Pro-Tec helmet

allan · Post by **allan** » Sat Feb 19, 2005 2:21 am

even if the helmet is tight enough on your head to prevent it from moving backwards, I think it's necessary to also look at the helmet material. Protec helmets are infamous for cracking in half with a serious impact... If you're boating rocky rivers, and getting up into more difficult rapids, I think the protec has to go... strap system is very weak, and the plastic is even weaker.

as an aside, I've been looking at some happy-2b helmets.. does anybody have any experience with this brand? I'd like to try one on, but it seems like ordering online may be the only option. Anybody know of Canadian dealers?

cheers,
-allan

Jim Michaud · Post by **Jim Michaud** » Sat Feb 19, 2005 3:11 am

Protec helmets are infamous for cracking in half with a serious impact...

My Protect broke while I was putting it on. I would spread the ear covers a little while sticking my head into the helmet. The last time that I did that the plastic broke . The helmet had spent many years in the sun so I would surmise that the Protec is susceptible to UV degration.

Jim

Bob P · Post by **Bob P** » Sat Feb 19, 2005 2:23 pm

I'm just going by the objections voiced by whitewatersafety.com. Their objections were solely on the basis of an "inferior strap system". No mention of failure in the strap or helmet shell.
All plastics are subject to ultraviolet damage to some extent. I'm sure, knowing Jim M's paddling schedule, that he is the ultimate UV/helmet tester.

the great gonzo · Post by **the great gonzo** » Sat Feb 19, 2005 4:17 pm

Not to slag Protec Helmets (I used them myself for years before I got myself the Galasport), but I remember an incident 2 years ago during spring runoff on Beaver Creek in Ontario when a girin the goup ahead of us flipped in a drop. She hit a rock under water that knocked her out cold. Luckily enough there was flatwater below the drop, so rescue was swift and she was o.k.
She was wearing a Protec helmet, that had rotated backwards, exposing her forehead, and that's where the rock had struck her head. I am quite certain that if the helmet had not rotated back, the helmet would have taken the impact.
Just my 2 cents.

martin

DP · Post by DP » Sat Feb 19, 2005 5:16 pm

There was an insident outside of Seattle where a paddler took a hit to the head and knocked her out cold. The hit was on top of her head. There was not a scratch on her Protech helmet. The incident was written up in a Seattle area club newsletter.

The way I've heard it is the type plastic that is in your basic ProTech helmet transfers the energy of the hit through the plastic.

With kevlar or fiberglass, the hit is obsorbed and spread over the shell.

I happened to have lunch with a couple of guys who were working at a lab in Santa Cruz doing some helmet testing. Their general opinion was that glass was better than plastic and that Protech helmets shouldn't be on the market for whitewater paddlers. They didn't talk about strapping systems. Just impact tests. They also didn't seem too concerned about the lining of the helmets, believing that the shell was the key to protection.

Guest · Post by **Guest** » Sat Feb 19, 2005 6:34 pm

test post.

Big Head Tommy · Post by **Big Head Tommy** » Mon Feb 21, 2005 12:38 am

I used to use a Pro Tec until I took a rock hit above my left eye whilst counting the fishes.
No trouble with the strap. It was the stupid one size fits all, so big heads got to take out most of the foam, that let it happen.
Been using a Cascade ever since. They don't come in glitter but they work well.

Tommy