Why are lacrosse helmets so expensive?

[Jnl705]

Hey Im doing a project on lacrosse and its cost analysis and through my research their is no helmet under $99.99? Why is it that their is no competition? are the materials to expensive? or can they set it at the price because consumers will still buy? any ideas will help, thank you.

[WSWDpole33]

yea im wondering the same thing. I play some top quality AAA hockey (the best you can play) and helmets i have prolly one of the best (Bauer5000 with 8000chrome mask) and its like 120, but i have a cpx titanium and its like 250-300

[rjattack19]

no i think they just jack up the prices cuz they know that we r suckrs 4 chrome masks and fancy helmet designs.

[WHEELAX2]

it's a seller's market

[Petem0ss]

$.02, FWIW

1. The lacrosse equipment market is full of buyers who will spring for the latest gear, whether they need it or not. Buyers make up a generally an affulent demographic with deep pockets. Kids who start young will outgrow helmets; and there are other parents with kids that are materially done growing but cringe at the idea that junior may have to play in a two-year old helmet (oh, the humanity). Both of those phenomena sustain demand for the helmet manufacturers.

2. No one in the oligopoly of helmet manufacturers will cut the other's throat by starting a price war. There is no reason to - prices probably started out high because of engineering & research & development expense, they inch up in part because there is plenty of demand to go around & all of the existing manufacturers can make a decent profit. It's like the mass-produced beer market, Bud is not going to slash its price to undercut Miller. They take turns being the lower-priced beer. The game then turns into a marketing competition to sway brand loyalty...which many of the people buying helmets will be influenced by (not unlike the people who drink Bud & Miller).

OK, someone jump in here & give a counterpoint & shoot some holes in this :laugh: Good luck with your project, Jnl705.

[KnightsLAXDad]

Small market compared to hockey. Hockey manufacturers can survive on smaller margins due to volume, as well as getting a better price on the manufacture, again on volume costing.

[BuCon67]

yea im wondering the same thing. I play some top quality AAA hockey (the best you can play) and helmets i have prolly one of the best (Bauer5000 with 8000chrome mask) and its like 120, but i have a cpx titanium and its like 250-300

my cpx ti cost 199, you just have to search for a good price...and nice football helmets also cost a lot - so its not just expensive for lacrosse

[whslax1990]

are you saying 199 is cheap!?!

[Mtkalax]

There is no competition for major companies. Casade is by far the most popular company. After 1 kid at my school got a CPX, everyone else got one, so Cascade can jack up their prices because they know they will get sales. In a couple years CPX's wont be that advanced or nice.

[DefensePlaya]

Guys these things are soo much money because they can get away with it. How much money u thinnk it costs them to make it in asia? lol

[RockStar]

......

2. No one in the oligopoly of helmet manufacturers will cut the other's throat by starting a price war. ......

Keep an eye on RBK now that they're a player.

I'm thinking they could rebrand one of their premium hockey helmets, à la Gait (only making theirs a good helmet, not a mid-grade one), and hit the market in the $120 range.

[MainLax28]

When you really think about it, it is worth it to get a well made helmet. It is protecting your head, the most important part of your body. I do not mind spending 200.00 on a helmet, even if it should only be 125.00. Plus when you can get a brand new cpro for 75.00, You really don't have to care.

[tomahawks11]

helmets are just that way for field... for box my helmet only cost 79$ with a lacrosse cage.... its cheaper for us in canada to use it for field and box even tho im switching to a triad this year... i guess its just because its protection and parents dont want to see their kids get hurt

[gigo567]

Hey Im doing a project on lacrosse and its cost analysis and through my research their is no helmet under $99.99? Why is it that their is no competition? are the materials to expensive? or can they set it at the price because consumers will still buy? any ideas will help, thank you.
Research better buddy because your facts are off. I have found that a CLH2 costs $95 and the one piece helmet Cascade makes also costs $95.

[whslax1990]

This is a perfect example of how much companies make off markup. Unrelated to lacrosse, My brother works at Best Buy and he gets almost 40% off on any electronic, Due to releasing the markup. Shows how cheap making stuff overseas is.

[stnyk]

they make the prices high cause they can. If you want to play, you need to buy a helmet.

[ColtsLax]

wait like 4 years, when the triad, Riddell, and warrior al start producing top notch products. Youll see prices drop, even more so if Nike, RBK and adidas get into the act. Is cascade starts to see less teams getting cascade and going for other brands, or individual sales drop, i think youll see prices get lower.

[sglaxr009]

its also because of the research that goes into it. i was reading in a cascade brochure(sp) that they have a special machine that shoots balls at a specific point of the helmet at 120 mph.

[Magoo]

yeah helmets just cost alot if they look good, i think my 1st helmet was under 100 cause it looks like hell

and you can play quad A hockey

[Lax101]

A few ideas, but in general-you are right.

Well, relatively speaking....

Helmets take a lot of R&D to create. They have to be put through a lot of design phases and safety tests to meet standards.

Helmets are probably made up of more raw materials than any other product (high density foam, titanium/chrome/steel cage, plastic visors and chins, shells, screws, etc. <------and then all companies offer customization for free, and they are a pain to assemble. Compare that to a lacrosse head or a shaft-all relatively easy to make once you have the molds.)

Back in the day, helmets were just crap. Buckets were bukly, uncomfortable, restricting helmets. Cascade revolutionized the helmet world, and their CLH model was significantly better than the past buckets. That vast improvement in helmets somewhat justifies the high price.

Cascade for awhile was the only company making a suitable lacrosse helmet, so they really didn't need to make a more affordable helmet-there was nothing better. However, you could tell that when the Triad, the Viking, and Gait helmets were made, Cascade did a complete overhaul of their helmet line. They turned their cheapest helmet into a near-exact copy of the CPro, made a very high quality entry level helmet, and then made the most popular high end helmet in the game. The CLH2, the new 100 buck helmet, is actually a nicer helmet than the C2, their former 130 buck model. So you can see that the game is going in that direction.

General marketing: in general, you're not going to have 1000 helmets. Most players are only going to have 1-2, no matter what the price is (compared to sticks, where you may have a ton). Therefore, Cascade might as well jack up the prices a bit since most people aren't going to buy a helmet very often.

[ghs/wylax]

basic cascades are about $20 bucks on ebay actually.I got my first helmet in 5th grade a basic black cascade.Now im in 8th grade,and Honestly I dont see how getting a cpro would affect how I play.Yes they look cooler,but i really don't see the point.I have tons of high end sticks,(titaniums etc.),but I have yet to really change my protective gear,except gloves because those actually out grew me,and arm pads because mine became ripped.Otherwise my helmet has been fine and if it felt tight (ive got a jewfro) id wear a skullcap.Otherwise unless i got a team issued helmet (i only had to put a sticker on mine)im fine with the one i have.

[whslax1990]

basic cascades are about $20 bucks on ebay actually.I got my first helmet in 5th grade a basic black cascade.Now im in 8th grade,and Honestly I dont see how getting a cpro would affect how I play.Yes they look cooler,but i really don't see the point.I have tons of high end sticks,(titaniums etc.),but I have yet to really change my protective gear,except gloves because those actually out grew me,and arm pads because mine became ripped.Otherwise my helmet has been fine and if it felt tight (ive got a jewfro) id wear a skullcap.Otherwise unless i got a team issued helmet (i only had to put a sticker on mine)im fine with the one i have.

Better ventelation, Visibility, lighter. All of which lead to a more comfortable helmet. But were lacrosse players, what is comfort? Im with you, My 4 year old helmet still does fine.

[tlaing22]

my thoughts are I'm not that concerned with price as much as I am with the vision and protection so if I deem a 189.00 for a helmet because it makes me feel safe, Im in.

[Hackstall]

Helmets are so expensive because they have to pay those Chinese kids $0.30 to make it out of $10.00 in materials. Except one kid dies for every helmet made.

[Hypersquid1]

Keep an eye on RBK now that they're a player.

I'm thinking they could rebrand one of their premium hockey helmets, à la Gait (only making theirs a good helmet, not a mid-grade one), and hit the market in the $120 range.

i think reebok should get out of every market except basketball. they are getting into hockey and their stuff is crap. same as nike they are huge manufacturers and they can afford to get into these markets, even thoough no1 will buy their stuff. notice how when you walk into D*I*C*K*'s and go to hockey all that is there is reebok? thats cuz NOBODY WILL BUY IT!!! everybody goes to CCM or Bauer. but reebok and nike should stick to basketball and stay out of markets that they know nothing about. (sry bout the asterisks, but it thought it was a bad word.)

[Hypersquid1]

so true. and also, hockey there is only 2 good brands, CCM and Bauer and hockey is a much much more well established sport, (CCM has been around for 106 YEARS!) and they can afford to make such greater price changes. its like walmart, who can make everything cheap, even though they bought everything for more $$.

[PilotShinjiIkar]

When you really think about it, it is worth it to get a well made helmet. It is protecting your head, the most important part of your body. I do not mind spending 200.00 on a helmet, even if it should only be 125.00. Plus when you can get a brand new cpro for 75.00, You really don't have to care.

But if you look at it CPX and C Pros are really overrated. If you scrutinize it, it has many design flaws. I honestly think as a D Pole and have given some punishment and seen the immense punishment my football playing teammates dish out that C Pros and CPX are just an accident waiting to happen. The main areas of protection are the hard foam helmet top and the facemask. The hard foam top is basically at heart Cascades decade old kayaking helmet. The side of the helmet where most hits to the head I have seen are at are woefully underprotected. The only protection it has is the facemask holding the sides of the helmet since it has no hard foam. So unless you get hit in the facemask and the top of the back of your head you have almost no protection. The all around plastic is extremely flexible and is only a cover. So I dont think that $179 is worth it for a drasticially modified but at heart a kayaking helmet with a facemask and visor.

EDIT: Sadly I realize that manufacturers arent and dont have to have that much protection since the NCAA advisory board the NOCAS....something dont require them to. Only to lacrosse ball hits, which is great in reducing and eliminating those those types of injuries but most injuries I have seen now is from hits.

[PilotShinjiIkar]

Helmets are so expensive because they have to pay those Chinese kids $0.30 to make it out of $10.00 in materials. Except one kid dies for every helmet made.

Lol i'm chinese and Cascade is made in the good old US of A but dunno about hockey helmets or other brands....back to my sweatshop...

[laxdevil666]

so true. and also, hockey there is only 2 good brands, CCM and Bauer and hockey is a much much more well established sport, (CCM has been around for 106 YEARS!) and they can afford to make such greater price changes. its like walmart, who can make everything cheap, even though they bought everything for more $$.
you should play some more hockey and spend some more time around the game, people love the rebok stuff. i am a goalie and i got the new rebok pads, and i have to say they are great, their sticks a re great, but most of all,. if yo look at the NHL, the players are loving heir helmets, even the non RBK players, they wear the RBK helmet. So i'd think that rebok could make a quality lax helmet at a decent price, and people would like it.

[Hackstall]

Reebok is CCM since they bought the hockey company. So basically anyone who wore Koho, Jofa, or CCM is now going to wear RBK. Essentially there is very small competition in hockey. Nike is partnered with Bauer who own Cooper - yes I recently saw new Cooper stuff in the store - I couldn't believe it. Reebok owns Jofa/CCM/Koho. The only other equipment companies I can think of are Itech, Sherwood, Easton, Mission, and Graf.

[b_cannons_123]

I made a thread on why gear is expensive try a search next time.

[Hypersquid1]

you should play some more hockey and spend some more time around the game, people love the rebok stuff. i am a goalie and i got the new rebok pads, and i have to say they are great, their sticks a re great, but most of all,. if yo look at the NHL, the players are loving heir helmets, even the non RBK players, they wear the RBK helmet. So i'd think that rebok could make a quality lax helmet at a decent price, and people would like it.
i really dont care what everybody else is wearing, i refuse to wear reebok and/or nike. the only reason that nike and reebok have pro players is because they have the millions of dollars to endorse everybody with, whereas CCM doesnt need money to get players, they can have pro players based on the sole fact that their equipment is great. i grew up with CCM, my 3 brothers had all CCM, CCM saved one of my brothers from a near-fatal neck injury, and my dad played with CCM. i dont support the huge retailers like reebok, i support the small businesses like CCM. also, CCM is tried and true, and nothing needs to be changed about it. the CCM pads have been around forever and at the college hockey game i just got back from, who had CCM pads? ALL the goalies. how about when i walked into bertellii's skate shop (the #1 place for hockey needs in western Ma.) yesterday and i asked the guy how reebok and nike compare with the more well established companies such as bauer and CCM, and the owner said that CCM and bauer have been flying out of the shop and he had to send back 5 of the nike gloves? think about that. overall, CCM is great, and reebok is a crap company that wants to put good companys like CCM out of business, and replace good quality equipment with low end crap.

[Jester]

Maybe Because it Protects your Brain....

[RockStar]

........Nike is partnered with Bauer who own Cooper - yes I recently saw new Cooper stuff in the store - I couldn't believe it.......

I wondered what the hell happened to Cooper's hockey division.

Maybe they'll re-release some of those old gems like the XL-7 and the SK-2000.

I always liked their stuff. I'm currently the proud owner of a beat up black SK-2000 with the SFG-110 facemask*. Neither of these has been in production for at least 15 years. It's a beaut, with a lovely dent right on the centre eyebar.

*exactly the old, half dead piece of s--- combo that Tom Marachek used to wear! Tim Soudan used to wear the same facemask, but I'm not sure about the helmet).

[RockStar]

i really dont care what everybody else is wearing, i refuse to wear reebok and/or nike......

To you and all the other hockey players:

As of last year, CCM was the only one still making skates in Canada. Needless to say, I bought a shiny new pair of Tacks for myself last Christmas!

All of the other boxes I looked at:

-Nike,
-Bauer,
-Mission,
-Easton,

All bore that ugly label that you're getting sick of seeing - "Made in China".

I fear that since Reebok now owns CCM, that the skate plant will be moved to China or Pakistan, but if you're buying in the next year or two, you may get lucky and get one last set of Canadian-made skates.

[OldGoalie]

All bore that ugly label that you're getting sick of seeing - "Made in China".

I fear that since Reebok now owns CCM, that the skate plant will be moved to China or Pakistan, but if you're buying in the next year or two, you may get lucky and get one last set of Canadian-made skates.

It's funny. Back in the 50's and 60's, "Made in Japan" used to have the same exact connotation, i.e. made cheaply and poorly. Then once they began instituting more advanced quality control and production techniques, suddenly the best goods came from Japan. Of course, they also paid their workers well and treated them like family, which is a wee bit different from what happens in China and Pakistan. Let's hope that the same approach gets gradually adopted in China, although it could take longer given the government in China is quite different from Japan's. Of course, then prices could go up too...oh well. No such thing as a free lunch!

{Off soapbox now}

[chrisbchicken13]

i think reebok should get out of every market except basketball. they are getting into hockey and their stuff is crap. same as nike they are huge manufacturers and they can afford to get into these markets, even thoough no1 will buy their stuff. notice how when you walk into D*I*C*K*'s and go to hockey all that is there is reebok? thats cuz NOBODY WILL BUY IT!!! everybody goes to CCM or Bauer. but reebok and nike should stick to basketball and stay out of markets that they know nothing about. (sry bout the asterisks, but it thought it was a bad word.)


ur an idiot RBK baught jofa its the same stuff with a different name, i have the shin pads and there sick so shut up