Spur'N Conversations

Cowboy Armour - Midleading Information

One of the latest "bull riding" helmets to hit the market is being produced by a company called Cowboy Armour. We find it puzzling why they would try to mislead potential users with inaccurate and misleading information.

Take a look at this blurb found on their website related to their helmets....

http://www.cowboyarmour.com/categories/Cowboy-Armour-Helmets/

Most other major league sports require you wear proper certified equipment by HECC (Hockey Equipment Certified Council) and/or CSA (Canadian Standards Association).  HECC and CSA certified helmets have a sticker indicating their certification, allowing you the satisfaction of knowing the helmet will best serve your needs.

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Allowing me the satisfaction of knowing the helmet will best serve my needs? REALLY? Did I buy it to play HOCKEY? Um, no...you said BULL RIDING! Kinda of a different beast....

Perhaps true if you were using the helmet for what it was originally certified to do by HECC. These helmets have been modified in a variety of ways and clearly no longer meet the original "HECC Certification". I guess if a puck or stick is equal to a hoof or horn...but the reality is HECC does not provide any Certification for the ASTM F2530 Bull Riding Helmet Standard.

Although we have no plans of spending $495 USD, signing a Hold Harmless & Indemnification Agreement to confirm, from what we can tell, the Cowboy Armour Helmets are a Mission M11, a LaCrosse 1/8" Steel Mask and an add on Under Armour 4-Way Chin Cup. From everything we can gather that would be about $100 RETAIL USA...

We commend you if you truly do create a product that protects bull riders, but don't hide behind false misleading information and tie a monstrous price tag to it.

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Think twice before signing a HOLD Harmless & Indemnification Agreement with ANYONE! Essentially they could put a bomb inside it knowingly...and there isn't anything you could do.

 

Cowboy Armour Helmet Smashed - Kocked out Bull Rider

Unfortunately the bull rider was jerked down, knocked out cold, the Cowboy Armour flew off the bull riders head and then the bull stepped on it. Great example of why improvements in Bull Riding Helmets must occurr... as well as force the discloser to the reality that most helmets continue to use a hockey helmet shells that CAN NOT WITH STAND the impact of a bull stepping on it. Looks like a taco! Almost a good thing his head was't in the helmet...

Bull Riding Helmets

Did you know that the vast majority of helmets being worn in bull riding competitions are actually Hockey Helmets? At best modified LaCrosse or Equestrian Helmets...

Companies indicating that the HECC Certification mark is one we can trust and rely on for the sport of bull riding are extremely misleading. Those helmets were originally designed and certified for Hockey or LaCrosse, not bull riding. Any type of modification, regardless, voids any form of previous certification that HECC or any other Standards body would provide.

FACT> Two piece plastic hockey helmets were never designed to with stand the impact a bucking bull can create. They were only designed to prevent minimal damage from a hockey puck or a glancing stick blow. Shells explode and the steel cage can/will collapse on your face causing additional injuries.

FACT: EPP & EPS Liners - Expanded Polypropolene (materials that look similar to styrofoam) are the rock hard liners found in several of the common helmets used in bull riding. Did you know they are designed to absorb a single tramatic impact? Unfortunately when an impact in bull riding occurrs generally the outter shell is damaged as well, and therefore replacing the liner is not an option...you are forced to purchase a new helmet.

 

Two helmets are on the market today that boast price tags approaching $500 USD, yet both helmets are simply modified versions of hockey shells and LaCrosse shells with different masks. Both are two-piece plastic shells that could NEVER meet the current ASTM Bull Riding Helmet Standard F2530. The standard requires Drop Testing onto a Flat Anvil at nearly 20 feet per second as well as onto a Hazard Anvil at 17 feet per second. The hazard anvil is similar in shape to a rounded off knife about 6" long. Military ACH Helmets ( 3/8" Thick Bullet Resistent Kevlar)are only tested at 10 feet per second.. The level of impact is almost 4 times greater for the bull riding standard. Clearly neither of these helmets offers the level of protection required by the standard. Similarly, the two helmets boasting the premium price tags modify the mask/cage, yet neither addresses the ASTM Standard which requires the mask to prevent a horn from penetrating and making contact with the riders face or becoming lodged in the cage. So why are they possibly $500? hmmmm. (and they both require Hold Harmless & Indemnification Agreements prior to purchase ~ ever wonder WHY?)

The only ASTM Certified helmet on the market is designed to be a single impact and replace the helmet (or possibly the liner if the shell didnt explode off). The liner uses a material such as EPP and absorbs the energy on impact once...its then shot. Although they have gone to great lengths to achieve the ASTM Bull Riding Helmet Standard, the design and concept of being a disposable helmet clearly is not the long term solution for the sport of bull riding either. Taking an Equestrian helmet and simply putting a mask that meets the standard is not the solution. What about the chin? What about the ears? What about the weight?  A single impact EPP Liner? Hopefully future versions will address many of those concerns as most parents cant afford to replace a helmet after every ride.

Technically, this impact should require this helmet to be replaced...

 

Just some thoughts to consider and provoke conversation. It is encouraging to see the sport progress to the point where wearing a helmet is not taboo. The amount of money and the length of time guys can ride will be drastically improved with the advancement of the safety equipment offered for the sport of bull riding. Fortunately we are starting to see movement on several fronts that should benefit everyone involved in the sport.

InVinci-BULL® Bull Riding Helmet - Bull Rider Jerked Down and Walks Away

 

Perfect example of a bull rider being jerked down, yet walks away thanks to wearing the new InVinci-BULL® Bull Riding Helmet. Not knocked out, no injuries...goes on to ride another one!

BULL RIDING HELMETS > Multi-Impact Liner unlike any other helmet being worn in bull riding today! The most advanced materials used - Carbon Fiber...choice is simple!

InVinci-BULL Bull Riding Helmets

Carbon Fiber Bull Riding Helmet - InVinci-BULL

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