I have been due to replace my good old Pro-Tec helmet, which I have been happy enough with; but after a year of wear, the lining was well compressed and the helmet was wobbling a bit on my head. Which is not, strictly, safe. You can pretty cheaply replace just the lining of your helmet, but not ad infinitum, as I discussed in this earlier post about replacing your helmet, where I also brought up the subject of hockey helmets. In addition to providing better protection, hockey helmets last longer; the life of a hockey helmet is supposed to be seven years. Which means this Bauer 7500 hockey helmet is going to last until I'm fifty, bitches:
I had meant to get the 5100, but Gunzo's only had the 4500 and the 7500 in stock. Ice Warehouse has the whole range of Bauer hockey helmets and Easton hockey helmets nicely laid out here. I like to try on stuff that I'm going to wear, though. The 7500 was more money than I wanted to spend, but it had better foam than the 4500 and tool-free adjustment. The 4500 is adjustable, but it adjusts with screws somehow. Tool-free is a very good feature. It has these locks on the sides, you flip them up and fit the helmet to the length of your head and then you flip them down to lock again.
The fit is amazing, you put on that helmet and it stays put. No wobble at all, the helmet is just part of your head. The first day I tried it on, I kept swiveling my head to look at things. Also I keep hoping it's going to project a bionic targeting system on my retinas, or maybe give me a list of swear phrases to select from.
Flava Dave: Ha! The swears come with the next model up.
P: Dang.