The Armour Archive

Ok, I purchased a klapvisor bascinet that fits very nicely. I strapped it with a standard strap and chin cup, but the visor still barely touches my nose when it is pressed against. I have tried different combinations of padding, but that didn't help. Would a four point system help this problem? Another idea I had was just to add a strip of padding down the front of the visor where my nose might touch. Would that be sca legal? People pad their close faced Japanese helms like that right? Thanks in advance!

It would be legal, unless I am way out. I don't recall that there's any Armor Standard about padding the face part of any helm anyway, and helmet types like the armet have pieces that close and lock about the jawbone.

Your nose being tough and flexible anyway, I don't think you're going to get hurt from your Klapp in the field.

If you can bring it by practice today we can take a look at it. There would be a number of ways to correct this.

I will come to practice next week, but this week is mothers day. Hopefully I will have my arms completed as well by next week!

Perhaps a pair of mechanical stops. One on either side of the face to keep the visor
from sitting down too far. Or, slightly squeezing in the visor, again to prevent it from
settling in too far.

If the visor is touching your nose then the problem is with the visor not the padding and chin strap. The visor isn't deep enough. You can fight in it that way, but a hard thrust to the face will squish your nose.

Check the rules, but I belive the applicable rule is that no unpadded part of the helm may contact the face, so pad the face and you are ok by the rules. You might still get your nose broke, but it's legal and should pass.

My nose doesn't touch the visor normally, but when it's pressed against by a hand, it just barely touches my nose. The helmet moves back slightly, causing this. I think a new chinstrap (one that holds the back of the helm as well as the front) will fix it, but I might pad the visor a bit as well. Thanks!

Your standard chin strap is probably the issue. In order to make them work, they have to be mounted at about a 45 degree angle, usually just above and in front of the ear. Works fine for a football helmet, or an SCA all steel bargrilled football helmet. Not so well on a well fitted helmet since it gives you a point to rotate around. I would recommend either the 4 point, or the windrose style chin strap. I have a helmet that can touch my nose if its not snugged down, but with the windrose chinstrap I have not had any issues. It pulls the back of the helmet in, while the part the swoops under your chin keeps it from going up. I like it. Also, check your padding. If your helmet has a straight back, you may need to add a bit of padding at the base of your skull to help keep it from rocking.

Edit: I would not pad the face... Padding will take up space so when you do get hit, it will squash your face MORE! Fix the chin strap

Cheers,

Make an adjustment to the chin strap or swap it for a four point style. usually the four point style will cut down on the rocking motion and solve this problem.
The visor may also need to be modified to fit your glorious nose.

Thanks for the advice! I will swap out the chinstrap as soon as I can.