HGU-55 Flight Deck Helmet

[Riley]

Has anybody on these pages had experience with HGU-55 (cloth or leather) cranial helmets as used by US & UK caircraft carrier flight deck personnel? I currently have a bog-standard leather one but am thinking that fore & aft skull protection and semi-enclosed earphone receptacles must be an improvement for open-cockpit aviating. Soliciting any comments, experiences and observations as to effectiveness before spending money that could buy me about 8 hrs of flying fuel.