I was thinking earlier that soldiers in the Middle East right now probably face more of a threat from IEDs and shrapnel than they do from rifle fire. So many soldiers have come back with wounds to the face and eyes from shrapnel that's hit them. With this in mind, it seems like a flip up visor could be a useful addition to a helmet. The design I am thinking of is the close burgonet of the early 1600s. Not the type with a buffe but the kind with a pivoting visor which would be raised most of the time. Something like the image I posted below. The cheekpieces of the closed burgonet design offer good protection to the sides of the face and the chin, something that modern combat helmets don't seem to have (although other kinds of helmets, like motorcycle helmets, do.) There could be ventilation slits to keep it cool. The visor could be constructed of a hard and strong but transparent material that would make it easy to see and limit peripheral vision as little as possible. Furthermore the visor could easily be flipped up and down. In the event of a suspected IED in the area, the visor would go down and protect the soldiers' faces from potential damage from shrapnel. Hell, even the comb on top of the burgonet design could be useful in a modern context, for deflecting falling debris away from the center of the skull and causing it to glance off.

So what downsides am I missing here? Input from those who have used actual combat helmets in the field would be especially useful.

[ Linked Image ]

I think the main downside would be limited hearing - so unless there is some sort of built-in sound enhancing system, that might leave soldiers in full helmets at a disadvantage.

http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/3931/lemurd.jpg

And there are more and more designes like this. Complete armour suits for gunners are used in Iraq and Afganistan.

http://www.stripes.com/articlephoto.asp?secti...mp;count=3

http://www.tactical-life.com/online/tactical-...ial-armor/


The full plate armour is back people :) Even if it isn't made mostly of steel.

I certainly wouldn't like to try and sight a rifle while lying down if I was wearing it :D

We actually have things like this http://www.mtekweaponsystems.com/ to help protect our heads though I'd love to have an henry VIII armor just not in a 130 degree heat lol


edit Michal Plezia beat me to it shucks