A hard hat is a type of helmet predominantly used in workplace environments such as industrial or construction sites to protect the head from injury due to falling objects, impact with other objects, debris, rain, and electric shock. Suspension bands inside the helmet spread the helmet's weight and the force of any impact over the top of the head. A suspension also provides space of approximately 30 mm between the helmet's shell and the wearer's head, so that if an object strikes the shell, the impact is less likely to be transmitted directly to the skull. Some helmet shells have a mid-line reinforcement ridge to improve impact resistance. The rock climbing helmet fulfills a very similar role in a different context and has a very similar design.
Industrial inspector wearing a thermoplastic hard hat in Cologne, Germany
Construction worker wearing an MSA Skullgard hard hat at Douglas Dam, Tennessee (TVA), 1942
Several Workmen wearing ribbed metal hard hats, and one (right) in a MSA Skullgard, at the site of a Texas oil well in 1940
U.S. Navy sailors in February 2007 load cargo onto a container ship in Antarctica
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets without protective function are sometimes worn. Soldiers wear combat helmets, often made from Kevlar or other lightweight synthetic fibers.
Cyclist wearing a bicycle helmet
A reenactor wearing a sallet
A motocross helmet showing the elongated visor and chin bar
Boar tusk Minoan helmet, 1600–1500 BCE
