Introducing the Nova 3 Advanced Abrasive Blasting Helmet

Introducing the world's best abrasive blasting respirator, the RPB Nova 3.

40 years of industry service, research, and feedback has culminated in the ground-breaking design and development of this revolutionary product, which advances your safety and increases your productivity.


The Nova 3 is certified to all worldwide safety standards including NIOSH, CE, ANSI Z87.1 High Velocity Impact, and ANSI Z89.1 Hard Hat Protection. It exceeds the requirements of AS/NZS and comes with an official NRR rating of 33 decibels for noise reduction in helmet.

Built to survive the harshest of conditions, the Nova 3 is constructed out of high pressure injection moulded engineering grade nylon. The helmet’s futuristic design looks sleek and streamlined, and keeps the helmet’s centre of gravity low, resulting in the optimum helmet balance, eliminating any top heaviness

We believe when an operator can see more, they'll blast more. The Nova 3 leads the market with its superior operator viewing window, providing optimum peripheral vision, and 30% more downward vision than other helmets on the market. This eliminates tripping hazards while walking on job sites.

Vision and productivity is further enhanced with RPB's unique tear-off lens system. The pre-folded tabs guarantee that only one lens is removed at a time, without removing your gloves or stopping blasting. Up to six lenses can be inserted into the helmet at any one time, meaning the blaster can continue to blast uninterrupted with perfect vision for their shift.

For ease of use the Nova 3 has a large robust glove-sized latch with built-in double action hinge lock. It has been designed so it cannot open unintentionally if it catches on external objects. To open the visor the operator has to physically pull the visor back to unhinge and release it. The visor is easily removed for ease of maintenance and service. Secured by a steel hinge pin to remove completely simply unclick the hinge lock on the left hand side. 

Research showed, that users needed to tape up their helmets to eliminate dust from entering their respirator and getting between their lenses. To resolve this issue we have engineered a labyrinth dust protection system. The injection moulded shell has a dust peak, with the return on the visor which seals between the peak and the bellow seal of the inner gasket. When the helmet visor is shut the bellow seal compresses, creating an airtight seal. 

Further enhancing the respirators protection, dust and abrasives are kept out by the injection moulded clip-on cape seal. This seal clips into the moulded groove on the helmet ensuring the perfect seal between helmet and cape. This guarantees the respirator is kept free of contaminants. This is confirmed with the helmet being granted as an official Assigned Protection Factor level of greater than 1000. 

No matter what the job requires the Nova 3 has a cape to suit. Available with six different variants, including a 28 inch or 38 inch nylon cape, a 28 inch or 38 inch leather cape, or XL or double XL blast jacket. The blast jacket provides extra protection for the blaster by offering a greater barrier to their upper body, along with the directing cool air from the helmet down their torso and arms. All cape options are attached to the helmet by eight snap lock domes. This ensures that the cape will never drop off, but are easy for the operator to remove and attach as required.

Market feedback showed us that an alarming percentage of contractors were not using their inner safety lens. Previous methods of inserting the lens were ancient, time-consuming, and frustrating, often taking more than 10 minutes to replace. Our engineers have successfully re-engineered the entire process, resulting in a new patented system called Fit & Click, where the inner safety lens of the Nova 3 can now be changed in as little as 15 seconds.

Simply unclick the frame, remove the old lens, peel the protective covers off your new lens, insert into the frame, and clip the lens back into place. Not only does this eliminate 10 to 15 minutes of downtime, it also ensures the lens is clean and free from fingerprints and smudging.

Air is supplied to the helmet via a durable breathing tube. It is then ducted over the top of the helmet with 80% of the air distributed to the front of the helmet, and the users’ ‘breathe zone’ via a waterfall effect. This not only provides oxygen to where the user needs it, but it also eliminates lens fogging. The remaining 20% of air is ducted through channels to the users’ head to aid in cooling. 

The Nova 3 has been designed to eliminate any downtime and reduce ongoing costs to a minimum. This includes every part of the helmet being available as spare parts, which are easily replaceable in the field. We even provide the one tool you require to remove every part of the helmet. No more need to find the correct tools or drill out rivets.

Further enhancing the Nova 3 as the industry's leading abrasive blast helmet, a range of additional addon features are available. These include the industry-leading RPB L4 Light. Specifically for blasting in dark, confined areas, such as inside tanks, ship hulls, or poorly lit blast rooms, the L4 Light was designed and tested with blasters, for blasters. Increasing the blasters’ ability to see clearly in the dark, not only increasing the blasters’ safety, it also reduces the blasters’ chance of missing spots, which eliminates the common requirement of re-blasting post inspection. 

Running on lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, the L4 light’s sleek design adds minimal weight and height to the helmet, ensuring the blaster can access tight, confined areas easily with minimal chance of
damage to the light. For more information, view the L4 Light features video or real-time action blasting video.

The second optional add-on to the Nova 3 is in-helmet communication. Simply by adding the Nova Talk upgrade kit, your blasters, pot tenders, or key personnel can communicate seamlessly with each other in real time, advancing their safety and increasing productivity and reducing abrasive usage. The in-helmet communication system pairs with 99% of radios currently available on the market. 

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