To protect your head, neck, and face from injury on the field, lacrosse helmets are designed for full cranial protection. That means a complete shell surrounds the head, and integrates with a full facemask for total protection. When worn properly, lacrosse helmets protect you from hard shots, high checks, and reduce the risk of head and spinal injuries.
Below are the parts of a lacrosse helmet, which may vary slightly from helmet to helmet.
Men's lacrosse is a full-contact, high-impact sport. Lacrosse padding and helmets keep players safe from stick checks, impacts between players, and hard shots and passes. They keep the face, head, and neck safe from injuries and abrasions.
Without a helmet, a player could be hit with a shot and end up with serious injuries to the face or worse. When you wear a high-grade helmet, you can take a hit like that and walk off the field uninjured, or even continue playing.
Helmets are required in all men's lacrosse and most youth boy's
lacrosse leagues. Womens and girls lacrosse operate under different rules, reducing
physical contact between players, and making helmets optional.
Typically,
female lacrosse players only wear
lacrosse goggles to protect their face and
eyes from high shots and accidental impacts. Only goalies in women?s lacrosse
are required to wear helmets.
When fitting a lacrosse helmet, it?s important to keep things snug, but comfortable. A safe helmet is one that stays on the head, doesn't shift as you move, and provides good visibility.
Most modern lacrosse helmets come in one size, with a micro-adjuster knob in the back. This knob tightens or loosens the helmet around the head, giving you a perfectly snug fit.
When a helmet fits correctly, it should sit squarely on the head, with the front of the helmet approximately one finger's width above the eyebrows, so it will protect the forehead. The helmet's padding should fit firmly on the head without being so tight as to give you a headache. However, the skin of your forehead should move as you move the helmet back and forth. Tighten the chin strap so there's no slack, for a perfect fit, and you are good to go!
The term "tilt" refers to the look of the helmet as it sits on the player's head. More accurately, it describes how low the helmet sits on your head. Tilt is mostly for style, and is desired by most players for its intimidating look on the field.
Tilt has other uses besides making a player look menacing though. Angling the helmet correctly also helps with proper visibility and chin protection. Without tilting most helmets, you will look through the middle bar, which is incorrect and provides poor visibility. Tilting the helmet lets you see through the top bar sections, and delivers proper chin protection.
At Sports Unlimited, we offer total customization on a majority of our lacrosse helmets. With popular styles such as the Cascade R Men's Lacrosse Helmet, and Cascade CPV-R Men's Lacrosse Helmet, players, parents, and coaches can select helmet, visor, and chin guard colors as well as decal options to completely customize their helmet. With almost endless combinations, you can get the exact look you want, and the safety you need, to play like a star on the field!