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Data not readily available
Though there is a growing curiosity about the weight of a football helmet, the data is not readily available. Different brands of helmets weigh variously but they seem to be mostly in the range of 3.0 to 4.0 pounds with some models weighing up to 6.0 pounds. Parents whose children routinely play the game are particularly anxious to buy the right helmet that weighs just perfect and does not give their children any stress in the head or the neck. But no definite word is available as to how much the helmets should weigh for children of different age groups.
Experts say that even an ounce of difference in the weight of the helmet can drastically affect a player’s game. That is why, it is important to know the right weight of a football helmet for different age groups of players otherwise their performance would suffer. Leading sports helmet makers Roddell and Schutt make their helmets that weigh from 3 to 5 lbs. But as they say, the difference of even an ounce can alter the game for a player but here the difference between the two helmets is of 2 lbs!
Importance of football helmet’s weight
Knowing the perfect weight of a helmet is of critical significance for a football player. For younger players, this is all the more significant because their ability to perform is not consistent and it depends on many factors including skills and strengths, both of which can come under stress if the player is given to wear a heavy helmet. Not merely this, the younger players can receive serious strain in their neck muscles by wearing an inappropriately heavy football helmet. It is in this context that knowing the exact weight of the helmet is important for the players and the parents of younger players. For the players also, it is extremely necessary to know what weight of helmet they can wear for an optimum performance. So, before you go to buy a new helmet, there are certain things for you to know so that you don’t end up with a helmet that you never wanted to buy in the first place.
Are heavier football helmets safer?
Helmets that have advanced features and better protection mechanisms usually weigh more. This is because of the added padding, stronger facemasks and other elements in the helmet. The more economical variants would have less of these features and would, therefore, weigh less. However, whether a heavier helmet with more security features and advanced technologies offer more protection to the player in the field during a high-intensity match than the cheaper models is yet to be conclusively proved. This is important to understand that the most advanced helmets that the manufacturers are bringing to the market are also the heaviest ones.
SG helmets in 2.4-2.6 pounds
For quite some time, professional football players have been using helmets. However, these helmets were developed when brain trauma, especially concussions, which were previously considered minor injuries, were not fully understood even by the medical science. These helmets were not meant to avoid concussions but they were supposed to prevent skull fractures.
The latest models of football helmets are modeled around a helmet developed by racing car driver Bill Simpson in the years that followed his first NFL game in 2010. Simpson had earlier introduced fire-resistant suits in car racing. He was the one who for the first time realized how frequently football players receive concussions and how dangerous they could be. Soon, he set out to design and build a football helmet that would aim to protect the players from concussions instead of skull fractures, the premise behind other kinds of helmets.
The next thing the world heard from him was the introduction of a new football helmet designed, built and marketed by him under the brand name of SG Helmets. His helmets were designed to keep concussions at bay. The new helmets were half the weight of the helmets worn by the players so far.
The novelty that Simpson brought in the design of the helmet was that he used Carbon Kevlar in place of hard plastic used to make football helmets, so far. Carbon Kevlar made the inside of Simpson’s helmets more flexible, ideal for absorbing the force and shock of a hit. Also, Carbon Kevlar is lighter that made it possible for Simpson to produce the helmets for adults in just 2.4 to 2.6 pounds. The helmets from SG Helmets for younger players weigh only 1.8 pounds. This weight of the football helmet is drastically lower than the standard helmets. The NFL has come out with a poster of 18 helmets with details of their comparative effectiveness. This poster would now adorn the walls of NFL locker rooms from this season. SG Helmets is also featured in this poster.
The SG helmet for the younger players weighs only 1.8 pound and according Simpson, the players are able to keep their head up in this helmet. He also believes that the lightweight helmets designed by him would dissuade players from hitting other players with their heads.
Concluding thoughts
Football helmets weight from 2.0 pounds to 6.0 pounds. The more advanced versions with enhanced security features weigh more than the economical variants of the products.
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