Switched to Kirby Morgan band masks after years of hard hats

I finally gave in and bought a KM 57 last month for a salvage job off the Gulf Coast. The fit feels different, and I'm wondering if anyone else had a hard time adjusting to the lower profile. Did you stick with it or go back to your old setup?

3 comments

3 Comments

ivanbell1mo ago

Whoa wait, you got a KM 57? I thought those were like discontinued or something. How'd you even find one in decent shape?

ivan_murphy801mo ago

Are you really sweating this hard over a dive helmet's bubble path?

sagecooper1mo ago

Oh, the KM 57. That's a rare find these days. I had one back in the early 2000s and honestly, the lower profile was the whole point for me. You know what nobody talks about with those? The way the exhaust valve sits. On a hard hat, everything's out in front, but with the 57, the bubbles come out closer to your ear. Took me a full week to stop flinching every time I exhaled. It messes with your situational awareness until you get used to it. I stuck with it though, ended up loving how it didn't catch on every pipe and hatch like the big dome helmets did.