How to Buy an Ice Hockey Helmet

A helmet is essential for protecting your head. While this is true of any sport, it is even more important in hockey, considering the speed at which the puck can move.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Hockey Helmets
• Mouth Guards Attached To Helmet's Mask

1. Note that most helmets will work the same and that most differences have to do more with appearance than with function. You can get a good helmet for between $70 and $80, a youth helmet for roughly $55.

2. Understand that size is the most important thing. Your helmet should fit your head snugly and not move around too much, but it shouldn't feel tight. Your helmet can be adjusted by the screws in its sides to better fit your head. This is nice if you have a growing child, because you won't have to buy a new helmet every season.

3. Note that the biggest difference in helmets is the type of face mask you get. Plastic masks, similar to Plexiglas, don't block your vision. Most pro players will wear a plastic mask if they wear one at all. Vision is rarely a problem with wire masks, but sometimes the bars will get in the way. Try it on and make sure that none of the horizontal bars block your vision.

Tips & Warnings

• Plastic face masks, often sold as half-masks, sell for $50 to $60. The wire mask is an older style and is somewhat cheaper. Many helmets are sold combined with a wire mask; buying one separately might set you back between $25 and $30.
• Plastic masks can fog up when you're breathing hard. You can buy a special treatment to prevent this.
• Many of the pros don't wear masks in their helmets because they have chosen to accept frequent trips to the doctor for stitches on their faces as a career hazard. Wear a mask.
• Don't forget to pick up a mouth guard to attach to your helmet. Your orthodontist will thank you.

Who Can Help:

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[TechGeekMN]

on 12/27/2008 Pro players may get away with wearing a loose chin strap, but youth players can't afford to take that risk. It's always a good idea to make sure the chin strap is snug on your kid's helment before he/she hits the ice.

on 1/5/2006 The way I see it, the only helmet you will ever need is the Baur 5000. It's not that expensive, around $100 and it's top of the line. There is of course the new Reebok, which I haven't tried yet and the 8000 now, which I personally think is ugly, but to each his own. Safety wise, the 5000 is still top notch. I have owned 5 of these now due to changing teams a lot, and they all were flawless.

Mouthguards: I despise wearing mouthguards but I do. Contrary to popular belief, mouthguards are not for protecting your teeth, they are an anti-concussion devise.

on 11/22/2005 Many anti-fogs don't work on plastic. We have found FogTech to be the best.

on 11/22/2005 A small amount of dish soap keeps plastic-face shields from fogging up.

on 11/22/2005 Andy, age 10, learned the hard way. His chin cup didn't quite snug up to his chin, leaving nearly an inch wide gap between his chin and the strap. He landed on his chin during a game, and needed 6 stitches to his chin, even with his helmet on!