I got a couple Kask Super Plasmas, a Kask Zenith, and a Petzl Vertex or something or other with face shield and ear protection. All very light and comfortable, I forget I’m wearing them all the time, until I bonk it when climbing back into my truck. They’re for work pruning, removals, and recreational climbing. I contract climb for a couple small businesses and I’m never sure how experienced my ground guy is. I’ve gotten good at moving myself out of the line of fire before cutting a piece that’s rigged for lowering, but it’s still possible to get hit sometimes. Our recreational climbing involves wandering all over the canopy, limb walking on lateral branches and getting into positions where it’s entirely possible one could slip and go for a pendulum swing and smack into anything that might get in the way. We’ll use that pendulum swing to our advantage, intentionally to get around the canopy too, it’s really a hoot, but not without risk of striking something. Getting hit in the head sucks and can have life changing permanent effects, but even that isn’t my number 1 fear around head injuries on the job. I’m more worried about possibly losing consciousness and being at the mercy of the local volunteer fire department to rescue me. I love those guys, some are true badasses and bless their hearts for everything they do to help the community, but they don’t get sufficient technical and aerial rescue training, and I don’t want to put them in such a risky position either. A lot of paid city fire and rescue guys would be out of their element too, and they often get oodles of cool training.
For you climbing hunters, it looks like it’s often a lot of straight up and down, with a tie in point directly above your position and you hang out right on a spar. If there’s nothing above at risk of being dislodged and falling on you, and you’re not using your rope to bear your weight as you walk out far to the side of where your rope is anchored, I’d say a lot of the risk is negated. If a hunter is getting out on a lateral limb with their tie in dozens of feet out to their side, a helmet is probably a fine idea. Do any of you guys do that?