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Hard Hats

Bullard Pinlock and Ratchet Suspension Hardhats

A hard hat helmet is a type of head protection gear used in various workplace environments, such as some factories, construction areas, archeological sites and other locations where head protection is needed to guard against injury by falling objects, impact with other objects, bad weather (especially hail) and electric shock. Unlike motorcycle helmets with padding inside, designed to protect against single impact only (after which the padding needs to be replaced), hard hats are suspended slightly above the skull – leaving approximately 1 to 1.5 inches of space between the shell and the wearer's head to prevent transmission of impact to the skull. This suspension also serves to spread the weight of the hardhat helmet over the top of the wearer’s head. Some hard hat models have a round surface and some have a midline ridge for better structural integrity.
Hard hats were originally made from aluminum and later fiberglass, but starting in the 1950s rigid plastic has been the most common material, being cheap and easy to manufacture.
Hardhats can be fitted with various accessories: safety visors, special ear muffs, helmet flashlight mounts or chinstraps to keep the hardhat from falling off if the wearer bends over. Some hard hats also have a rolled edge that acts like a rain gutter, allowing water to drain in the front rather than letting the water run down the worker's neck and shoulders.
Legion Safety provides hard hats in a great variety of colors, which can signify different roles at the work site. For example, a standard yellow color may be worn by regular workers, red by safety inspectors, white by supervisors and blue by visitors.
A light version of a hard hat helmet is called a bump cap; it has a simplified suspension or padding and can only accommodate a chin strap. Bump caps are used in areas where workers may be in danger of scraping or bumping their heads on equipment or other objects, but they cannot absorb a large impact, such as falling debris or a dropped tool.

Legion Safety Products carries various Bullard hard hats, such as the Bullard S61R Ratchet suspension hardhat.