The FAST high cut helmet, the MOLLE equivalent of something that goes on your head!

It was after watching the film Black Hawk Down that you realise these design helmets are synonymous with special forces operators and that’s not just for Hollywood, that’s because it is 100% and more and more forces around the world have adapted now to this design of ballistic helmet, loved for its being versatile and adaptable to specific mission requirements as well as being quite comfy.

The FAST design is immediately recognisable mainly due to the cut of the helmet in the fact it shows the helmet right above your ear rather than overlapping like traditional ballistic helmets, this is for mainly the easy integration of the communications kit and headset for the end user operator.

Pros and cons …

There are some advantage and disadvantages here of this “high cut” helmet, fast helmet features obviously it is not offering ballistic protection on exposed areas, but the sign off in these helmets is that they are lighter and can accommodatable a plethora for add-ons,

In the book of Black Hawk Down which touched on the role of the Delta Force operators it highlighted the main concern was for moving in fast and quick, the lightweight sports style helmet was highlighted more for bump protection during CQB and moving in and out of rooms where there was more a risk of head injury if you ran into something

FAST helmets have become synonymous with any ballistic or bump tactical helmet that allows for a higher cut of the shell above the ear. This enables the easy integration of communications headsets for the end user. There are also other unique advantages and disadvantages of a high cut helmet.

It was a US company which coined the term FAST (Future Assault Shell Technology) with the launch of the high cut helmets which have now become ever popular and set the standards, lighter than MICH though offering less ear protection and giving room to accommodate comms headsets and giving rails to add accessories, like the MICH they are also feature a mount for night vision goggles.

The helmet design stayed the same but like a dinosaur the accessories and upgrades evolve and all sorts of gadgets and patented add-ons come onto the market every year.

Accessories which can be used including on the helmet include strobes, lights, comms, cameras, counterweights, fast helmet cover, night vision googles etc