Helmets?

[Kylersk]

Today, I stopped and tried on a few 'snowmobile helmets'.. And wow, I couldnt get a XXL to fit? According to a chart on Dennis Kirks HSOforum, a xl should fit.. but I couldnt get these things past my fore head. They didnt have a XXXL for me to try..

Are they that hard to get over your head? The Off road helmets fit fine.. Is there a difference in full face helmets? What makes them 'snowmobile helmets'?

[hanson]

You should be able to get an XL on your melon. I have a pretty big melon myself and I think (notice I said think) my Arctic Cat helmet is an XL and there is plenty of room in there. It might have just been the models you were looking at.

I haven't been in the helmet market for awhile but I would suggest buying the most helmet you can afford. My Cat helmet probably retailed for $260.

Some full face helmets have a tighter fit to your face, and then there are the "wedge" shaped helmets. The Polaris/Bell Wedge has a shield that tapers away in the front, so you have some room in front of your chin. My Cat helmet is similar in design.

When looking at a full face helmet, I would suggest a few things.

- Dual lense shield is a must

- Lots of venting

- Breath deflector

- Motocross style visor

Depending on how heavy you breath or how hot your breath is, a helmet with a shield will frost up easily. This is really why a lot of guys run open face helmets (motocross style) with goggles. I've found this to happen more often when running in a pack behind someone. When I'm running in a cloud of snowdust, I have problems with my shield fogging/icing up.

I'm sure you are looking at a helmet for ice fishing purposes but definitely consider some of my points. Miles and miles of trail riding is a little more demanding on a helmet's performance than zipping out to your ice shack or fishing spot, but a good helmet is always money well spent.

[NAMASafetyDirector]

Kylersk, you may also want to look in to what they call a "Modular" helmet. It's a full face helmet where the whole front flips up and converts into an open face when you want to. Two of my buddies use them for ice fishing and they work great if your just stopping and trying different spots for a few minutes, you dont even need to take the helmet off. If you have ever watched the Vexilar video from a few years ago, the owner of Wigwam resort on LOW is wearing one in the video. I have fished with him on occasion and he swears by that type of helmet. By the way, HJC makes a nice one and Polaris also offers one, there may be more but those are two quality ones I know of!

[Kylersk]

I ordered a XXL moduler HJC helmet from Dennis Kirk the other day. The moduler ones allow me to pull apart the sides of the helmet, so I can get it on. I got it yesterday and while I can get it on, it's super tight. So last night I ordered a XXXL. I tried on a XXL arctic cat helmet the other day and I could get it on, but they are the only ones I could get to fit. It hurt trying to get on some of the XXL's..

[DinkADunk]

The XXL size of most Asian helment manufacturers is fairly small. You'll also find that some manufacturers use a fairly round last and others use a more oval last. So, your head may fit one brand/model line better than another even if they're the same size. My head is 7 7/8 and I've only found a couple of models that fit. My last full face helmets I had to have custom made (Arai in Japan) to get them to fit right.

[Eric Wettschreck]

My full face helmet fits great. However, instead of putting it on from the top of my head, I have to kind of stick my face it in, and slide it on. That's how I have to put on a lot of helmets. Something to try.