hustlerlankan (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

i see you from girraween australia ? near parramatta?

p41b86Jpage (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

not all of them are leather.most are plastic. but real men were leather.haha. its tradition. even though plastics might be lighter. its leather forever.

crapper1 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

i thought they were made of plastics not leather that makes them even cooler

dokuza (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Since I can't edit posts:We're still preserving the tradition of making these to this day, the new machines do not work properly and/or take more time to process. MSA's goal is to produce quality helmets at an productive rate. The workers (Me) take great pride and honor in making these with our hands and frown upon machines that try to make our jobs easier.

dokuza (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

I'd have to agree, after working for MSA for over a year now and being trained on how to make leather fire helmets, I'd have to say MSA is really destroying the "traditional" way and processes how leather helmets are being made. They've tried introducing different machinery and apparatuses but nothing beats hundreds of years of tradition and experience. The plant that makes these now are at the Jacksonville, NC MSA.

jkman10 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

this ladies voice is really annoying. But thats cool, i didnt know they were made of leather.

helmets1 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

i agree with your comments entirely my friend. to a fire helmet collector as myself, visiting cairns in clifton was the holy grail. i corresponded with a lady who once worked there named terry huddak. we met on my visits and see passed on many front-pieces to me for my collection and some invaluable historic information.how much are you 'into' traditional u.s. fire helmets. are you with the fd?regards,andyL(worcestershire, england)

branchvilleff7 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

it sucks now that msa owns them, unlike when they were in clifton, i think theyre made outside of pittsburg now. The older ones made in clifton were smaller and lighter, and alot more comfortable than the newer ones. Im about 45 minutes from clifton, and it sucks they dont make them there anymore, and that they dont custom fit the helmets like they did years ago

branchvilleff7 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

yea the n5a and n6a same setup, except n6a has a lexan cap sandwiched below the foam layer, under the leather exterior, making it nfpa compliant for impact resistance

iTwitter (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

haha!@ 3:40-3:43, "to tap it into place"*smashes cap into helmet*lmao!!