Vintage jb helmet.
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JB was Joe Brown, early British rock star. That helmet was state-of-the art in the mid 70s. Hot and heavy. |
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That is a very refined version of the original 70s "JB helmet that was a single-color (White*, Orange, Blue, Red, Green**) shell of fiberglass & was available in the late 80searly 90s vintage. *1st gen, ** last of the full brain-buckets; '74-'88s before that nifty "Tye-Dyed" one. |
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I like the paint job. Mine is just red. |
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That right there is why I never used to wear a helmet. Felt like a tank commander. The new helmet's are great. |
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Interesting information here on Joe Brown's retail venture: https://www.climbers-shop.com/pages/aboutus/ See the link at the very bottom of the page for the full story. His autobiography (1967) is a good read: https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Years-His-Autobiography/dp/0753812665 |
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Looks perfect for Burning Man |
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May be wrong but looks like either the original Joe Brown helmet or perhaps more likely the later JB lightweight from roughly early 1970s. Fibreglass and heavy compared to modern helmets. Does have greater cover especially round nape and ears (less so in the Lightweight) and might well have offered greater protection than modern helmets in a fall. I think modern helmets are tested for protection from stonefall rather than impact of head on ground. |
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I highly suggest you read Feeding the Rat by Al Alvarez for an easy, fun read about Joe Brown and crew. |
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My first caving helmet was a red Joe Brown. It did not fit very well. This is 1996. My friend George loved that helmet, though. He actually said I could trade a Stearns 2 man inflatable kayak for it, which of course I did without hesitation. |
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Ask him if he wants another one |
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i shore wrote: May be wrong but looks like either the original Joe Brown helmet or perhaps more likely the later JB lightweight from roughly early 1970s. Fibreglass and heavy compared to modern helmets. Does have greater cover especially round nape and ears (less so in the Lightweight) and might well have offered greater protection than modern helmets in a fall. I think modern helmets are tested for protection from stonefall rather than impact of head on ground. &~ After all that ? post a picture of this~Anyway my JB Lightweight . . .still serves as my spare for poorly equipped visiting climbers. as I already said, with surety, I can look it up in any number of old magazines.... The helmet in the OP is not painted, The Article from Alpinist #51 Autumn 2015 All the helmets google images showsIt is a Late 80's or early 90s vintage that was an update with the colored Fiberglass, The coloring is in the fiberglass not painted on. While the linked article says that all the JB helmets were modeled after "boating helmets" The OP's seems to be the more sculpted like a modern "White-water" "Squirt-Boat" style. Less like the original which was more akin to the "Scooter"-style ( I had more than one of the earlier/older versions) Argh! I made a grab of old Magazines. The oldest, a classic "Climbing" #47 from March/April 1978, It is the issue with "The Evolution of Ego in Eden" by Joe Healy. . . Missing his voice around here for quite a while now... Then I find that there isn't a working scanner in the house. damn. iPhone shots from the 1981 black & white "Coffee Table size" book "Learning To Rock Climb", by Michael Loughman Helmets are mentioned as an after-thought split between page129 &130 of the 131-page book! (There are another 6 pages including a picture of Middle Cathedral Rock, The Index & Glossary) Kind of amazing looking at it now eh? It is a true commentary on those times, Still for all the reasons given, it's hard to think of one that outweighs the alternative; a crushed skull. *; ' ' '"Your first line of defense should be the thoughtful use of your head, not the covering of it. . . ! !? * almost the end of the book. |
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Suburban Roadside wrote:Thanks for the education, the Alpinist link especially. I chucked my old magazines. My memory obviously has a poor timescale. I do seem to remember there was a slight criticism of the JB for not being rigid under sideways pressure. I think the above is a request for a picture of my JB Lightweight (which is definitely the name it was sold under in UK). I can't get hold of it at present but could in the next few weeks, though I don't think it would add much to the thread. |
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You could wear that helmet in any play hole eddy today and not look out of place. |