To get the best experience of playing hockey matches, you need to wear the right helmet. The right hockey helmet should provide you with the protection and comfort for your head throughout the match.
Remember, you will wear the helmet for hours in each match, so it will be best for you to take your time to find the helmet best fit for your head. This guide will help you choose the right hockey helmet.
Factors that Determine the Right Hockey Helmet
With the various designs, sizes, and other variations of hockey helmets you can find in the market today, it might become quite difficult for you to pick the one that is right for you. Picking the right hockey helmet requires some careful considerations, as you will wear this helmet in various hockey matches you will take part in. You need to ensure that the hockey helmet can protect your head throughout the hockey matches you are playing.
Here are the important factors that determine the right hockey helmet:
- Protection features. The first factor you need to consider before picking a helmet for hockey is the protection features it offers. A high-quality hockey helmet will offer you the best protection for your head, which follows the certified safety standards. The common safety standard certifications for hockey helmets are CSA and HECC certifications.
- Brand. It’s best for you to pick the helmet for hockey based on the brand that released it. The more trustworthy the brand, the better it will be for you. Avoid picking the helmet released by an unknown brand with unknown quality.
- Design and aesthetics. You need to wear the hockey helmet that not only provides the best protection for your head, but it will also need to improve your appearance when you wear it. So, the design and aesthetics of the helmet will become another factor you need to consider before picking the helmet for your hockey games.
- Size and comfort. You need to pick the helmet for hockey that fits best with your head size. The helmet needs to give a snug fit to your head, leaving no room for wobbling movements. Also, it needs to provide your head the most comfort when you wear it.
- Extra features. There are various hockey helmets that provide you with extra features not available in standard helmets, such as extra padding for the interior area, harder outer shell, removable attachments, and other features. It’s best for you to pick the helmet that offers extra features, which you can use to improve your hockey experience while wearing it.
Hockey Helmet Size and Age Range
The helmets for hockey come in various sizes, and each size often caters for a certain age range. So, it’s best for you to understand the sizing for the hockey helmet and how you can choose the right size for your head.
Here’s some important information about hockey helmet size and age range:
- X-Small. X-Small is the smallest size you can find for a hockey helmet, and this is the size for the 4-6 age range. It has 6 1/8 to 6 3/4 inches hat size and 19.3 to 21.4 inches circumference.
- Small. Small is the size for the 7 to 11 age range. It has 6 1/2 to 7 inches hat size and 20.6 to 22.2 inches circumference.
- Medium. Medium is the size for the 12 to 16 age range. It has 6 7/8 to 7 3/8 inches hat size and 21.9 to 23.3 inches circumference.
- Large. Large is the size for the 17+ age range. It has 7 3/8 to 7 3/4 inches hat size and 22.7 to 24.5 inches circumference.
- X-Large. X-Large is the largest size for the hockey helmet you can find today. It is the size for the 17+ age range, and it has 7 5/8 to 8 1/8 inches hat size and 24 to 26 inches circumference.
Please note that the sizing for the helmet will not guarantee you the perfect fit. Each brand might have their own sizing charts, so you need to fit the helmet for you to ensure that it will be snug fit when you wear it.
Tips for Picking the Right Hockey Helmet
For the best experience in your hockey games, you will need to wear the right helmet for your head. It’s not just about the protection you can get from the helmet during the games. It’s also about your comfort when you wear it. This comfortable feeling will help you go through your hockey games with more ease. It will also help you focus and concentrate more, thus giving you the best chance to win in the game.
Here are some important tips for picking the right hockey helmet for you:
- Choose for a snug-fit, non-wobbly helmet. The most important tip you can follow when picking the right helmet for hockey is that you need to ensure the snugness of the helmet when you wear it. It needs to fit your head with a snug fit, not too small and not too big.
- Hardness and durability of the outer shell. The hardness and durability of the helmet’s outer shell can determine the quality of the protection it provides for your head. It’s important for you to pick a helmet for hockey that can withstand various shocks, so you can protect your head from potential accidents during the match.
- The comfort of the foam or interior padding. The interior foam or padding can also add more comfort to your head when you wear it. Keep in mind that you will wear the helmet for hours on end, so you need to ensure that the foam or interior padding of the helmet can give you the best comfort. The texture of the foam should sit between soft and hard to ensure comfort and durability.
- Flexibility for various accessories. There are various accessories you can use for your hockey helmet. So, pick the helmet that can accommodate the use of those accessories, even more so if you want to use different accessories in each match.
- The brand that you can trust. It’s best for you to buy the hockey helmet from the trustworthy brand that has a good popularity in the world of hockey sports. It will provide you with more assurance about the helmet’s overall quality and safety certifications.
- Choose between helmet-only and combo options. There are two types of helmets for hockey you can pick. The first one is the helmet-only or basic helmet type, and the second one is the combo helmet, which comes with some accessories already attached on it. The basic helmet offers a cheaper option, so you can pick this option if you already have the helmet accessories to go with it. Otherwise, you can pick the combo helmet option.
- Ensure that it follows the standard safety certifications. The hockey helmet needs to follow the standard safety certifications based on its distribution area. Be sure to find the safety stickers or markers on the helmet to determine its safety certifications.
Fitting Steps for Hockey Helmet
Before buying a helmet for hockey, it’s best for you to fit the helmet to your head, so you don’t buy the wrong helmet for yourself. The fitting step is also important to do if you are buying the helmet online.
Here are the fitting steps for hockey helmet:
- Measure your head size to determine the helmet size that is best for you. Helmets for hockey come in X-Small to X-Large size, so it’s important to measure your head size to determine the size of the helmet that will fit best for you. You need to determine your hat size and circumference.
- Loosen the helmet, so you can put it on your head. Next, you will need to loosen your helmet and put it on your head. You should not have a problem putting the helmet on your head after loosening it.
- Tighten the helmet. Now, try to tighten the helmet and see if it will fit on your head with a snug fit. Remember, the helmet must not wobble when you wear it. So, try to test its wobbliness by moving your head right/left and up/down.
- Put the helmet accessories you want to use. The helmet might come with the attached accessories. However, you can put your own accessories on the helmet if you are picking a basic helmet. The idea is to test for the snug fit of the helmet with the accessories attached to it. You can do the same testing by moving your head around.
- See if you can wear the helmet with a snug fit. Now, you can see whether the helmet is a snug fit for you. Pick the helmet you want to get after you have confirmed that it is snug-fit and doesn’t wobble.
Conclusion
Picking a hockey helmet is not something you can do on a whim. You need to consider all the important factors before picking the helmet for hockey that is right for you.
These tips can help you find the right helmet you can wear with comfort throughout your hockey matches.
