Duh duh nahhhhh!

Now i don't know if all of you have seen or heard about the new helmet from Predator, but it looks, well....like the sweet strutter.
I was wondering if anyone has tried one, or knows anything about how the helmet performs?
I'm just alittle wary due to its price tag, which isn't much.

Thanks a Bundle
Finn

check this link out..... we didn't even pay the guy!


paddling.about.com/od/buyingakayakhelmet...rms=predator+helmets


matt
www.predatorhelmets.com

Oh, ok cool!
Erm are they on sale in the UK? So if i did opt for one, would i have to order from over seas?

Kicks wrote:

I was wondering if anyone has tried one, or knows anything about how the helmet performs?

This helmet suffers from the same poor coverage problems as the sweet strutter but is made out of the same soft as cheese material that preditor seem to make all there helmets out of.

I am not a fan of this helmet but if you consider image more important than protection (personally I don't which is why I wear a WRSI helmet) then it may be the helmet for you.

Denzil

P.S. the helmets I would recomend would be the Gath Gedi, Sweet Rocker, Happy 2b Aiges and the WRSI helmets. I hope this helps.

To be honest, i'm probably going for the sweet strutter, as i don't do super extreme WW, but i do want a helmet that's made out of some tough stuff...
and the strutter has been recommended by many.

I am personally not a huge fan of the strutter due to its rather limited coverage but plenty of people do use them. If you want a decent debate on helmets I recommend starting a thread at www.UKRiversGuidebook.co.uk (Sorry for promoting another board on your forum Jeroen) or just do a search on the forum over there as it is a topic that has been discussed many times before.

Denzil

stoneweasel wrote:

I am personally not a huge fan of the strutter due to its rather limited coverage but plenty of people do use them. If you want a decent debate on helmets I recommend starting a thread at www.UKRiversGuidebook.co.uk (Sorry for promoting another board on your forum Jeroen) or just do a search on the forum over there as it is a topic that has been discussed many times before.

Denzil

that's ok, but we've had discussion about this here on playak too. on the top right, you'll see a form field saying 'search forum'. search for predator or strutter and you'll find the playak discussions about it as well.

oh, and of course you can use playak to search all worldwide forums (including playak, ukrgb, boatertalk etc etc) for discussions about this:
playak.com/paddle-news.php?cat=Forums&am...&search=predator
playak.com/paddle-news.php?cat=Forums&am...&search=strutter

enjoy,
jeroen

Hi Densil,
You shouldn't stay up all night worrying about your stiffness. Many helmets are perfectly adequate even if they are a bit on the small and soft side.

Seriously, at our factory we tested several different brands of helmets on a Cadex impact tester and found that the Lee performed better than the Strutter on impact test on the top area of the helmet and about the same on the sides. I think it is because we use thicker and better impact foam. We are sending the Lee to an independent testing lab in Germany(TUV) for CE approval and GS approval. I expect their results will be the same as ours. Contact me mid February if you wish to see the results. Also, the Lee has better coverage in the temple(area below the front chinstrap rivet).

www.cadexinc.com/Impact/impactMachineTriAxle.html

Happy boating!

matt kelly
www.predatorhelmets.com


www.predatorhelmets.com/predator_newsletter_1.pdf

You make some reasonable points there and it interesting to hear that the impact tests you ran came back with better results for the lee than for the strutter. Surely the point about using more foam is a little misleading though as will this not depend on head size? i.e. someone with a small head will have more foam to pad the helmet out to fit them properly where as someone with a big head may only have space for a thin layer of foam? or am I mistaken?

Looking at the two helmets again I can see that there is a little more coverage than the strutter but it is rather marginal and I am afraid I don't really consider the coverage offered by either of them to really be that \"adequate\".
After watching a friend receive a hard hit to the head (luckily only leading to concussion and bit of bleeding, ok a lot of bleeding) on a grade 2 river while wearing a more fashionable helmet with less than perfect coverage, my personal feeling is that it is never a good idea to give up protection for fashion.
I do realise however that this is a matter of personal preference and can not really blame you as a company for putting out a helmet that proves very popular with the fashion over function paddling crowd, it is simple supply and demand, paddlers demand fashion helmets so companies supply fashion helmets. I however will always go for a helmet with a bit more coverage.

Denzil

P.S. If you don't mind a bit of constructive criticism the other niggle I have with your helmets (across the board I belive) is that I find they can be a bit of a pain to get a really good fit that does not rotate back on your head, a simple cradle system (like on the WRSI helmets or the new version Protek Wake) I believe could pretty much solve this. Obviously this would not really be needed on the skate range as when skateboarding you rarely find a river tying to pull your helmet off.

If you are interested in a retention system look at the Predator Trinity. It has a simple rear head system.

If you want a bomb proof helmet look at FNA Headgear. The owner says that if you survive a cracked helmet, wearing it, then he must have done something wrong. My avatar is a picture of a custom painted XStream model. His website is very basic because he doesn't want to be too busy so he lets word of mouth sell. All of his helmets are made from Kevlar or Carbon Kevlar.
www.fnaheadgear.com/ The paint jobs you see on the site can be done at no extra charge.

After looking on the predator website I see what you mean about the system on the Trinity, these must be an addition to the original design my mates trinity defiantly did not have one of these. Good sow on Predator part for adding it.

I do like some of the FNA designs and they certainly seem well built, it is a real pity that they have not been CE tested (and apparently are not going to be) which makes buying and selling them in Europe a bit of a pain (although this does not seem have put off half the paddling population of Scotland).

Denzil

Denzil,
Some good points. I pretty much agree that there is probably too many people wearing playboat style helmets for general river running and 4+ stuff. Paddlers should remember that almost all the people in the magazines are pro boaters and probably have better skills at tucking, rolling, or just not flipping in nasty drops than us mere mortals. Most also have full face helmets for runs that they consider challenging to themselves.

We are re-issuing the Trinity this year with a new, much improved rear adjustor strap. Simple, strong, low profile and with a great adjustment range. Just a smaller version of a simple snowboard binding buckle. We also have another better coverage helmet coming out called the Ducati. Maybe I am old school, but personally, I think a helmet should fit correctly using foam fittinss only. That's why we include a big fit pad set with each helmet. That and a snug chinstap is most important to stop helmet lift.

The impact testing is done with the fit pads removed. Just the base foam is used for testing results. approx 8mm


Cheers,
matt

I strees tested a Predator a few months ago. I flipt and hit a big rock hard as I was going over it. The helmit absorbed the inpact and protected my head and neck. I like the clasic style helmit and not the small sport helmit, Predator is a good helmit no question about it.

Lots of really interesting points there, and actually really good to know.
I don't do really hardcore Creeking etc, so a stylish sport helmet will do me fine, i mean yes i want protection, but i don't want to over do it, if im only messing about on small waves and holes...
I think when and if i start some harder more challenging and dangerous stuff, i will invest in a full on helmet...i guess i'll have to have a big ol' argument on which one of them i get
Save that for another day
Finn

dont buy it its a peice of wank, unless they want to make you something for the back, else you may aswell buy yurself a nice ice cream yub and sellotape it to yur head

i got one, looks good though , and thats all that matters

I wear a lee... It has held up to impact just fine and I paddle some very shallow water in Wisco...

My biggest complaint about the lee is that it rolls back on my head after a few flips. I fixed it by buying the HOG system from Shred Ready. $20 and now its bombproof

well I know its an old thread but I personally say if you like the ball-cap style helmet and dont want to fish out $200 for $70 (and $20 for the HOG) you can have the lee and still be good to go for most paddling

hey hey laddie ive ordered one of them aswell, its gonna take years to get here thoughcos somone made america so far away

(iread about the hogthing on here a while ago, it was probably yur post lol)

hey did you have to drill holes in yur hat to put it on?
howd yu fix it to it

Hey Fairplatt,

You don't have to import the lee from america. Peakuk have them in their shop its right here

I have one and i think its great.

paddy

oh bugger
yur right aswell
i already wasted my money
and some poor carrier pigeon worked his little beak of to get that here
good news to late paddy=P cheers anyway mate

Is this Predator Lee helmet made in Very big sizes as there is a market for the bigger head that is not fully catered for at the moment.

Well well well, one of the guys i go paddling with bought a predator Lee a couple months ago now, it's soooo big! my head looks like a peanut inside it
But it looks great on him as he has a rather large cranium... to put it nicely.

Seriously though they are good helmets, although they sit a lot higher on the head than a strutter... meh.

I'm really interested in you guys fixing the SR HOG system to your helmets, its a great system, but how did you do it without seriously weakening the structure of the helmet?

Finn

I got one quite recently as it was one of the few helmets that would fit me, but i quickly returned it as i don't think i could have any confidence in it at all. the rolling back is a serious issue. Didn't try the HOG system though, for those with a larger head I found the Yak kontor helmet fitted best.

Sorry Ive been absent

Yes you DO have to drill a bit, 2 small holes but I have noticed no problems assoc with it...I undeerstand that it could weaken the lid but that is how SR puts it on their helmats too...

The holes are very small and pretty much right by the rim and not near the load-bearing bits...

Ive been very happy with the result so far

Hmm sounds interesting, have to pass on drilling holes in my helmet because it does fit nicely and it's still relitively new... might give it a shot when it's battered and just use it for play boating.

Cheers for the info though!

All the best
Kicks