Recently bought a pro tec two face helmet... Its too big so i'm returning it but that gives me a chance to hear other peoples opinion on the helmet..
When im changing the helmet i may go for a different one... So does anyone have any advice?/ Mu budgets only about €80.00


Sarah

wrsi makes a decent cheap helemet, prob the best plastic helmet out there.

www.whitewaterhelmet.com/

look at shred ready. you should be able to get almost any of their helmets for under 125 USD, so they are in your budget. Also, look for a Sweet Strutter barely used or a Predator Lee helmet if you want a visor.


shredready.com/
www.sweet.no/helmets.htm
www.predatorhelmets.com/cart/category/1

for that price, you may be able to find a Shred Ready somewhere on sale.. I'd go for that. The cool thing about WRSI helmets is that you can buy attachments for them like a face guard or ear guards.. The plastic on the guards seemed a little flimsy to me but could still do the trick.

oh BTW: the Shred Ready helmets have a quick adjustable ratchet that tightens the helmet around your head.. so it def. won't be too big for your noggin.

Hi Sarah,

I really don't want to sound like a chop, but what is your head worth to you? I would never skimp on a helmet. Whitewater kayaking takes one into an environment where there are a lot of variables, and by having good equipment, you can effectively reduce some of them, to a degree. Of course everyone is different and this is just my opinion. I'm glad you're changing the helmet. Even the worlds best helmet won't be of much use if it doesn't fit properly.

The WRSI helmets seem fairly decent. A lot of effort has gone into their design and I believe they are very good. I'm still a fan of composite helmets though. I had a Shred Ready and while it was comfortable the outfitting inside didn't last, and the retention system broke at the back. I had zero response from Shred Ready when I asked to buy a replacement system. I sold that and went for a Sweet Strutter and later a fullcut Rocker too. Both have been superb and I cannot complain... I took a huge hit with the Strutter that left me with a headache for 5 days and a bruised shoulder complete with torn dry top, but nothing worse. Also managed to run a 3m drop (low volume) upside without knocking myself out. I don't rate the experience highly though.. But the helmet is bomber. Just my 2 cents.

www.sweet.no/helmets.htm

Take care,
Adrian

i definately agree with adrian. dont chose a helmet for its price. i have a wrsi helmet which is really comfortable and comes with a big bag of foam for custom fitting it to your head. i looked at the protec helmets and some of the composite helmets but felt the wrsi would be better for me. it has saved me from a few sore knocks and still seems ok. also it only cost about £60(not sure what that is in euros) so shouldnt be out of your price range.

My head is worth alot to me and i see where your coming from.
I do plan to actually buy a sweet strutter next year when i get my grade three proficiency but untill then have to make do with something a little cheaper. If i was running grade three or four rivers it would be essential to have a good helmet but as im only doing grade two I think il be okay. The rivers we do are normally flatish alot of the time witha bit of moving water and then a few drops.. You'd rarely ever capsize. I'm not quite at the stage yet where im playing in the surf either because of an incident last year which punctured my self confidence. So at the moment i'm just taking it easy!

Yeah well another reason why im changing it is because i just dont like it it doesnt suit me, and because im a girl its essential to look good while im paddling! -
Well I have been looking at the WRSI helmet and soem other pro=tec ones and they all seem to be pretty reliable.But sure its only untill next year! The WRSI are about €70.00 here aswell which is the same as the pro-tec ones so im spoiled for choice!

Thanks!

In the states, you can find a SR Super scrappy for ~$70. In euros, this is around 50 including tax. I would think that you could ship it for under 30 euros. Also, Adrian, SR now sells the HOG lock for $20 as a retro fitting for helmets, so if still have the shell, here is a link: www.shopatron.com/product/product_id=SHDHOG/343.0.56.0.0.0.0 .

P.S. I have a Super Scrappy and love it, even though it looks like an army helmet.

I just picked up a WRSI current... It is a well built lid and once outfitted correctly is solid, avalible is the add on face shield (which I also picked up)... I opted to get this lid for my creeking helmet, offers solid all-round protecction and was designed for ww kayaking

I have a predator lee that I paddle as my every day helmet, I like it for the brim and have taken some good smacks to the dome in it... seems to hold up well. If you do go with the lee, buy the shred ready HOG system to hold teh helmet in place...

good luck

In response to my last post on this thread, someone at Shred Ready contacted me. So a double thumbs up to them. Good customer service goes a long way… Although in my case it is too late of course. Seems they are on the ball.

Get a Sweet Rocker.... Put it on the Credit Card and throw yourself back into those drops and flops ! If you take it easy for too long you will lose your preverbial b@lls..... And you dont want that.

Sweet Rocker is just so Sweeeeeeeeeet.

I heard that the rockers were quite heavy and made your neck sore quite fast making it uncomfortable to be on a river for too long.

I'm using the WRSI helmet for a while now and never had problems with it. It feels very solid and save and once you got the right fit the helmet will never expose your forehead! Fitting can be tricky though.

In addition you get a double shell which is probably as save as the rocker system but much cheaper.. I'm not a fan of the protec helemts.. the feel so bendy..

See some local dealer and give the WRSI a try! For smaller heads they have a new smaller version...

Have a look at the Happy-2b range of helmets, i have a Skook and it's very comfortable, has good temple protection and a smaller peak than the sweet strutter.

as far as I can see, i-canoe carries Sweet, Shred Ready, Pro-Tec, and the Descent helmet. If you have still not gotten a kayak, go ahead and do both of these at the same time. Also, here is a list of dealers for the happy-2b helmets: www.happy-2b.com/new/b2b/retailers.htm

I've got the Shred Ready Vixen--a helmet made just for women--protects the head and is cute It runs about $140 USD and I've had no problems with it. The ratcheting system is great--it really locks on my head well and there's plenty of room for the braids (i have rather long hair and the helmet accommodates that well). It sits better on my head than all the other helmets I tried. I've been super happy with it! www.shredready.com/products/vixen.html On a purely superficial level, I have to admit, I think the dragonfly is cute. :silly: Good luck!

The snake skin version looks pretty pimp..

One would be quite the 'vixen' in that Mine is the more understated baby blue--there is, of course, the pink version if one would like to go extra girlie.

off to buy my pro-tec two face helmet today..... Thanks for everyones help!

Well i now have a story to tell

I went off to exchange my helmet for a different size but when i got to the kayak shop i saw a sweet struuter and tried it on. I fell in love with it. It is the comfiest helmet i have ever tried on and also one of the nicest looking! So i have now ditched the pro-tec and am buying a sweet strutter as everyone will be glad to know!

Proper insurance for my head!

Cool, may you have many happy impacts.

Just found this:
playak.com/article.php?sid=1127

Enjoy

As always one last question. I have bought the strutter just dont know which size to keep. The small one which fits snugly and is very comfortable or the size up which should fit fine with the fire velcro pads and that i can wear a skull cap with in the winter. Its a bit of a dileema because my head is 56 and a half cm.
The small-medium i think is 53-56 cm
and the medium-large is 56-59
I have had 2 skull caps for the past two years and have never worn them purely for the reason the both cover my ears and i cant hear too well.
Also im 14 does anyone know will me head grow much more??

I would get the large, but try to figure out which one is more snug without a skull cap. In other words, put all of the sizing pads in the large and see if you can wear it fine. Unless you will be in cold weather more than 50% of the time, get the one that fits better during the summer months, since that is when you will probably be paddling the most. Also, if you want a skull cap that doesn't affect your hearing, here are two options: www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=2026&deptid=942 www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=2027&deptid=942 .

Hey SAZ, I want you to read this it's about "surfer's ear" www.lajollasurf.org/surf_ear.html as you are 14, you may have not heard about this, and also as you say don't want to have anything covering your ears. I've only been kayaking 2 years and already if I don't have earplugs when I'm playboating I get instant ear aches that last all night. Anyway, as your young, you might want to start thinking about saving your ears. and if your in water that is cold enough to need to wear a skull cap, I would recommend you get one that covers your ears. Plus one that covers the ears keeps your head 75% warmer than one that doesn't (at least in my case). So I strongly suggest you get used to a lack of hearing, I did, and I go with earplugs, and a cap that covers my ears, and I come home ear ache free and worry free that my ear canal won't develop any bone growths.

Oh and the sweet strutters do have manufacturing differences, since they are hand made, some that say they are one size may be off by 1-2cms, I can speak experience to this becuz me and my buddy have the same size helmet, but his fits me more tight, and it's not the pads. I might get the one that's bigger on you, with the pads and straps finely adjusted you could get that thing fitting nice and snug, It took me awhile, but I got mine to fit very snug, and at first it was really loose. Good Luck. and please I hope you take the article into consideration.

BTW: surfer's get "surfer's ear" in water's that range from 50 degrees and up. when you consider most rivers are glacier or snow melt fed and on average, colder than 50 degrees. keep that in mind.

here's another article:
www.surfplugs.co.uk/About%20Surfers%20Ear.html just imagine it says kayaker instead of surfer

Oh and in women, they reach skeletal maturation (stop their bone growth) around age 18, so your noggin may grow some more, but I expect your face will thin out and your head will grow taller, not wider.

Thanks for that. I actually have heard of that because my instructor has it! It would encourage me to wear earplugs and my skullcap but as im only learning most things i need to be able to hear my instructor from distances or water that is making noise ie if im at the top of a weir and hes at the bottom. I know there is signals for most things but im really only a novice so for the mo i need my hearing. That is scary sh*t though. Im possibly a sufferer already water is stuck in my ears for ages onece it gets in and i have to wear earplugs when swimming i dont get ear aches that often though.. hmm.
Yeah i've been thinking of the bigger one because even if its a little big with the velcro that comes with it i can buy some more i presume. Yeah id say that was the case with the helmet sizes because the one i tried in the shop that was super comfy was a small-medium and my head is meant to be half of a size to big for that helmet as i have a size 6 and a half head!.... Might invest in an earless skull cap for the moment and then the helmet will fit and my head will be warm! I dont know if irish rivers are cold or not but they are definetly cold enough to give you a shock when you capsize and i tend to comlpetely freak out!

Eh, Surfers Ear !?

Nobody ever told me about that !

By the way, are people not worried about the extra exposure given by the strutter !?

Where do you paddle Saz ? Strawberry Beds !?

Yeah around there...The liffey, the boyne, the aughrim, the avonmore -rathdrum to the meetings of the waters.
What sbout you?
Im only a grade 2 so nothing much for me yet!
I dont think it has that much expsosure. I guess it depends what your doing.

Aquilla wrote:

Eh, Surfers Ear !?

Nobody ever told me about that !

By the way, are people not worried about the extra exposure given by the strutter !?

Yeah surfers ear is not very cool. I think I'm going to get some custom made plugs for my ears. There is no doubt I've lost some hearing already. I stand under correction, but Billy Harris says in his book that he has lost something like 60 or 70% of his hearing already! I can't check that now as I've borrowed the book to a friend...

I've taken some reasonably decent knocks with my Strutter and been fine. But then after a while I bought a fullcut Rocker and use that for creeking. Still, the Strutter is quite good in terms of protection. It covers the temples, the back of the head (medulla I think they call it) and another very important aspect is that it sits nicely on my head. Even a quick beating in the powerful hole of number 8 on the Zambezi left my helmet exactly where it should have been. I've seen a lot of other helmets ride up, exposing the forehead. Watch out. Different skulls probably fit different helmets better than others. Get something that fits you, we're all different.

Much the same.... head north a fair bit though !

I always was concerned about the exposure on the strutter. But sure if your getting it in the face a rocker would provide much the same exposure too...

Happy paddling Saz, glad you got yer noggin sorted

Yet another dilemma!
You guys are probably going oh jeez what a question but as a girl and other woman will understand this:
I dont know which colour to go for!

Black or Pearl white?
You see my problem.
They are very different colours!
saz