Kratos Chaziyz
Member
Before the tut, a little background on where this method came from. My dad is an Aviator for the Marine Corps, and he has several funky little tricks that you would NEVER think the military would use! Like this for instance, the Marines and Navy use two types of padding in their FLIGHT helmets (important), and he passed his preferred method down to me. First, the method he......doesnt prefer, is taking expanding foam, spraying it thickly on the inside of the helmet, and laying plastic over the top. Now the issues with that are you have to WEAR the helmet for an hour after the foam is inserted and pray to GOD that it doesnt break through the plastic and bond to your ever sensitive skull.
This next method, is the one my Dad prefers. This involves taking bubble wrap (you heard me) and making bundles with tape. I have tried this method, and it will only work IF you have a visor for you helmet that is ONE WAY, otherwise you can see it through the front of the helmet and look at the bubble wrap, I dont have a visor, but anyways......
In these next two pics, there are two spots that need padding. the spot near the jaw, the other is the top of the helmet, I.E. that spot on the back of neck is NOT getting done, it fits fine without.
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm294/C...ddingTut001.jpg
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm294/C...ddingTut002.jpg
First to make the top of the helmet, you take a your helmet, lay it with the neck opening UP, and lay the bubble wrap over it bubbles DOWN then use a marker to do the outline, like so:
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm294/C...ddingTut003.jpg
At this point you should get clear tape, I chose clear 'cuz I can tell how the bubbles are doing inside, if they bust. Next, you take a long strip of tape, probably a foot or so, and lay it in on itself so it acts as dual sided tape. now you should have a strip of dual sided tape about 5-6 inches long, set it aside as you cut along the outline you drew on the bubble wrap. Cut the piece out, and lay on strip in a crossways angle along the bubbly side of the wrap, then do another piece of two sided tape and hit the OTHER angle, so it looks like and X. Lay this piece bubbles DOWN, obviously, on the top of the helmet. You now successfully have a lid pad that you can resize, remove, replace, and add padding to at your will.
Now, moving on to the side pieces. For this, you take the section you need a pad for, and make a mark as to how wide the bubble wrap need to be. like so:
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm294/C...ddingTut006.jpg
Next, use that mark to make a cut all the way down the bubble wrap sheet, so you have one long strip as wide as the area it will be applied to. After you have this strip, fold it up in either 4ths or 5ths. 4ths if you want a bigger piece with a little less padding, and 5ths if you want a skinnier piece thats a little thick, I went with 5ths. Next, take this piece folded up, and take a 3 inch piece of tape and seal it so that it won't unfold. Next, take the tape and wrap the bubble wrap top to bottom with tape, so it is essentially a small package of tape, looking somewhat like this:
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm294/C...ddingTut008.jpg
Next, make a piece of double sided tape that is the length of the bubble package, and stick it onto the backside. Fit the bubble package into the area it is to be applied to, and run tap along the outside to make it solid-ish with the pieces around it. After you do this all the way around, or until you have a helmet that sufficiently fits your head, it should resemble this:
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm294/C...ddingTut009.jpg
Congratz! you now have a helmet that is padded so as to: be adjusted as needed to fit tighter or looser to your head, be cheap and simple to apply, especially for growing skulls, and won't even require a second thought to be removed for a more permanent padding method. Thanks and I hope this Hobo padding method helps someone. I personally don't see the utter need for that Uber crash helmet padding some people put into their helmets, but to each his own I guess.
If you have any comments, possibly ideas to alter this method, or just criticism (constructive I hope
, please post them here or PM me.
SIDE NOTE! If you are using this method on a pep helmet with fiberglass on the inside, be careful for the sharp edges. To prevent poppage, you may need to do a little sanding.
God Bless!
-Chupa
This next method, is the one my Dad prefers. This involves taking bubble wrap (you heard me) and making bundles with tape. I have tried this method, and it will only work IF you have a visor for you helmet that is ONE WAY, otherwise you can see it through the front of the helmet and look at the bubble wrap, I dont have a visor, but anyways......
In these next two pics, there are two spots that need padding. the spot near the jaw, the other is the top of the helmet, I.E. that spot on the back of neck is NOT getting done, it fits fine without.
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm294/C...ddingTut001.jpg
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm294/C...ddingTut002.jpg
First to make the top of the helmet, you take a your helmet, lay it with the neck opening UP, and lay the bubble wrap over it bubbles DOWN then use a marker to do the outline, like so:
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm294/C...ddingTut003.jpg
At this point you should get clear tape, I chose clear 'cuz I can tell how the bubbles are doing inside, if they bust. Next, you take a long strip of tape, probably a foot or so, and lay it in on itself so it acts as dual sided tape. now you should have a strip of dual sided tape about 5-6 inches long, set it aside as you cut along the outline you drew on the bubble wrap. Cut the piece out, and lay on strip in a crossways angle along the bubbly side of the wrap, then do another piece of two sided tape and hit the OTHER angle, so it looks like and X. Lay this piece bubbles DOWN, obviously, on the top of the helmet. You now successfully have a lid pad that you can resize, remove, replace, and add padding to at your will.
Now, moving on to the side pieces. For this, you take the section you need a pad for, and make a mark as to how wide the bubble wrap need to be. like so:
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm294/C...ddingTut006.jpg
Next, use that mark to make a cut all the way down the bubble wrap sheet, so you have one long strip as wide as the area it will be applied to. After you have this strip, fold it up in either 4ths or 5ths. 4ths if you want a bigger piece with a little less padding, and 5ths if you want a skinnier piece thats a little thick, I went with 5ths. Next, take this piece folded up, and take a 3 inch piece of tape and seal it so that it won't unfold. Next, take the tape and wrap the bubble wrap top to bottom with tape, so it is essentially a small package of tape, looking somewhat like this:
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm294/C...ddingTut008.jpg
Next, make a piece of double sided tape that is the length of the bubble package, and stick it onto the backside. Fit the bubble package into the area it is to be applied to, and run tap along the outside to make it solid-ish with the pieces around it. After you do this all the way around, or until you have a helmet that sufficiently fits your head, it should resemble this:
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm294/C...ddingTut009.jpg
Congratz! you now have a helmet that is padded so as to: be adjusted as needed to fit tighter or looser to your head, be cheap and simple to apply, especially for growing skulls, and won't even require a second thought to be removed for a more permanent padding method. Thanks and I hope this Hobo padding method helps someone. I personally don't see the utter need for that Uber crash helmet padding some people put into their helmets, but to each his own I guess.
If you have any comments, possibly ideas to alter this method, or just criticism (constructive I hope
, please post them here or PM me.SIDE NOTE! If you are using this method on a pep helmet with fiberglass on the inside, be careful for the sharp edges. To prevent poppage, you may need to do a little sanding.
God Bless!
-Chupa
