Original Message

I wore the Alpha for several years, at first without NVGs, and wasn't bothered by anything other than what I considered to be cheap design. I hated the little ear cup straps you pull on to don the helmet. The whole thing just seemed fragile compared to the SPH-5 I had owned and was was used to. When I started wearing NVGs, I found it to be horrible. I had to use so much counter weight to make it wearable that the lightweight design/selling point of helmet was negated. The company then switched to a Paraclete and I found it to be an improvement but still needed enough counter weight that my old man neck was really starting to protest. 

I recently purchased a Gallet from Merit, and so far it is my favorite helmet of the 4. Merit was great at tweaking the fit for my huge head. A new nape pad eliminated the dreaded "hot spot" I was getting. 

My preference from favorite on down:

1) Gallet (only complaint is that the inner shield hits my eyeglasses)

2) SPH-5 (I liked the ear cups set in the fabric, comfortable despite being the heaviest)

3) Paraclete (very close to second, good retention system, poor wiring on volume knob and CEP connections)

4) Alpha Eagle (huge profile, flimsy, not NVG friendly)