N5A New Yorkers?

[explr985]

Does this helmet come with a impact cap and rachet system in it? I was looking on firestore.com today and I got confused (imagine that ) as to what comes on it. I MAY be getting one in natural so as I can paint it blue now, come time for black, just strip and paint again. Before I do anything I am going to be sure we can were leather, I think we can but not sure. Is there any real differance in the N5A and N6A?

[firefighterdfd7]

Yes they come with a ratchet and an impact cap.
the n5a is a new yorker the n6a is a sam houston they are different the pictures on fire store are not my friends just bought n6a's and they are a little taller and bubblier or rounder on your head.

[Adze39]

The main difference is in the impact cap of the two. The N6A meets the NFPA standards for head protection and the N5A does not. Both meet OSHA regulations.

You also have to look at the eye protection to see what is NFPA vs just OSHA compliant. If you have an N6A with bourkes, then it does not meet the NFPA requirements all around.

If you have to check to see if you can wear leather, make sure you see if your helmet has to be NFPA compliant, because that will rule out the N5A all together.

[UFDFF15]

The N6A has a extra layer in the impact cap for puncture protection

[Adze39]

Originally posted by UFDFF15
The N6A has a extra layer in the impact cap for puncture protection

Right, I believe it is Kevlar. It allows the N6A to pass a test of a metal spike dropping 8 feet onto the helmet. Supposedly, if you were ever to have a big metal spike drop 8 feet onto your head during a call, the N5A will be punctured.

One thing to point out on the dome of the N6A...the Sam Houstons have been standard issue in my FD since the early 90's. New Yorkers were issued before that. My old Sam Houston from the mid-90's was a heavy helmet. All the newer models were lighter. Also, as firefighterdfd7 the Sam Houston tends to have a bigger dome. I now have a New Yorker that was issued to me and we were comparing the dome to the Houstons. The difference between the domes varied from year to year. My New Yorker was purchased last year. A friend of mine just had a Sammy purchased and issued at the end of the summer. We put the helmets side-by-side to compare the domes and it actually looked like the new Sam Houston had a shorter dome than my year-old New Yorker. The reason the N6A has gotten lighter and smaller over the years is because they keep improving the impact cap.

[33motor]

We put the helmets side-by-side to compare the domes and it actually looked like the new Sam Houston had a shorter dome than my year-old New Yorker.

That's actually been my experience too. But, I have only been able to compare some newer helmets. Years ago I never really could tell if there was a size difference because I never had one of each to compare. A while back 2 details were at my station and 1 had a 5a and the other a 6a and we checked em and found that of those 2, the 6a had a lower crown.

[Adze39]

Really? I haven't had a brand new N5A to compare the new N6A to, but whenever we compared them in the past it always seemed like the N5A was lower. Sometimes it was obvious and other times it was close.

[33motor]

I should have mentioned that both helmets are fairly new. They were around a year old on both at the time we checked 'em, which was probably around a year ago or so.