Hard Hat Styles

Hard Hats are offered in many different shapes and styles, so many in fact that we often get asked what all the differences are. The purpose of this guide is to help explain those differences and help you decide which hard hat style is best for your application.

There are basically three main styles of hard hats offered: standard, vented, and full-brim.

Standard Hart Hats

Standard Hard Hats, commonly referred to as construction hard hats, are the most popular and widely used hard hats on the market today. Standard hard hats feature a basic baseball cap style design with a small visor/brim located at the front and are available in either a slotted or non-slotted design.

A slotted hard hat features two slots just above the ear locations that allow the wearer to attach accessories such as flashlight holders, helmet-mounted hearing protection and fold-down face shields. Non-slotted hard hats do not offer the accessory slots, but commonly feature a rain gutter that’s designed to help keep workers dry in wet and rainy working conditions.

We currently offer a large selection of safety hard hats from MSA, Bullard, Jackson, ERB and Willson.

Vented Hard Hats

Vented hard hats are a relatively new style of hard hat that extends upon the style and functionality of the standard construction style hard hat by including air vents along the top. These air vents allow additional air-flow within the hard hat and provide more comfort for workers in hot working conditions. The most popular vented hard hat on the market today is the MSA Advance hard hat.

Full Brim Hard Hats

Full brim hard hats are just that, hard hats with a brim that extends completely around them. The main benefit of a full brim hard hat is its ability to better protect against the sun by providing extra coverage to the wearer's neck and ears. Because of their design, full brim hard hats are not available with accessory slots. Full brim hard hats are commonly used in utility and steel working environments. The most popular full brim on the market today is the MSA Skullgard hard hat.

We currently offer full brim hard hats from MSA, Willson and Bullard. View All Full Brim Hard Hats.

Bump Caps

Bump caps are NOT certified to meet any of the impact types and are not commonly referred to as hard hats. Bump caps are designed specifically to provide protection for workers from hazards that can inflict painful bumps and lacerations. Bump caps are commonly used in food processing plants, automotive repair facilities and some warehouse applications.

We currently offer a limited selection of bump caps from Jackson Safety. View All Bump Caps.