Evolution of the Helmet

[JedimasterKyle]

So I have to do a report on how lacrosse helmets have evolved over the years (Technologicially in particular), and I don't know much about the subject. The only thing I know is what some of the old school helmets looked like. I tried doing a search on google, but all I got was websites selling helmets. So if anybody could give me some help, I'd appreciate it.

[Alex]

Off the top of my head in under 2 minutes:

Baltimore Classic - 70s - Little padding, more like a leather head covering
Baltimore Classic - 90s - Foam padding, old style still, arguably better protection than original cascade
Cascade - 1996 I believe - Changed to helmet that conformed to the head's shape much better; much, much lighter; radical change to the helmet shape we see today, ventilation improvement, great improvment in vision (wider viewing angle)
C2 - New throat guard for added throat protection (I had been checked in the throat a couple of times with a Baltimore classic)
CPro - Cooler visor, that's about it.
CPX - More air ventilation, lighter, facemask supposedly tuned for vision
Riddell - Focus on protection based on research from football, heavier
Triad - Straps that lock in the helmet to fit to head better, facemask supposedly tweaked for vision, (I saw an ad saying these or another used memory foam liners, a material way underused in lacrosse IMHO e.g. for gloves, but it may have been for another helmet, someone can correct me) - note facemask problems in original models

That should put you off to a start, people who have been following more closely recently can give you more details I'm sure.

[superlaxman2]

what were the buckets?

[8-ball]

haha oh man the buckets. those were the ones that basically took the leather looking ones and made them plastic. they tied in the back with a boxy looking facemask. theres also the gait helmets.

[fossil8412]

Here (http://www.sporthelmets.com/about.php) is some cool info about Cascade helmets, which were the first ones I believe. I would focus my project mainly around them if I were you. Also, why in the world do you have to do a project solely on helmets?

[JedimasterKyle]

We have to do a report on something we use in our daily lives and the technology behind it and history (Its a tech class). So I picked the lacrosse helmet because the stick was already taken.

[Monzo]

Don't forget about those old Sports Helmet lacrosse helmets! They're basically a box with a cage on the front.

[fossil8412]

^^^^Sports Helmet is Cascade

[wolfie8914]

are the Baltimores the buckets?

[BuckWyld]

yes the Baltimore style are the buckets, although they changed alot from the time they came out untill they stopped being used.

[NuKoN]

http://cascadehelmets.com/images/mherbig.jpg

Whoop. :)

[spenny]

hey, ive got that 1986 helmet in red. and the 1995 one in blue!

[robi]

I saw this lacrosse helmet in my science textbook along with a bunch of kids carrying old-fashioned sticks. The bars made a bunch of squares on the facemask.

And congrats spenny on becoming a supermod.

[RamLacrosse]

That 2005 helmet is DISGUSTING!

[ColtsLax]

That 2005 helmet is DISGUSTING!
its a kids helmet

[spenny]

That 2005 helmet is DISGUSTING!

colts is right its the Cascade for kids from 6-12. i have one for my daughter.

[roxlax]

^^^^Sports Helmet is Cascade


and cascade is made by sport helmet, Cascade is the model name, when they first came out they still made the bucket helmets as well as the Cascades. in 1998 i think Cascade then came out with the Cascade Air with the fit system technology similar to football helmets so you could have one size fits all

[ColtsLax]

colts is right its the Cascade for kids from 6-12. i have one for my daughter.
she a goalie? i like to see the keepers start young, it gives them a head start on everyone else. I coach youth, and this one kid loves it. He has a genuine passion for playing in the cage. He actually LIKE to get jit with the ball. I urge his parents to send him to camps and such, i hope he pursues it. He probally 9-10

[knick44]

well... just to make this totally old-school:

somewhere in this chronology of "buckets", you should reference the original Brine helmets (with 3 horizontal slats for earholes) from the early 80s before they stopped making them (some of them didn't have a center bar in the face mask). also, the Bacharach helmets (round earhole) and the MaxPro helmets (strange earholes -- the ones that they wore on the old tv show, American Gladiators). oh man... and i just remembered that people used to put in two foam chin pads in the masks, so you would have only 2 bars to look out of instead of 3... never could figure out why people did that. between 1986 and 1988, i think, the new NOCSAE rules went into effect and the crown of the helmet needed to be reinforced with thicker plastic, so Bacharach helmets seemed to get a lot heavier, but the new SportHelmet buckets were the first ones i remember that used styrofoam liners and were much lighter by comparison.

also, and most importantly, you should talk about how the Cascade shell is actually a kayaking helmet with a visor and facemask attached. here's a link to http://www.hardheadedsports.com/casfulearcov.html to one. one thing i was surprised to learn was that the founder of Cascade/SportHelmet is Bill Brine.

"In 1986, when Bill Brine left his family's company to start Cascade, he had a vision for a company that would be driven by world-class product development, production and service."

(About Cascade (http://www.sporthelmets.com/about.php))

sounds like a fun paper to write. good luck.

[spenny]

well... just to make this totally old-school...

somewhere in this chronology of "buckets", you should reference the original Brine helmets (with 3 horizontal slats for earholes) from the early 80s before they stopped making them (some of them didn't have a center bar in the face mask). also, the Bacharach helmets (round earhole) and the MaxPro helmets (strange earholes -- the ones that they wore on the old tv show, American Gladiators). oh man... and i just remembered that people used to put in two foam chin pads in the masks, so you would have only 2 bars to look out of instead of 3... never could figure out why people did that. between 1986 and 1988.

i think there was more than one change, spring 1986, my senior year in HS, we got all new helmets with 4 point chinstraps (2 point before that) and sometime in college, we got the heavier duty sporthelmets. that was either spring '87 or spring '88

also dont forget the buckets where the center horizontal bar didnt cross the center vertical bar. (it bent back at an oblique angle and met the bottom bar. i wish i could find the one of those i have.) totally unsafe, its pretty east for a ball to pass thru the cage

[rjattack19]

my dad has a very old helmet from when he played in college...is so rusted now
i think it was like 72'

[spenny]

she a goalie? i like to see the keepers start young, it gives them a head start on everyone else. I coach youth, and this one kid loves it. He has a genuine passion for playing in the cage. He actually LIKE to get jit with the ball. I urge his parents to send him to camps and such, i hope he pursues it. He probally 9-10


i agree, the sooner the better. my daughter isnt even 2 1/2 yet, so no position for her yet.

i bought it for more than 50% off so i couldnt pass it up. i got it for a couple of reasons, she will already put it on, so shes comfortable in it. when she's two or three years older and able to go to my practices, with older kids throwing the ball around, she will need the protection, lastly my son (her younger brother) can also wear it when his time comes.

but the girl... she's fearless, bossy, and more than a little crazy, so yes, shes a born goalie.