What the description of Sphacteria has to tell us

[Kineas]

3] τό τε ἔργον** ἐνταυ̂θα χαλεπὸν τοι̂ς Λακεδαιμονίοις καθίστατο: οὔτε** [size=150:88ewzo5h]γὰρ οἱ πι̂λοι ἔστεγον τὰ τοξεύματα[/size], δοράτιά τε ἐναπεκέκλαστο βαλλομένων, εἰ̂χόν τε** οὐδὲν σφίσιν αὐτοι̂ς χρήσασθαι ἀποκεκλῃμένοι μὲν τῃ̂ ὄψει** του̂ προορα̂ν, ὑπὸ δὲ τη̂ς μείζονος βοη̂ς τω̂ν πολεμίων τὰ ἐν αὐτοι̂ς παραγγελλόμενα οὐκ ἐσακούοντες, κινδύνου τε πανταχόθεν περιεστω̂τος καὶ οὐκ ἔχοντες ἐλπίδα καθ' ὅτι χρὴ ἀμυνομένους σωθη̂ναι.

If οἱ πι̂λοι doesn't refer to helmets, why would they just have been called ἐν οἱ̂ς οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι οὐκ ἐδύναντο διώκειν ὅπλα ἔχοντες.?? So I assume that Thucydides means their helmets. That said, between the description of the burning woods and the clouds of missiles, I take τοξεύματα to mean all manner of missiles, and not just arrows--clods of dirt, rocks, javelins.
A line or two later, the comment οὐδὲν σφίσιν αὐτοι̂ς χρήσασθαι ἀποκεκλῃμένοι μὲν τῃ̂ ὄψει suggests to me that they had raised their shields to cover their faces, thus rendering themselves unable to see. perhaps I'm reading too much in!