What Is a Hard Hat Suspension? February 4, 2009

There is a great deal of importance to a hard hat suspension system since it prevents head injury and possibly death. The system elevates your hard hat 1″-1 ¼” above your head to provide impact protection from falling objects.

If you take a hard hat and turn it upside down, you will see points of attachment holding the suspension system in place. Depending on the vendor, you will see four, six, or eight points mounting it to the hard hat. The number indicates the point suspension, which will be either four-point, six-point, or eight-point. The greater the number of points, the more the impact is spread out. Therefore, the eight-point hard hat suspension system will absorb the most impact.

There are two types of hard hat suspension: pin-lock and ratchet. One is pin-lock suspension utilizing the same concept used for a baseball cap. To operate the pin lock suspension you need to remove the hard hat the same as adjusting a baseball cap. It has a plastic band with holes for the plastic pin to go into for the perfect fit. The other type is
ratchet suspension, which is designed for one-touch fit adjustments. This system provides the ease of adjusting your hat without having to remove it. There is a small knob on the back and all you need to do is turn to the preferred size.

In addition, different companies have various names for the ratchet and pin-lock suspension systems. Some examples are:

MSA- Swing Ratchet, Staz-On, Fas-Trac, Uni-Pro

North- Quick Fit

Bullard- Self-Sizing, Flex-Gear Ratchet

Pyramex- Snap Lock

Vulcan Cowboy Hard Hat- Squeeze-Lock

I hope this information has been useful and helps all of you to make an informed hard hat suspension purchase. Please, remember to wear your hard hat – it may save your life.