system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Star Wars] Why do so many helmets have the long part in the back? Do people get stabbed in the neck in space a lot? Who is doing all this neck stabbing? And WHY aren't the Jedi doing something about all these neck stabbings?

I was carving Darth Vader today and it occurred to me that many different cultures and governments in the Star Wars universe (Vader's helmet, the Naboo soldiers, some rebel pilots, etc.) use a helmet design similar to pith helmets with the back of the neck protected especially. Was there ever any sort of explanation for that or do they just look cool?
gpt
Blasters are very powerful tools, and often produce small explosions where they land. Flying molten metal, shrapnel, or other debris would be a very real risk - particularly in close-quarters environments, where an attacker can fire into cover above a hiding soldier and try to flush them out with the hot, falling debris. In this context, protecting the back of the neck is an important part of the armor; it's hard to ignore something painful landing there.