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Helmet Stripes Out Dated?


daveindc

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I am a huge fan of helmet stripes and I hope they never go away. I will agree that some teams can pull helmets off with no stripes (Oregon), but for teams like Ohio State I could not imagine a solid silver helmet with no logos or stripes as that would be too plain. Heck, even Penn State, one of most traditional (some say boring) uniform in College Football has a helmet stripe on their set.

Now I do believe that in order for a team to use helmet stripes they need to use stripes on the jersey or pants as well in order to pull it off correctly. I will use the Cleveland Browns as an example:

The stripe on the helmet works great with these pants:

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Now when the Browns pants are worn, I believe this is not a great look as the pants are too plain and need stripes:

browns0817x-large.jpg

But if you look at the orange pants, the stripes makes the whole uniform "pop" from head to toe:

browns.jpg

I agree, and it's sickening to see that last Browns photo and realize how good they could look. The stripe-less brown pants are absolutely hideous. Pants should mirror the helmet whenever feasible.

To continue your example with the team that always comes to mind for me when the subject of misplaced helmet stripes comes up, they look fine with this uniform...

10080505-large.jpg

...but completely out-of-place with this one...

New-Orleans-Saints-QB-Drew-Brees.jpg

If we're going to start peeling stripes, this is the team I'd start with. It might require an enlargement of the logo, though.

my solution would be to scrap the black pants, the gold ones are so much better and hate that they hardly ever wear them.

That doesn't solve the problem. Mismatched stripes are nearly as bad as stripes/no stripes.

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we don't know why they put the vent holes where they do, it could be that area causes more air flow to the back of the head, or could be a spot that allows air to flow around a pad, or could be something to do with safety. Or it could be a design ploy by ridell. But we do know that these new helmets with the vent holes are more safe then the old ones with out, if they have to cut a decal around the holes, so be it.

Objection, Your Honor. Assumes facts not in evidence.

And even if we were to stipulate to that theory, for the sake of argument, correlation is not causation.

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we don't know why they put the vent holes where they do, it could be that area causes more air flow to the back of the head, or could be a spot that allows air to flow around a pad, or could be something to do with safety. Or it could be a design ploy by ridell. But we do know that these new helmets with the vent holes are more safe then the old ones with out, if they have to cut a decal around the holes, so be it.

Objection, Your Honor. Assumes facts not in evidence.

And even if we were to stipulate to that theory, for the sake of argument, correlation is not causation.

It actually has been proven with studies by riddel and other companies that approve the helmets are safe.
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The stripe in the middle of the helmet might stick around simply because it adds symmetry, and looks traditional. I see none of the "traditional" teams, the ones who are known for the same look over decades, dropping them anytime soon.

However, with no more raised ridge in the middle of the helmet, there is no longer a reason for them to be there, other than for purely aesthetic purposes.

I would not be surprised if more "new" and "modern" designs neglect to include the center stripe simply because of that.

Someday, there will likely be another element to a helmet that will make a new way to stripe obvious, something we cannot foresee.

As we see with sleeve stripes getting crowded, stretched, and cut off, maybe helmet stripes will be similarly pushed out. I'm sure nobody would have imagined Green Bay losing half their sleeve stripes because there wasn't room, and now nobody thinks twice about it, and few actively miss the old style. Helmet stripes could do the same thing. Who knows.

Aesthetics are the only reason stripes exist in the first place. By using the helmet stripes, prior to using helmets logos, a team could differentiate themselves from the opponent. That's really how the winged helmet came into being. If Ohio State tossed helmet stripes there'd be riots. Same if TTUN gotrid of their design. So no, it's not time to get rid of them.

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we don't know why they put the vent holes where they do, it could be that area causes more air flow to the back of the head, or could be a spot that allows air to flow around a pad, or could be something to do with safety. Or it could be a design ploy by ridell. But we do know that these new helmets with the vent holes are more safe then the old ones with out, if they have to cut a decal around the holes, so be it.

Objection, Your Honor. Assumes facts not in evidence.

And even if we were to stipulate to that theory, for the sake of argument, correlation is not causation.

It actually has been proven with studies by riddel and other companies that approve the helmets are safe.

"Safe"? Nonsense.

Guess we don't need to worry about CTE anymore? I'll notify congress.

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we don't know why they put the vent holes where they do, it could be that area causes more air flow to the back of the head, or could be a spot that allows air to flow around a pad, or could be something to do with safety. Or it could be a design ploy by ridell. But we do know that these new helmets with the vent holes are more safe then the old ones with out, if they have to cut a decal around the holes, so be it.

Objection, Your Honor. Assumes facts not in evidence.

And even if we were to stipulate to that theory, for the sake of argument, correlation is not causation.

It actually has been proven with studies by riddel and other companies that approve the helmets are safe.

"Safe"? Nonsense.

Guess we don't need to worry about CTE anymore? I'll notify congress.

Studies conducted by the manufacturer themselves? About their own products?

Well, that settles it.

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Safer is a better word than safe. The newer helmets have higher protection ratings but as always there is no 100% effective helmet. Regardless, a plain helmet is so much less memorable than a helmet with some type of design to it.

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Maybe "more effective" is an even better term. If it is true (or even reasonably likely) that the placement of these holes improve the effectiveness of the helmets, then I guess I don't have much of an argument. That supersedes logo placement/clarity.

But it sure seems like a "signature" of the brand to me.

Disclaimer: If this comment is about an NBA uniform from 2017-2018 or later, do not constitute a lack of acknowledgement of the corporate logo to mean anything other than "the corporate logo is terrible and makes the uniform significantly worse."

 

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Maybe "more effective" is an even better term. If it is true (or even reasonably likely) that the placement of these holes improve the effectiveness of the helmets, then I guess I don't have much of an argument. That supersedes logo placement/clarity.

But it sure seems like a "signature" of the brand to me.

the last study on helmet safety i remember reading was done by a university, i believe Virginia Tech, and they ruled Ridell Revolution and the Revo Speed to be the safest of all helmets tested. after that came out, even Ridell who had great ratings objected to the study. im not sure why exactly.

as for the vents and ridges in helmets, an engineer can put it into words much better than i, but from what i understand they do play a role in the helmet's structure when it takes an impact. i used to think it was all ventilation and aesthetic but it actually is deeper than that

 

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I'm sure they do play a role. But do they improve response to impact? Or merely advance the brand without diminishing response? That's far less certain.

If it is true (or even reasonably likely) that the placement of these holes improve the effectiveness of the helmets, then I guess I don't have much of an argument.

Problem is that I don't think it's even reasonably likely that's the case.

We'd need a lot of concrete information before I'd be comfortable accepting the manufacturers' assurances that their visual signatures are actually there to improve the construction. Without hard data, we're back to cigarette companies crowing about the health effects of their proprietary blend of tobacco.

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I'm sure they do play a role. But do they improve response to impact? Or merely advance the brand without diminishing response? That's far less certain.

If it is true (or even reasonably likely) that the placement of these holes improve the effectiveness of the helmets, then I guess I don't have much of an argument.

Problem is that I don't think it's even reasonably likely that's the case.

We'd need a lot of concrete information before I'd be comfortable accepting the manufacturers' assurances that their visual signatures are actually there to improve the construction. Without hard data, we're back to cigarette companies crowing about the health effects of their proprietary blend of tobacco.

yea, i believe its about keeping the shell from cracking and flexing/not flexing a certain way

 

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Which may or may not have anything to do with the transmittal of force to the player's head.

I think if the helmet shell cracks then force would definitely be transmitted to the player's head. There have been several independent studies on helmet safety, the one at Virginia Tech was featured on either SportsCenter or 60 Minutes or something like that, I don't remember.

The air holes play a role for sure. Are they vital? I doubt anyone on this board will be able to answer that. I have worn the Riddell VSR-4, Revolution and Speed as well as the old Schutt Air. The Speed is by far my favorite and not just because it is "new" and "cool." It was the most comfortable helmet I've ever worn as well as what I felt safest in. That doesn't mean I didn't take a few bell ringers but I'm glad I took them in my Speed.

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Actually, the bike helmet I use is engineered to dissipate the force of an impact by cracking, instead of transmitting that force to the head. Sort of like a Volvo's crumple zones.

I don't believe any of the wild claims made by helmet manufacturers about their products. As I said up thread, they have the credibility of cigarette companies who found a doctor to promote its "calming properties". Let's see the data, have it analyzed by independent third parties first.

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Actually, the bike helmet I use is engineered to dissipate the force of an impact by cracking, instead of transmitting that force to the head. Sort of like a Volvo's crumple zones.

I don't believe any of the wild claims made by helmet manufacturers about their products. As I said up thread, they have the credibility of cigarette companies who found a doctor to promote its "calming properties". Let's see the data, have it analyzed by independent third parties first.

and the new ones do crack, so by that logic they are safer then.

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Traditional helmet stripes are definitely not outdated, but like anything else, it should compliment the rest of the uniform. The Saints are an example of a team that really needs to ditch the stripes and the Bears are a team that looks off without them even though they have stripes everywhere else.

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Actually, the bike helmet I use is engineered to dissipate the force of an impact by cracking, instead of transmitting that force to the head. Sort of like a Volvo's crumple zones.

I don't believe any of the wild claims made by helmet manufacturers about their products. As I said up thread, they have the credibility of cigarette companies who found a doctor to promote its "calming properties". Let's see the data, have it analyzed by independent third parties first.

and the new ones do crack, so by that logic they are safer then.

Football helmets just might be safer if they were indeed designed to do just that.

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Actually, the bike helmet I use is engineered to dissipate the force of an impact by cracking, instead of transmitting that force to the head. Sort of like a Volvo's crumple zones.

I don't believe any of the wild claims made by helmet manufacturers about their products. As I said up thread, they have the credibility of cigarette companies who found a doctor to promote its "calming properties". Let's see the data, have it analyzed by independent third parties first.

and the new ones do crack, so by that logic they are safer then.

Football helmets just might be safer if they were indeed designed to do just that.

maybe they are, we don't know what they are designed to do, it's either to keep everything as one piece and slow the impact down with padding, and remove as much head jostling as possible, or have a break away helmet that reduces the strength of an impact but go through multiple helmets a game for every player. Also this website says bike helmets actually aren't safer, "Another problem is there is little clear evidence helmets have been effective at reducing injury for cyclists"

http://momentummag.com/blog/opinions/mikael-colville-andersen-why-we-shouldnt-wear-bike-helmets/

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Actually, the bike helmet I use is engineered to dissipate the force of an impact by cracking, instead of transmitting that force to the head. Sort of like a Volvo's crumple zones.

I don't believe any of the wild claims made by helmet manufacturers about their products. As I said up thread, they have the credibility of cigarette companies who found a doctor to promote its "calming properties". Let's see the data, have it analyzed by independent third parties first.

How about Virginia Tech's study? It's reasonably impartial. Interestingly enough one of the relatively "traditional" looking Rawlings helmets is #2, right behind the fairly over-engineered looking Riddell 360 helmet. The Xenix (also relatively "traditional" looking) is #3. I would have thought that Bill Simpson's helmet would have scored higher, but it came in as a 4-star helmet (#5 on the VT list) given his experience in racing.

Here's the link:

http://www.sbes.vt.edu/nid.php

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