a repro Crye multicam mesh cover coming out for it?

Dammit, I'm still waiting for mine to clear customs...

[oniwagamaru]

I picked this bad boy up today in the orderly room and I was fairly surprised how small this was. This will definitely not fit you if you have a huge nogan. The molding on mine is definitely noticeable. Oh well its gonna get scratched up or covered anyway. It is fairly surprising how light it is compared to say even a repro mich helmet! It really does not sit high on the head unlike the other helmets so a smaller profile? Also, like what the guy posted above, the straps are too damn short! I was able to make mine work... thank god for a smaller head, but damn this thing is almost borderline uncomfortable. Overall for the price I got it for, I would definitely recommend it but make sure you specify you want the bigger one cuz this thing is damn small.

[Zeonprime]

Ok, I've had my helmet a week now, some additional info for you folks.

Intial impressions:
1. The padding and the adhesive velcro.
My advice is to replace it! My replica MICH has better padding and adhesive. What TMC put in this helmet is horrible. The padding and several of the adhesives keep falling out of the helmet when not in use.

2. The rail system.
I own several real ops-core mounts and replica mounts. None of which secure properly to this rail system. The main channel is too deep for the mounts which leaves them to loose to lock in place (Shimming it doesnt work as it then doesnt allow the mount tabs to secure in their notches on the rail system.). Now since I am too cheap to source and ship real CP rail system for a $50 helmet I'm looking at other options to secure the two accessories I would be running on the helmet (likely a screw/bolt system).

3. The straps.
They feel like asian sizing (no surprise there) and I have had to fiddle with them and get them extended out as much as possible to make it fit my head.


Next up:
Seeing how the helmet works after getting a AI Impact nade bounced off of my head while wearing the helmet.

Intial Summary:
For my intended use of this helmet, it will be suffecient after I complete the modifications to it, and for $50 bucks an acceptable expense. I wanted something low profile, light weight and relatively stable for CQB which this appears to be provide. However if you are a more physically demanding player I'd recommend spending the money on some of the OPS-core (or replica ops-core) products as replacing key parts will be much easier to source for the required items.

[Kwokwai]

I just got mine in the mail yesterday and concur with oniwagamaru on the sizing. Thank goodness I've got a small noggin. One note I have to say is I really dislike the pads that came with them. The covering is ripping off the closed cell foam pads from just removing once to reposition them. I wish they had duplicated the one that I saw a mm's site with two large (for front and back) instead of only one large page and the rest small. Have to give props on the adhesive velcro dots though. They seem to be of good quality and will adhere well to the helmet interior.

Note that the bungees are a bit on the long side so you may not be able to hook them to the sides like pictured in mm without them falling off easily.

One other note on the rail system. If you purchased the clone rail mount adaptors you'll probably find them loose on the rails. Not sure what the best solution is yet on how to make them more solid or if the real ones are any better. Might be just the clone rail on the helmet is crappy. Somebody else would have to provide the comparison on that.

[Zeonprime]

Originally Posted by Kwokwai

One other note on the rail system. If you purchased the clone rail mount adaptors you'll probably find them loose on the rails. Not sure what the best solution is yet on how to make them more solid or if the real ones are any better. Might be just the clone rail on the helmet is crappy. Somebody else would have to provide the comparison on that.

The opscore mounts are loose too.

I tried shimming the sides of one of my mounts last night that seemed to help alot, however what that effectively does is have me designate mounts for the AF helmet only, since the shimming prevents me from putting them on my other helmet's rails

[ILLusion]

I just got my helmet, and despite having a Chinaman noggin, the straps are still insanely short for my melon - even when maxed out in length. Perhaps if I wore this without any of the padding inside, then the straps *might* be long enough.

Disappointed in the rails as well. The colour doesn't match, and the accessories that slot inside don't lock securely (as noted by Zeon above). However, Wingloc attachments seem to lock fine.

Even more disappointed is the padding. The adhesive was so poor, that when I'd opened the envelope, all of the padding had fallen off the inside of the helmet, and the adhesive side of all the velcro was stuck to all of the bubble wrap of the envelope. When I tried pulling the pads off the bubble wrap, all that did was tear the bubble wrap, leaving a permanent layer of bubble wrap plastic stuck on to the (now useless) adhesive.

My $55 OPS Core Carbon replica by Emerson was infinitely better than this TMC replica. (and packaged better, too.)

At best, the $50 is simply for the shape of the shell, as you'd be looking to replace every single component here to make it usable.

- ARC Rails
- Retention strap
- Inner padding
- NVG mount

In all honesty, I did not have high expectations for this helmet. In fact, I had low expectations, so saying I was "disappointed" in any of the above regards was an overstatement - as I was already expecting these components to be crap.

Did I get what I paid for? Yep. Did I get what I'd expected? Yep.

Personally, I find these things to be such an annoyance, that I would have preferred TMC to just have shipped the damn thing sans-padding, sans-straps, and sans-ARC rails to save me a few extra bucks, since all of these parts are going to end up in the trash anyhow.

[Kwokwai]

Originally Posted by ILLusion

I just got my helmet, and despite having a Chinaman noggin, the straps are still insanely short for my melon - even when maxed out in length. Perhaps if I wore this without any of the padding inside, then the straps *might* be long enough.

I'm lucky in this that it barely just fit but there's absolutely no room for adjustment.

Originally Posted by ILLusion

Even more disappointed is the padding. The adhesive was so poor, that when I'd opened the envelope, all of the padding had fallen off the inside of the helmet, and the adhesive side of all the velcro was stuck to all of the bubble wrap of the envelope. When I tried pulling the pads off the bubble wrap, all that did was tear the bubble wrap, leaving a permanent layer of bubble wrap plastic stuck on to the (now useless) adhesive.

I found the same thing with mine; 4 of the pads were loose inside the bag. But once I firmly placed the velcro dots they stuck very firmly. I think the guys doing the assembly just "slapped" them with the velcro pre-positioned on the pads so they didn't adhere properly to the helmet. The pads themselves were absolute crap though.

[Zeonprime]

Originally Posted by ILLusion

I just got my helmet, and despite having a Chinaman noggin, the straps are still insanely short for my melon - even when maxed out in length. Perhaps if I wore this without any of the padding inside, then the straps *might* be long enough.

Disappointed in the rails as well. The colour doesn't match, and the accessories that slot inside don't lock securely (as noted by Zeon above). However, Wingloc attachments seem to lock fine.

Even more disappointed is the padding. The adhesive was so poor, that when I'd opened the envelope, all of the padding had fallen off the inside of the helmet, and the adhesive side of all the velcro was stuck to all of the bubble wrap of the envelope. When I tried pulling the pads off the bubble wrap, all that did was tear the bubble wrap, leaving a permanent layer of bubble wrap plastic stuck on to the (now useless) adhesive.

My $55 OPS Core Carbon replica by Emerson was infinitely better than this TMC replica. (and packaged better, too.)

At best, the $50 is simply for the shape of the shell, as you'd be looking to replace every single component here to make it usable.

- ARC Rails
- Retention strap
- Inner padding
- NVG mount

In all honesty, I did not have high expectations for this helmet. In fact, I had low expectations, so saying I was "disappointed" in any of the above regards was an overstatement - as I was already expecting these components to be crap.

Did I get what I paid for? Yep. Did I get what I'd expected? Yep.

Personally, I find these things to be such an annoyance, that I would have preferred TMC to just have shipped the damn thing sans-padding, sans-straps, and sans-ARC rails to save me a few extra bucks, since all of these parts are going to end up in the trash anyhow.

Hey Brian, With the straps I found that the retention points connecting them in the back of the helmet were turned inwards, I rotated them down and outwards to give me an extra half inch of strap on both sides. downfall to this manauver is that they tighten up the nape pad.

I'm looking to see if the opscore helmet system we see in the Bump, etc. helmets that are sold seperately will fit in the AF. If so I'll likely replace the padding and straps with that system (if anyone knows if that system WILL work let us know!).

[ILLusion]

Originally Posted by Zeonprime

Hey Brian, With the straps I found that the retention points connecting them in the back of the helmet were turned inwards, I rotated them down and outwards to give me an extra half inch of strap on both sides. downfall to this manauver is that they tighten up the nape pad.

I noticed this right away as well, and did the same thing. While I could finally get the buckle closed like this, the chin strap was still longer on one side than the other, thus, it was half way up one cheek. Also, the forward straps had more slack than the rear straps, so I basically looked like a complete goof wearing it like this.

Originally Posted by Zeonprime

I'm looking to see if the opscore helmet system we see in the Bump, etc. helmets that are sold seperately will fit in the AF. If so I'll likely replace the padding and straps with that system (if anyone knows if that system WILL work let us know!).

You're talking about with the OCC Dial?

I have one here that I can try transplanting in to this AF clone. But personally, I like the H-Nape better. It feels more sturdy.

[Zeonprime]

Originally Posted by ILLusion

I noticed this right away as well, and did the same thing. While I could finally get the buckle closed like this, the chin strap was still longer on one side than the other, thus, it was half way up one cheek. Also, the forward straps had more slack than the rear straps, so I basically looked like a complete goof wearing it like this.

Sounds like the old IBH straps eh?

Originally Posted by ILLusion

You're talking about with the OCC Dial?

Yup

Originally Posted by ILLusion

I have one here that I can try transplanting in to this AF clone. But personally, I like the H-Nape better. It feels more sturdy.

If you try it let me know, since I have both pads and strap issues, it's a $30 solution versus $140 of new pads and new straps.

[Karma_]

Originally Posted by ILLusion

- ARC Rails
- Retention strap
- Inner padding
- NVG mount

This is what I'm going to do. It might be a really bad idea but I'll be the test dummy. I drilled some different holes to lengthen it about 3/8" and it fills nicely now. I like it since it'll be different now that everyone will be getting the Ops-Core replica's. I sold my real Base Jump to go this route and hopefully it works out.

The strap it came with is awful and crooked, the rails do suck, but I haven't minded the padding. What's the better route to go for padding?

[ILLusion]

Unsure about the padding, but I'll probably look in to the pad kits that OPS Core sells. They come in a pack of various sizes, so I'm sure some combination of all that will get this AirFrame clone to fit somewhat well.

Rails:
http://www.levelpeaks.com/store#ecwi...roduct=2876596

Head-Loc H-Nape:
http://www.levelpeaks.com/store#ecwi...roduct=2837164

Helmet Cover:
http://www.levelpeaks.com/store#ecwi...roduct=7258843

[Karma_]

I'm gonna get it from Crye directly. There's a couple other items I want from them.

My hesitation with Ops-Core pads would be the hard foam. That will affect the sizing for me, making it too tight I think.