Full-face Contour Camera Mount--- TAKE 2

[ridestrong 1]

Ok, here is the new mount idea. I think this will work well. Where it is not impossible... I see little chance of an unmanageable snag hazard on the mount alone. Any significant snag on the camera will rip it off.

-The camera base is mounted with 5 lb heavy duty 3m.
-The camera can be easily slid of the front of the mount.
-The mount is bolted onto visor


I appreciate any constructive feed back on things to change or improve on. I do plan on jumping this set up.

*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.*
----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.----

[davelepka 4]

You don't want anything that will inhibit your visor from going up or down. You need to be able to change that at will at anytime either in or out of the plane. There are any number of reasons why a visor that is stuck up or down could be a bad thing.

You also don't want anything that can influence the position of the visor against your will. If you create a high-profile 'handle' for your visor, the chances that it will be used can arise. If you snag your camera or mount on something in the middle of a jump, that's bad. If that snag leads to the additional problem that your visor gets popped open in the process, that's even worse. If your visor get's stuck open or ripped off, even worse yet.

I'm not trying to discourage you, or anyone, from coming up with 'new' ideas, but if you notice the huge number of full face helmets at the DZ, and the huge number of GoPros/Contours at the DZ, and the fact that the two never really mix, there's a reason for that. Between Bonehead, Cookie, and everyone else making helmets, camera helmets and camera mounts, someone would have put the two together if there was a sensible way to do it.

In fact, there was a full face, full visor camera helmet out there for awhile, I think it was called the Headhunter, but the trick was that the visor was fixed in place becasue the cameras were up in the area where it would swing if it was mobile.

[ridestrong 1]

Good points, thank you.

A couple months ago I was on a 2 way FF jump and the other jumper hit my visor just right with his foot and it flipped open. Thankfully I was able to go to my back and easily flip it back closed, still even managed to get some docks after.
Short of getting struck (just right) I do think it's highly unlikely that the visor will accidentally get flipped open.

Given the simplicity of the mounting bracket I don't see it being any more of a snag hazard than any of the other Contour or GoPro top mounts.

I do appreciate your feedback.

*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.*
----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.----

[DSE 5]

Bonehead's new Revolve is made specifically to take the Contour or Drift on the side.

[The_Don 0]

I wear glasses, I once did a jump with the visor open, oops, Bonehead Mamba. Didn't notice the visor was open till I started to track, then my eyes started to water a bit.

So my question is, why would it be that bad if the visor stuck open?

I am NOT being loud.
I'm being enthusiastic!

[davelepka 4]

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So my question is, why would it be that bad if the visor stuck open?

You were wearing glasses, which offered some eye protection. Were you also doing RW, which would have the relative wind traveling paralell to your face (as you look across to your other RW pals)?

Take away the glasses, add in freeflying, add in a collision or snag, add in possibly loking face first into the realtive wind, and you can encoutner problems with tearing that can effect your vision. This is not always solved by simply closing the visor, the effects on your vision can last well beyond the canopy ride.

Add in that if the visor is stuck open, the camera and mount are pointed right back in the 'deployment zone', over your back where your rig does it's business.

If the mount can move, it will. If you are not comfortable jumping with the mount in any position it could assume, then you should not jump the mount.

[The_Don 0]

Yes, RW. Thanks for the answers.

I am NOT being loud.
I'm being enthusiastic!

[davelepka 4]

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Bonehead's new Revolve is made specifically to take the Contour or Drift on the side

Indeed. I'm sure you recall 'take 1' of the full-face contour mount, which was also on the side but poorly executed. Nobody ever told him not to put it on the side, just to get a box or similar 'correct' mount if he was going to do it.

A top mount that can freely swing through a good range of motion, and effect the eyesight of the jumper and create a significant snag-hazzard in the process is just not a good idea. If it was, Bonehead would have put the camera up top, and sold 1000 of them by now.

I seem to recall several months back, Chris from Bonehead posted here asking for ideas for a GoPro mount for a full face helmet. After months of consideration, with better than a decade in business, and I assume several prototypes/test jumps, he went with a side mount. This guy likes to go top-side, but he's never been one to follow the crowd.

[PhreeZone 20]

The other potential issue is your slider or a drawstring can get under the mount as you slide it back if you pull your slider down and then you are connected to your helmet if you ever have to cutaway under canopy.

Yesterday is history
And tomorrow is a mystery

Parachutemanuals.com

[ridestrong 1]

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The other potential issue is your slider or a drawstring can get under the mount as you slide it back if you pull your slider down and then you are connected to your helmet if you ever have to cutaway under canopy.

If I stowed my slider I would agree with you. However I simply just collapse my slider and it remains more than a foot over my head. With the visor open, the camera and mount would be even slightly further from the slider. There is no probable way that the slider or a draw string would ever snag on the mount.

*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.*
----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.----

[DSE 5]

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There is no probable way that the slider or a draw string would ever snag on the mount.

Look at my vids on Youtube and FB...you'll find a couple where the "no probable" happens. I rarely stow mine since I don't swoop.
Your efforts are laudable, but please remain open to possibilities vs 'improbabilities.'

[davelepka 4]

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it's highly unlikely that the visor will accidentally get flipped open

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I don't see it being any more of a snag hazard

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There is no probable way that the slider or a draw string would ever snag on the mount.

You seem to have made your mind up. Why even bother asking anyone anything? Just nut-up and put 100 jumps on the thing.

What are you in such a hurry to take shitty video of anyway? How about focusing on your flying, and setting up a dedicated camera helmet to shoot some real footage? Unless you're proximity flying below treetop level, set-it and forget-it POV footage is never anywhere near as exciting as you think. Are you so hell-bent on recording every second of freefall that you have to mount a camera to every helmet you have?

Sometimes you jump just to make a jump, not to shoot bullshit video for you and your dickhead friends to giggle at over a few beers.

[danielcroft 2]

I have to say, this one looks way better than your first. I think if you put in a locking mechanism for the visor that wouldn't just pop open and made sure that your camera would in fact break off then it seems reasonable to me.

In looking at the actual mount, I'd also be concerned about the possibility of a line slipping under the metal and getting snagged at its strongest point (bolts on the visor) that'd be uncomfortable. You might want to make your screws the plastic type that people use for ring sights and make sure that the whole thing would tear off under load.

I know someone who had attached a CX100 to a GAS helmet, same mounts as the Ozone3 so it worked out pretty well. He was doing video for a 4 way team as well. I love videoing my jumps but I was planning on getting a G2 and ditching the camera.

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Sometimes you jump just to make a jump, not to shoot bullshit video for you and your dickhead friends to giggle at over a few beers.

Hey, I resemble that remark!!!

Actually, I've videoed at least the last 200 jumps I've made and I get a lot of people (many of whom don't jump) saying how much they enjoy watching them. I don't actually take the video for them. I enjoy watching HD video of the sky, and I use the video to review jumps. Many of my skydiving friends lay shit on me for all the (dumb) videos I make but they're the ones in them so...

[ridestrong 1]

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There is no probable way that the slider or a draw string would ever snag on the mount.

Look at my vids on Youtube and FB...you'll find a couple where the "no probable" happens. I rarely stow mine since I don't swoop.
Your efforts are laudable, but please remain open to possibilities vs 'improbabilities.'

Thank you Doug. I know that this set-up has potential risks. At this point I believe those risks are reasonably low, as with many other small format mounts. I am certainly remaining open to the possibilities as well.

*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.*
----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.----

[ridestrong 1]

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You might want to make your screws the plastic type that people use for ring sights and make sure that the whole thing would tear off under load.

Great idea!! I'm doing that for sure.

*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.*
----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.----

[ridestrong 1]

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it's highly unlikely that the visor will accidentally get flipped open

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I don't see it being any more of a snag hazard

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There is no probable way that the slider or a draw string would ever snag on the mount.

You seem to have made your mind up. Why even bother asking anyone anything? Just nut-up and put 100 jumps on the thing.

What are you in such a hurry to take shitty video of anyway? How about focusing on your flying, and setting up a dedicated camera helmet to shoot some real footage? Unless you're proximity flying below treetop level, set-it and forget-it POV footage is never anywhere near as exciting as you think. Are you so hell-bent on recording every second of freefall that you have to mount a camera to every helmet you have?

Sometimes you jump just to make a jump, not to shoot bullshit video for you and your dickhead friends to giggle at over a few beers.

Dave, any reasonable person can read my posts (in their entirety) in this thread and agree that I too am being reasonable.

I appreciate your feed back but given that last post it appears you are just trying to get a rise out of me.... if that is the case your not going to get the response your looking for.

*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.*
----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.----

[skinnay 0]

I love these threads

[DSE 5]

A lot of the resistance is your low experience coupled with your high enthusiasm.
A friend here in Elsinore has the weirdest, most dangerous-looking mount for his small camera on a Mamba. Scary to look at, but damned if it doesn't work.
However, he's also got three "0's" in his high jump numbers and three decades of jumps...If you posted a picture of his rig, folks would jump down your throat (including me).

Point is, experience plays a role too.

Just be sure to eliminate as many risk points as you can, try to step back and see the situation from as many angles as you can.
Overall, the biggest risk is still being air-aware but I think you can still improve. Nylon screws, maybe back it with something...
Overall...this is simply the wrong type of helmet to be doing this with.

[JackC1 0]

I take it this is not bolted down at the back of the bracket? So you've got a long finger of aluminum just bolted to the viser? I'd be concerned that the visor will break fairly quickly and that the mount will lift at the back giving you a large line catching hook on the top of your head. It's not the scariest camera rig I've ever seen but I still wouldn't jump it.

[davelepka 4]

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given that last post it appears you are just trying to get a rise out of me.... if that is the case your not going to get the response your looking for.

If that's what you think is going on, then that's one more thing you need to learn. In case you couldn't tell by my post (like it's not clear enough) I don't give two shits about you or what you do. Everytime I give you a drop of credit and try to post something constructive, you never fail to remind me why I wrote you off a long time ago.

I've said this many times before, but the majority of what I post isn't for the benefit of the recipient, it's for the benefit of the community at-large. As far as you're concerned, you're going to do whatever you feel like, but for the others reading this thread who may be making the mistake that you have a clue as to what you're doing, I want to make sure in no uncertain terms that that's not the case.

[diablopilot 2]

I think what you're missing here is that when 20 to 30,000 jumps and 20 to 30 years of combined experience tells you they think something is a poor idea, that it might actually be a poor idea.

When you spout off and tell them they are wrong, don't be surprised when they tell you to pound sand.

That said, this mount IS better than the last, but still not something I'd recommend you jump. It has a high risk snag area if you were to catch a line or riser under it. Buy a second helmet and fiberglass that thing in. Or don't. You won't listen.

----------------------------------------------
You're not as good as you think you are. Seriously.

[dragon2 2]

So how were you planning on installing a single-point cutaway on that helmet?

ciel bleu,
Saskia

[Morne 0]

XtremeVu...

Your mount looks cool , but i would rather buy a purpose made and tested mount.

Approved by 2 DZO's/CI's and various experienced camera persons.

and no i dont jump it (dont feel like that converstion again)

[Nutz 0]

Is that just held on by Velcro?

"Don't! Get! Eliminated!"

[Morne 0]

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Is that just held on by Velcro?

no