Chrome O'Neill Mask

[nemesislax]

I remember seeing a Gaels player (maybe McMichael) wearing a chrome o'neill cage on his helmet in jr this year and I was wondering if anyone knows where to get these...they look sick.

[RockStar]

I've never seen a chrome O'Neill cage, so I can't help.

Did the guy maybe just grind the black epoxy off of a regular O'Neill? It's probably stainless steel underneath, which could be polished to a decent shine.

[RockStar]

that would have to be one helluva grinding job to not scuff up the stainless (assuming it is underneath) so that it could look good.

Put a wire brush on a Dremel, and that epoxy will peel off like nothing. Then use a fine grit emery flapwheel to polish the metal.

2-hour job.

[nemesislax]

I dunno guys it looked pretty good. Like it looked exactly the same as a chrome Itech hockey mask.
There was a guy from akwesasne that had one as well.

[Hooligan]

If anyone ever finds that on the internet, let me know via PM. I'll throw that up as a sticky. A chrome O'Neill would be sick! I think I'd have to buy one.

[ravens_4life]

The only chrome o'neals i have seen are ones people sent in to a chrome shop to have done. You cant buy stock ones.

[WHEELAX2]

000000000000

[Hooligan]

Quickest bet: Gait box helmet

Best bet: Get a Bauer or CCM helmet, and get an O'Neill mask. The cage comes with the screws and clips, and all hockey helmets have the screws in the right spots for the face cage connection.

[tomahawks11]

that would look awesome. i have an oneil mask right now but i have no interest in turning it chrome. i wouldnt mind learning how to do it or where to get them tho...

[titans 43]

I think moutain edge sells them because the jr.b moutianeers from calgary had them last year and I think they were sponsered by them so that might be somewhere to look at, it's in calgary f.y.i.

[#15Roadies]

Yeah, this is Mitch McMichael wearing one...

http://www.greengaels.org/2005/Griffins/mitch.jpg

[nemesislax]

its best on a black helmet

[nemesislax]

actually in the picture, it looks like mcmichael is wearing a nami 20/20 mask not an o'neill

[Captain Cool]

it is a nami 20/20. They were selling chrome calicoats/namis at provincials. i was going to pick one up, but i wear a triad.

[slinkyspine]

actually in the picture, it looks like mcmichael is wearing a nami 20/20 mask not an o'neill


yea the cages bars are spaced to be legal an o neils not csa or maybe its the other way around anyways i think its a 20/20

[judge death]

yea the cages bars are spaced to be legal an o neils not csa

Yes O'Neils are not approved for use in CLA

[nemesislax]

you get away with them easily though....lots of people wear them in jr

[RockStar]

Wheelax:

The facemask on the Gait helmet sucks, and the helmet is just a repackaged and overpriced Itech hockey helmet.....cut through the crap and get yourself a premium hockey helmet and an O'Neill cage. (I'm partial to CCM/Reebok, but Nike/Bauer, Itech, Mission, and others are fine).


O'Neill's are fine for Junior and Senior in OLA. Intermediate is considered minor, and they're technically illegal there. Lots of guys wear em anyway at that level.

[#15Roadies]

Get yourself a good Bauer & O'Neil. I switched over to the O'Neil from a NAMI this year and the difference is very noticeable. Don't do it if you are playing CLA approved minor lacrosse. Stick with the NAMI.

On another note, I heard rumours this year that the OLA is going to put an equipment rule out for minor in 2006 that only helmets especially designed for lacrosse (i.e. Gait, Brine, Cascade, etc.) will be allowed. I think this would apply to the rep level only. I think it is a crock, but keep your head up anyways...

[KnightsLAXDad]

On another note, I heard rumours this year that the OLA is going to put an equipment rule out for minor in 2006 that only helmets especially designed for lacrosse (i.e. Gait, Brine, Cascade, etc.) will be allowed. I think this would apply to the rep level only. I think it is a crock, but keep your head up anyways...

If that is true, then there are going to be a lot of PO'd parents with two-sport kids and more expensive equipment. I think that would be a poor move on the OLA's part. Maybe by the time kids start playing peewee or bantam it might make more sense, but certainly not tyke or novice. The least expensive lacrosse-helmet, like a CLH or CS, is about $150 Cdn, I can't see too many people being happy about that. Besides, if you read the owners manual that comes with Cascade helmets, they are pretty specific that they are for "field only". They don't want to be liable for anything that happens in a box game.


KLD

[RockStar]

.......I heard rumours this year that the OLA is going to put an equipment rule out for minor in 2006 that only helmets especially designed for lacrosse (i.e. Gait......) will be allowed......I think it is a crock, but keep your head up anyways...

Banning hockey helmets is going to drive the cost of an equipment package up by $100 or more per kid. Maybe more, considering that many kids had helmets for hockey anyway, so effective cost was really $0. It's also going to have absolutely no measurable benefit to anyone except the helmet manufacturers.*

(*Wild Theory Alert - wonder if the possible driver for helmet rule changes is ignorance on the part of the OLA's insurer. OLA allows equipment not designed for laX, who's at fault if there is a head injury??)

I don't even believe a conversion to lacrosse helmets will even effect a noticeable reduction head injuries in minor. Serious head injuries are fairly rare in box. Hockey is far tougher on players' heads than box, and a CSA hockey helmet, with lax or hockey cage and a mouth guard is pretty damned good head protection.

Last point - If they approve Gait helmets but ban other hockey helmets, It's official - they're dumb all over, and a little ugly on the side!* The Gait helmet isn't even a top notch hockey helmet - it's a middle of the road Itech that they slapped a lousy facemask onto before doubling the price!

(*A rule like that would mean that a Gait would be legal, but a $200 carbon fibre Mission helmet fitted with a Gait facemask would be illegal......how stupid would that be!)

[#15Roadies]

"...dumb all over, and a little ugly on the side!" LOFL! Haven't heard that phrase in 20 years! LOL!

Hey, I have the same concerns and from a parent perspective it is alarming. However I still think it's a crock to generate helmet sales for one company or another. But with the OLA sometimes... ya just never know...

[KnightsLAXDad]

(*Wild Theory Alert - wonder if the possible driver for helmet rule changes is ignorance on the part of the OLA's insurer. OLA allows equipment not designed for laX, who's at fault if there is a head injury??)

I don't even believe a conversion to lacrosse helmets will even effect a noticeable reduction head injuries in minor. Serious head injuries are fairly rare in box. Hockey is far tougher on players' heads than box, and a CSA hockey helmet, with lax or hockey cage and a mouth guard is pretty damned good head protection.



Very plausible theory. Insurance companies aren't noted for their brilliant reasoning, then again, niether is the OLA. I am actually surprised that they haven't banned non-box-certified helmets (although the OLA gave the Team Ontario kids Warrior Viking helmets this year).

I also think that there would be some cost to the helmet manufacturers, because there would almost certainly be a "certification process" required to certify their helmet for box use. Some may be reluctant due to the liability involved. As far as I understand, although I haven't spent any time looking into it, that the NOCSAE helmet standard is more comprehensive and is more strict than the corresponding CSA one for hockey helmets.

I am with you 100% that there is no compelling reason (very few incidences of head injury) to go with lax specific helmets over hockey helmets for other than appearance.

I just can't see forcing parents into spending more $$. There would be a significant number of drop-outs or prevent new kids from coming into the sport, especially in families with 2,3,4 kids. I have one and I spend enough with fees, equipment, and tournaments. I can afford it, but many can't or it stretches them uncomfortably thin. It'll just drive kids more into other sports like summer hockey.

[#15Roadies]

Any CSA hockey helmet or NOCSAE lacrosse helmet is certified for box lacrosse by the CLA so they can't ban hockey helmets until they change those rules.

One thing I find interesting is the design of field & box helmets. They are all basically hockey helmets with a cage and, in the case of field, a visor. (which I think is dumb to use in box). Even the "Revolution" by Riddell looks so old school.

Why hasn't any manufacturer taken a lead and tried to improve the peripheral vision available in helmets? (which really sucks with the current offerings.) Something with no visor and less plastic around the cheeks...

[regulate34]

the O'Neill is not stainless i have peiceses of the black missing because if getting hit and after i got wet in feild it started to rust

[KnightsLAXDad]

Any CSA hockey helmet or NOCSAE lacrosse helmet is certified for box lacrosse by the CLA so they can't ban hockey helmets until they change those rules.

I'm not sure how much control the CLA has over the member associations. I think that the provincial associations set "the rules" and the CLA acts as an advocacy and advisory body. I don't think that the OLA is bound by the CLA.


One thing I find interesting is the design of field & box helmets. They are all basically hockey helmets with a cage and, in the case of field, a visor. (which I think is dumb to use in box). Even the "Revolution" by Riddell looks so old school.

The one difference I notice between my son's CLH2 and his hockey helmet is that the liner is very different. The CLH2 is expanded polystyrene, like bike helmets which is really designed for a single impact (basically the foam crushes under impact to absord the shock). Hockey helmets are closed cell foam and are classified as multi-impact because they absorb and spring back.

Why hasn't any manufacturer taken a lead and tried to improve the peripheral vision available in helmets? (which really sucks with the current offerings.) Something with no visor and less plastic around the cheeks...

Likely protection vs. vision. This is probably the holy grail of helmet design and the helmets won't meet the safety standards if they take away more of the shell/cage to increase the peripheral vision.

[#15Roadies]

"This is probably the holy grail of helmet design..."

One would think that, with all the advances in helmet materials, they could incorporate better design for lacrosse helmets to take advantage of those materials. Yet the designs are more or less the same. I think the more likely answer is that we have conservative helmet designers that are afraid to truly innovate on someone else's dime. I mean, to go from one of those old school Bacharach helmets (with the cool ties at the back) to a Cascade was a leap in favour of the sport. Now the leaps just seem to be in favour of the market share...

[KnightsLAXDad]

Could be.

You would think that if it were possible and it would gain you market share, someone would take the risk to do it. Look at hockey helmets, they've changed relatively little in the past 20 years. There's so much competition out there, that a company, especially large ones like Nike with deep pockets, would try just about anything to get an advantage over the competition, especially if there was a clear advantage to it.

There's also cost vs. benefits. Maybe it could only be done with a wonder material like CF but the helmet would be $500 and no one would buy it.

Or maybe it is conservatism both on the part of he consumer and designers. Look at the comments in the new Gait helmet thread about how much poeple either liked or disliked the design.

[RockStar]

Selected Hockey helmets do offer better peripheral vision, and this is a worthy consideration.

Blind-side hits might not cause head injury, but they're really no good for your knees. Restricting peripheral vision prevents a player from being able to dodge some of these hits.

Excellent point on the foam liners, KLD, I had noticed that, and that was a factor in detering me from spending hard-earned money on a Cascade or Stryke or some such.

($200, and after one really good whack to the head, I probably have to throw the sucker out, or dump it on e-bay to some poor sucker looking for a deal. For that matter, with new ones, how do we know it wasn't dropped from 15 feet at the factory? Best to buy a helmet designed for multiple impacts).

[KnightsLAXDad]

Excellent point on the foam liners, KLD, I had noticed that, and that was a factor in detering me from spending hard-earned money on a Cascade or Stryke or some such.

($200, and after one really good whack to the head, I probably have to throw the sucker out, or dump it on e-bay to some poor sucker looking for a deal. For that matter, with new ones, how do we know it wasn't dropped from 15 feet at the factory? Best to buy a helmet designed for multiple impacts).

I am totally guessing, but I think that the EPS probably does a better job of absorbing the shock than closed-cell, but at the expense of it being a one shot affair. It's also lighter.

If you are older and not growing and are likely to keep the same helmet for a few years, you're probably best off with a Riddell helmet with air chambers if you want a lacrosse-specific helmet.

Fortunately, there are very few big head hits that would do serious damage to the foam and the hard shell prevents a lot of the minor stuff (like dropping it or the odd stick to the head) but if there was, you'd want to replace it right away. I know Cascade will re-line the helmets for $15USD, I think that Riddell has a similar program.

All that being said, my son wears a CLH2 for box and field, as do an increasing number of kids in our club, but I already know it will have to be replaced every couple of years, and I wear the old Bauer/O'Neill combo for masters.


Cheers...KLD

[ColtsLax]

One thing I find interesting is the design of field & box helmets. They are all basically hockey helmets with a cage and, in the case of field, a visor. (which I think is dumb to use in box). Even the "Revolution" by Riddell looks so old school.

cascade helemts are actually whitewater rescue helmets with a visor and chin, brine triads and vikings are also a variation on the cascade shell. Cascade has been making rescue helmets long before lacrosse, hence the name cascade. They are the Eagle Sentry's of river rescue helmets

[WHEELAX2]

Quickest bet: Gait box helmet

Best bet: Get a Bauer or CCM helmet, and get an O'Neill mask. The cage comes with the screws and clips, and all hockey helmets have the screws in the right spots for the face cage connection.


any good websites??

thanks

[#15Roadies]

These guys make them and should have some in stock. They are in Vancouver:

http://www.goaliestore.com/ or more specifically:

http://www.goaliestore.com/stockroom/stockroom.php?stock_cat=33

You could try these guys, but last time I looked they only had a few left in stock:

http://www.probosslacrosse.com/index2.htm

You would have to call them of course, but Pickering, Ontario is a heckava lot closer to Corning.

You should be able to buy a good Bauer or CCM at any local sporting goods store that sells hockey helmets.

[KnightsLAXDad]

any good websites??

thanks


Wheelax2 - are you gong to be at the TurkeyShoot? I know thw local guy has the NAMI/STX 20/20 cages and I could bring one down with me. I wouldn't suggest buying a helmet without trying them on. They do fit differently from one to the next.

KLD

[wingslax5]

Are there any american websites that sell box masks, to avoid the high shipping charges.

[Hooligan]

Don't think so. I've never seen them on any american sites.

[KnightsLAXDad]

Don't think so. I've never seen them on any american sites.


I can't say that I have ever seen them either, and I've surfed through a lot of them.

You can always have them ship via the post office. Way cheaper than UPS/FedEx.

[RedBird1]

Get yourself a good Bauer & O'Neil. I switched over to the O'Neil from a NAMI this year and the difference is very noticeable. Don't do it if you are playing CLA approved minor lacrosse. Stick with the NAMI.

On another note, I heard rumours this year that the OLA is going to put an equipment rule out for minor in 2006 that only helmets especially designed for lacrosse (i.e. Gait, Brine, Cascade, etc.) will be allowed. I think this would apply to the rep level only. I think it is a crock, but keep your head up anyways...

Ive been hearin this too. Kinda wack IMO. Who cares. Hockey helmets are a way tighter and more comfortable fit

[Gary-Gait]

Quickest bet: Gait box helmet

Best bet: Get a Bauer or CCM helmet, and get an O'Neill mask. The cage comes with the screws and clips, and all hockey helmets have the screws in the right spots for the face cage connection.

You wouldn't happen to know where to get a new cage for a Gait would you? Mine's all shredded and it's illegal to show any sign of a chip.

[Hooligan]

The only place I know where to get a new gait face mask is on a new gait helmet.

Throw that piece of trash out. Gait helmets are junk.

[titans 43]

ah I got a replacment cage for mine from my local lacrosse store, just ask them to order you one from gait because they have seperate cages for them.

[slinkyspine]

ah I got a replacment cage for mine from my local lacrosse store, just ask them to order you one from gait because they have seperate cages for them.


ha im gonna pound your head just to ruin that helmet eric watch out. My local sports store can order me a chrome nami 20/20 if i can spare some money for it im a get one

[titans 43]

ya if you can catch me

[slinkyspine]

ya if you can catch me


just wait. my knees are better now. and i have my old woodie are ready to go just for you. Yay i almost have enough for the chrome nami

[laxdaddy]

a few guys on six nations arrows had em this year with white buckets, they looked pretty sweet... no clue where to get them though

[Lax4Ever]

You wouldn't happen to know where to get a new cage for a Gait would you? Mine's all shredded and it's illegal to show any sign of a chip.

Not sure about legality or cost but you could just replace the gait cage with a 20/20. It's something you can look into. I accually have a pic of JT on my desktop where he's wearing a Gait but it had an O'Neil cage on it.

[NLLStormCA]

alot of guys have a fav mask, and use that with every helmet, in the nll they realy dont care, as long as its not going to kill you...

[Lax4Ever]

Is it legal for minor though? It may be a cheeper alternative to buying a new gait mask. Plus that would get rid of the plastic at your chin.

[WHEELAX2]

Is it legal for minor though? It may be a cheeper alternative to buying a new gait mask. Plus that would get rid of the plastic at your chin.


the masks are now legal.. they have been modified to meet requirements.. if you'll notice, some of the current NLLers still use the old O'neill masks, while others have the new ones with smaller eye holes

[box laxer]

If you go to redhawkslax.com you will find a cage called the box face mask that is the black o'neill cage. I have this one and it is the same one as that pros have.

[OldPtboBoy]

I love a NAMI, in my opinion you can't beat it, but I agree with those above that intoned that everyone has their favorite. As hockey helmets evolve and improve quickly, I don't see the evolution at the same rate in field buckets.

Probably, and it's just my take, because most field suppliers are looking for the next best "appearance" not the next best protection. There is a reason that you don't see alot of field buckets in Major Series/WLA Lacrosse. They are not free like they are at the sponsored NLL level. So players go to the best protection that will last them a season. A hockey helmet and a cage that they are comfortable with.

It's also why you don't see everyone wearing a free field helmet in the NLL. The advances in hockey protection technology are quick and constant. You only get one melon and everyone knows that you can't shake the seeds up too much before it goes bad.