REVIEW: Ops-Core Skull Crusher

Boxers wear head protection that protects their noggin. There are physically disadvantaged individuals who have something similar on their heads to prevent injury when something hits them on the head.

Now, the Skull Crusher will definitely not do one thing, we can promise you that: make the wearer look more attractive. But that's not the point, because Ops-Core provides an alternative to helmets and BUMP helmets. For those who don't need both, but want to carry night vision devices, Go-Pro, and other accessories on their head, the Skull Crusher is a great solution, which we tested at the Fibrotex Camouflage Workshop 2016 at Wiesel Defence. From the frontal view to the side perspective. You can immediately see whose child the Skull Crusher is, as it plays with the classic rails from Ops-Core and offers the same flexible options for equipping: camera, light, everything fits. The head becomes a multimedia tripod.

From behind, the Skull Crusher looks like an Ops-Core H-Nape on steroids. The base is nothing more than the proven strap system of the US manufacturer that has established itself worldwide. The rest is an extension of the helmet components into an independent system.

Cap off! Inside, the whole thing is well padded and extremely comfortable to wear. Unlike the helmet, the Skull Crusher is a very airy solution. (When you're looked at with this thing on your head, it's even a very funny solution. But the end justifies the means.)

The adjustability of the Skull Crusher is wonderful. A total of three knobs - two on top (shown here), one in the back (next picture) allow adjustments in all directions. The first knob moves the two side parts, the second knob shortens or lengthens towards the back.

The third knob adjusts the lower parts (they are not straps, but plastic parts hidden under the mesh here). The Velcro surface above, for example, takes a beacon so that it blinks nicely. There are also counterweights for the night vision device to ensure proper balance, which can be screwed on here.

Here's another side view of the rail.

From the front, the Skull Crusher accepts everything that a VAS Shroud would accept - like Wilcox Rhino Arms, for example, or those from Norotos. If the end plate matches, everything fits perfectly.

The Skull Crusher has a fixed molded plastic part, essentially the Shroud that takes the Rhino Arm. Its successor at Ops-Core is the SKULL Mounting System, which has a Skeleton Shroud attached to it. Same effect, but you can unscrew this Stroud and exchange it for other mounting systems.

CONCLUSION: The Skull Crusher is certainly the most comfortable solution when you need a night vision device mounting on your head that is stable and versatile enough to be expanded as a system - beacon, camera, counterweight, lamp, etc. And it looks funny too. By the way: since Ops-Core belongs to Gentex, the product is no longer called "Skull Crusher," but rather Skull Mounting System.

In Germany, the Skull Crusher from Ops-Core is available through IEA Mil-Optics for 315 euros. The model in the picture is also available through Wiesel Defence.

OPS-CORE on the Internet: gentexcorp.com/ops-core