PILMAN
10-16-2006, 05:22 PM
So I bid on a helmet on ebay apparently it's used by both the Israelis and South African military. From what I know the original version was made by Orlite and shipped to South Africa, Chile, Columbia and I think that was about it. I am pretty sure the Israeli variant would have more resell value however this is the response I received when asking him about the differences.
"
Hi there Matt,
Ok, where to start! There are several differences between the Israeli Orlite and the SA M83. They are very subtle differences.
1) the SA M83 uses screws to secure the liner to the helmet shell, whereas the Orlite uses rivets. If the liner breaks off the shell, you have to re-rivet it back on, which is a hellava job i would presume.
2) The M83 uses black leather for the liner, the orlite uses brown. The chin cup is the same. M83 is black, orlite is brown.
3) The texture of the M83 is rough and a dark olive green colour. orlite is a smooth texture and a light green colour.
4) Rubber padding on the forehead and nape of the neck is of black foam rubber, Orlite is green.
I can most definately send you pics of the Orlite, but the size is a medium and the helmet is in a quite worn condition. Nothing is damaged but its been worn. If you are interested, we can then take it from there. I`m also pretty sure that i can get my hands on another couple of Orlites, but cannot promise excellent condition, as these were all well used by the SA`s during the bush war and extensively tested, before SA decided to manufacture their own.
Hope this info helps?
Best regards,
Dion"
It sounds like the South African variant is actually improved a bit. I know they did similar to the Galil rifles. What do you guys think?
"
Hi there Matt,
Ok, where to start! There are several differences between the Israeli Orlite and the SA M83. They are very subtle differences.
1) the SA M83 uses screws to secure the liner to the helmet shell, whereas the Orlite uses rivets. If the liner breaks off the shell, you have to re-rivet it back on, which is a hellava job i would presume.
2) The M83 uses black leather for the liner, the orlite uses brown. The chin cup is the same. M83 is black, orlite is brown.
3) The texture of the M83 is rough and a dark olive green colour. orlite is a smooth texture and a light green colour.
4) Rubber padding on the forehead and nape of the neck is of black foam rubber, Orlite is green.
I can most definately send you pics of the Orlite, but the size is a medium and the helmet is in a quite worn condition. Nothing is damaged but its been worn. If you are interested, we can then take it from there. I`m also pretty sure that i can get my hands on another couple of Orlites, but cannot promise excellent condition, as these were all well used by the SA`s during the bush war and extensively tested, before SA decided to manufacture their own.
Hope this info helps?
Best regards,
Dion"
It sounds like the South African variant is actually improved a bit. I know they did similar to the Galil rifles. What do you guys think?