I've heard lots of speculation about this but I never actually saw anyone test it, so I did. I tested comtacs and also a helmet, and both tests clearly show that these things make the size of your instant death hitbox bigger. The head hitbox is already big enough (getting grazed anywhere including the ears is still instant death) and now if you put anything on it, it gets even bigger.
edit: For the people who keep saying I should have done it without headgear as well: There were three of us and we were waiting for a fourth to get out of a raid, so we didn't get a chance to do more. I have previously seen clips of tests without headgear so I wanted to test with headgear. Anyone who wants to volunteer their face to test more can message me and we can do it.
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