Mounting a Contour HD Camera on a Helmet.

[ridestrong 1]

I'm considering mounting the camera on the side with the given 3M adhesive side mount. Has anyone used this??? I'm a bit worried that it will too easily get smacked off with the first riser slap.

I will most likely top mount it with the custom aluminum mount and super velcro, but wanted to get some opinions on the side mount.

Any advice on the side vs top mount is appreciated. Thanks.

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

[DSE 5]

Kiss it goodbye if you do that.
110% guaranteed.
Seen 3 of the topmounts disappear too, one of em' with the aluminum mount, torn off the first jump at Flock n' Dock 6.0

[ridestrong 1]

Thanks for the reply. Yeah it does seem like top mount will be the best option. It's not the end of the world if I lose it but I don't want the chance that it will happen in 1 out of every 10 jumps. I know your sentiments so I appreciate the response.

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

[Hellis 0]

I have once seen a CHD mounted on the side as your picture.
When we told him that he will probably lose, he used duct tape. And lots of it.
It looked like a helmet with a sidemount duct tape ball.

Can you mount a cut away on that helmet?
I have made one jump with one of those helmets, and i would not rely on that buckle.
I could not get the helmet of, i ended up having to pull my head out of the helmet.
I dont think i would want to do that in the air when my main is trailing above me.

[monkycndo 0]

Square 1 makes two different mounts, drop in or laying flat. Simple and nice design.

50 donations so far. Give it a try.

You know you want to spank it
Jump an Infinity

[ChrisL 2]

Quote

I'm considering mounting the camera on the side with the given 3M adhesive side mount. Has anyone used this??? I'm a bit worried that it will too easily get smacked off with the first riser slap.

I will most likely top mount it with the custom aluminum mount and super velcro, but wanted to get some opinions on the side mount.

Any advice on the side vs top mount is appreciated. Thanks.

I lost a brand new contour that way at 13,000 ft.

That mount WILL fail. Mine did and it cost me 300 bucks. Expensive jump.

Use the CamClamp instead. I used it for the replacement and have had no problems.

http://www.xtremevu.com/products.html

__

My mighty steed

[JohnRich 4]

Quote

I'm considering mounting the camera on the side with the given 3M adhesive side mount. Has anyone used this??? I'm a bit worried that it will too easily get smacked off with the first riser slap.

You should be worried about line entanglement too. If a riser can smack it, it can snag a line. And if it snags a line, you WANT the camera to fall off rather than create a malfunction that will kill you.

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

I can vouch for that too...I did exactly as you did and the camera fell off on 2 of 4 jumps. Thank god for the tether...saved me very expensive jumps.

The sticky part will NOT fail, it's the velcro connection. If nothing touches it, it'll hold, but the second a riser touches it...gone...

Buy one of these (no velcro):
http://pointofviewcameras.ca/contour-locking-flat-surface-adhesive-mount.html

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[shropshire 0]

Quote

I can vouch for that too...I did exactly as you did and the camera fell off on 2 of 4 jumps. Thank god for the tether...saved me very expensive jumps.

The sticky part will NOT fail, it's the velcro connection. If nothing touches it, it'll hold, but the second a riser touches it...gone...

Buy one of these (no velcro):
http://pointofviewcameras.ca/contour-locking-flat-surface-adhesive-mount.html

Same for me .... it's the velcro that gives way not the sticky tape ... camera saved by string.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[billvon 3,070]

I'd strongly recommend that people NOT use tethers to back up sketchy mounts. Losing a camera sucks - dealing with camera tether/toggle entanglement is a whole 'nother level of sucking.

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

Then again...it stayed on for this...(using the velcro mount)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4C_04rMpoQ

@Billvon: Yeah, that would suck, but I fully plan to ditch the whole helmet if hat happens. Then, with any luck, if/when I find my main, I'll also still have my camera and helmet. I can easily slip my Z1 off, and never do up the strap and my normal camera helmet has a cutaway.

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[DSE 5]

Quote

I can vouch for that too...I did exactly as you did and the camera fell off on 2 of 4 jumps. Thank god for the tether...saved me very expensive jumps.

The sticky part will NOT fail, it's the velcro connection. If nothing touches it, it'll hold, but the second a riser touches it...gone...

Buy one of these (no velcro):
http://pointofviewcameras.ca/contour-locking-flat-surface-adhesive-mount.html

Please, please do not use a tether. This could create much bigger issues.
Wrap that tether around a riser or line... it's a whole new mess.
We try to LOSE our cameras/camera helmets in the event of an entanglement for a reason.

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

I understand the logic/reasoning, but how is this any worse than screwing your camera (semi-permanently) onto your helmet?

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[shropshire 0]

True .. but I have it top mounted and have a helmet cut away - If I'm going to lose my Contour ... I may as well lose my 2KC as well.

(.)Y(.)
Chivalry is not dead; it only sleeps for want of work to do. - Jerome K Jerome

[billvon 3,070]

>but how is this any worse than screwing your camera (semi-permanently)
>onto your helmet?

A small object on a tether attached to a larger object is a much bigger snag hazard than one larger object.

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

Agreed, but the end result is the same. Bye-Bye Helmet...

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[billvon 3,070]

>Agreed, but the end result is the same. Bye-Bye Helmet...

Well, no, that's the problem. Imagine, for example, a camera that is knocked loose by the riser; the camera then swings freely and wraps around the base of the main riser, pinning your head to one side so hard you cannot see the entanglement.

You can't clear it easily since you can't see it. If you cut away without releasing the helmet (which is usually the case with cruddy velcro mounts on non-video helmets) you may be killed by being suspended from your chinstrap Or you may try to cut away and due to the tether interfering with the 3-ring, be unable to cut away, in which case you are now trailing a non-landable canopy and still can't see what's going on.

If people have the experience to be able to do video, then by far the best approach is to get a _good_ camera helmet/video setup, along with good coaching on how to fly it. Minimize snag hazards to help reduce the odds of snags. Mount the camera firmly to the helmet so if something does go awry you are only dealing with one thing. Make sure the cutaway system works well. Do those things and you minimize the odds of having a problem to begin with, and avoid all the additional hazards of a tether.

[Chris-Ottawa 0]

Makes sense. I guess anything is possible.

"When once you have tasted flight..."

[ridestrong 1]

Quote

I can vouch for that too...I did exactly as you did and the camera fell off on 2 of 4 jumps. Thank god for the tether...saved me very expensive jumps.

The sticky part will NOT fail, it's the velcro connection. If nothing touches it, it'll hold, but the second a riser touches it...gone...

Buy one of these (no velcro):
http://pointofviewcameras.ca/contour-locking-flat-surface-adhesive-mount.html

Yeah I would be using the 3M adhesive tape not velcro for the side mount. So you guys haven't had any real problem with the 3M?

I'm almost certain though that at this point I'm going with the top mount from extremvu.com.

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

[DSE 5]

Quote

Makes sense. I guess anything is possible.

Somewhere, I have video of a bad-azz paraglider pilot who tethered his Contour to his skydiving helmet.
He landed badly, head tilted because he couldn't release the Fastex. There is a post about it in the Photo forum from approx a year ago.
A big object might hold a line or two, but a tether can wrap around everything.
Look at Jeff Donohue's post regarding how tough it was to lose his helmet when he had a nasty snag.
A tether is much worse than a snag point; a snag point can't wrap around lines, can't bind up risers...

[Nutz 0]

I used a custom mount that I epoxied on the top of my Z1. Pictures here: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=3956816;search_string=nutz%20z1;#3956816 There are no snag points on the mount and the camera is held on with a little plastic piece that will easily break if it gets entangled. If for some reason it does not break the helmet will slide right off of my head anyway.

"Don't! Get! Eliminated!"

[Scrumpot 1]

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due to the tether interfering with the 3-ring, be unable to cut away

I can vouch for this 1st-hand guys. NOT "FAR FETCHED" BY ANY STRETCH AT ALL!

Please - please... as is being advised. PLEASE - Reconsider the tether!
It can cause you more problems EASILY - than clearly, you have even considered.

BS,
-Grant

coitus non circum - Moab Stone

[JALUV2 0]

I have been using this mount with no issues. very rugged and helps stabilize camera very well.

http://www.xtremevu.com/products.html

I am willing to sell it, I am looking to upgrade my camera setup. The contour is for sale as well.

[petejones45 0]

Quote

I'm considering mounting the camera on the side with the given 3M adhesive side mount. Has anyone used this??? I'm a bit worried that it will too easily get smacked off with the first riser slap.

I will most likely top mount it with the custom aluminum mount and super velcro, but wanted to get some opinions on the side mount.

Any advice on the side vs top mount is appreciated. Thanks.

Talk with your instructors first

Look out for the freefly team, Smelly Peppers. Once we get a couple years more experience we will be a force to be reckoned with in the near future! BLUES!

[ridestrong 1]

Quote

Talk with your instructors first

Yeah, next time I run into some of them I will get their opinion.

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