Charles Owen GR8 vs. V8

[YellowPonyEventer]

I have a GR8 and I love the fit BUT I don’t like that it’s not ventilated and makes me sweat AND now it stinks and I can’t get the sweaty helmet smell out! :eek:

The V8 is ventilated and has a removable liner that I could wash, so I’m looking at getting that one as my next helmet. Has anyone tried both the GR8 and V8 and what are your thoughts on the V8’s fit? Is it similar to the GR8 fit? Does the chin strap sit in the same place?

I’m just asking because I tried a OneK helmet once and had to sell it, the chin strap was further forward and it really annoyed me for some reason! :lol:

[2tempe]

I don’t know about the V8, but after moving to central florida I bought an Air8 as my orig. helmet was too hot.
Rode in the Air8 pretty much daily, one horse. I have fairly short hair but my head does sweat. The moisture from my head went thru the vents and the whole fabric cover on the outside got damp. When it dried, (only if I put it in the sun) it dried whiteish. It was gross. Helmet kept in air conditioned tack room hung on outside of locker and it still was always damp. I now use it only for show, and bought an ovation schooler, very inexpensive, fit me well and I can stick the whole thing in the sink, it dries in short order and I’m much happier.

[YellowPonyEventer]

[QUOTE=2tempe;8679451]
I don’t know about the V8, but after moving to central florida I bought an Air8 as my orig. helmet was too hot.
Rode in the Air8 pretty much daily, one horse. I have fairly short hair but my head does sweat. The moisture from my head went thru the vents and the whole fabric cover on the outside got damp. When it dried, (only if I put it in the sun) it dried whiteish. It was gross. Helmet kept in air conditioned tack room hung on outside of locker and it still was always damp. I now use it only for show, and bought an ovation schooler, very inexpensive, fit me well and I can stick the whole thing in the sink, it dries in short order and I’m much happier.[/QUOTE]

Ew, good to know! Is the Air8 a CO or a different brand? I’m not familiar with that model.

[SolarFlare]

I’m guessing it’s the AYR8 by CO. I just got one as well, as it seems to be the only thing on the market these days that actually fits my head!

I tried on a V8 but unfortunately they didn’t have my size, so the tester was a bit too big. It did feel like the shape was similar though.

I also have a GR8 that fits very well. I got the AYR8 in the same size as the GR8.

ETA - I definitely sweat more in the AYR8 than my Ovation schooler, but the Ovation didn’t really fit me very well, so I’m going to just suck it up.

[RubyTuesday]

I got the AYR8 myself; not the greatest fit in the world but I hate the teensy strapped ones, so it was the closest I could get to what I wanted in a traditional style helmet (and not feel like my head was in a cheap beer cooler).

[Linny]

The V8 is a very different fit from the GR8.It’s rather long oval and has a gap in the front for air to flow into the helmet. I’m not comfortable with that gap. I’ve never heard of anyone having the kind of problems that 2Tempi described and I know many riders who use AYR8’s every time they ride.

[YellowPonyEventer]

Thanks for the info everyone! I’m trying to figure out if I have a rounder or more oval shaped head but it’s difficult when 1 person will tell you the GR8 is round and another will say oval! The GR8 fits me well, my old One K Defender did not, and my old IRH (can’t remember the model) did not either - fit like the One K did – hurt my forehead, and wiggled side to side on my head too much.

[2tempe]

RE the Ayr8, I think it had a lot to do with central Florida humidity in the summer months. But it was truly disgusting.

OP I’m going to say that the GR8 is for oval heads; When I first bought mine, many moons ago, the store person told me I was an oval and some other brands would fit front to back but had big gaps on the sides as they were rounder.

[YellowPonyEventer]

[QUOTE=2tempe;8679793]
RE the Ayr8, I think it had a lot to do with central Florida humidity in the summer months. But it was truly disgusting.

OP I’m going to say that the GR8 is for oval heads; When I first bought mine, many moons ago, the store person told me I was an oval and some other brands would fit front to back but had big gaps on the sides as they were rounder.[/QUOTE]

Thanks! I had initially thought it was opposite…I thought the IRH and One K were more oval and CO’s were round…but come to think of it, my issue wth the IRH and One K were that I had the gaps on the sides even when it was super tight on my forehead. I think I’m going to go into Dover this weekend and just start trying helmets on and ask one of them to figure out which “type” my head is! :lol:

[SolarFlare]

If the GR8 fits you, I think you’ll find the AYR8 is a good fit too. I can’t remember either which ones is oval/round (pretty sure I’ve been corrected on here too! lol) but One K doesn’t fit, nor does GPA (Speed Air, Easy, the old Textium, etc), Samshield. The IRH models used to be (still are?) knockoffs of the big brands and depending on the model fit differently (I had a “skunk stripe” one years ago that fit, but I’ve tried on others that don’t).

The other brand that fits me beautifully is Tipperary. I was all set to replace my T2 with the same model (great fit, great breathability) but then Tipperary up and discontinued it and I haven’t seen a replacement yet.

[YellowPonyEventer]

[QUOTE=SolarFlare;8680883]
If the GR8 fits you, I think you’ll find the AYR8 is a good fit too. I can’t remember either which ones is oval/round (pretty sure I’ve been corrected on here too! lol) but One K doesn’t fit, nor does GPA (Speed Air, Easy, the old Textium, etc), Samshield. The IRH models used to be (still are?) knockoffs of the big brands and depending on the model fit differently (I had a “skunk stripe” one years ago that fit, but I’ve tried on others that don’t).

The other brand that fits me beautifully is Tipperary. I was all set to replace my T2 with the same model (great fit, great breathability) but then Tipperary up and discontinued it and I haven’t seen a replacement yet. :([/QUOTE]

So went to Dover and tried on some helmets and as it turns out, the CO’s are the only ones that really fit me. The Samshield didn’t fit me at all, same with the GPA’s. Of course they didn’t have the CO V8 there for me to try on, go figure! Tried on the AYR8 and liked the fit, very similar to my GR8. But of course neither have removable liners so I really want that V8! May just have to go ahead and order it and see if it fits when it gets here!

[YellowPonyEventer]

Oh and the Dover rep told me CO’s are definitely for round heads, which you can see if you put one side by side with a One K for example. Mystery solved :lol:

[WNT]

The round vs. oval for CO is interesting, as I’ve always found them to be more oval. They actually released the AYR8 and JR8 (and the GR8?) in round sizes this past year. If you are more oval, the V8 may work well for you. I had a customer try several models on and they were ok, but pressed on her forehead and wiggled a bit side to side. She tried the V8 and loved it. The gap was just in the right place for her. She just measured 7-1/8 (58cm), and the 7 in the V8 was actually the best fit.

[YellowPonyEventer]

[QUOTE=WNT;8681053]
The round vs. oval for CO is interesting, as I’ve always found them to be more oval. They actually released the AYR8 and JR8 (and the GR8?) in round sizes this past year. If you are more oval, the V8 may work well for you. I had a customer try several models on and they were ok, but pressed on her forehead and wiggled a bit side to side. She tried the V8 and loved it. The gap was just in the right place for her. She just measured 7-1/8 (58cm), and the 7 in the V8 was actually the best fit.[/QUOTE] thanks for the info! I wish they’d had a V8 for me to try on! I wanted to see how similar the V8 fit felt to me vs my GR8. I do remember that when I tried on the Samshield, I felt uneven pressure, mainly pressure on the two sides of my head.

[YellowPonyEventer]

So husband looked at the top of my head for me and said I’m more oval than round. According to him anyway :lol: why is it so hard to figure this all out?!

[Scribbler]

I just got an AYRbrush to replace my AYR8. AYRbrush has a removable band liner and a hard surface, not a fabric surface, so much better for rain and humidity, and helmet stinky-head.

[YellowPonyEventer]

[QUOTE=Scribbler;8683441]
I just got an AYRbrush to replace my AYR8. AYRbrush has a removable band liner and a hard surface, not a fabric surface, so much better for rain and humidity, and helmet stinky-head.[/QUOTE]

Good to know!

I went ahead and ordered the V8 so when it arrives I’ll let you all know how it compares to my GR8!

[YellowPonyEventer]

Just an update for everyone…I looooooove the new V8!!! it fits just like the GR8, and the vents are very nicely designed so that you can’t tell that the helmet is vented. And you can REALLY feel the difference when you ride, I can actually feel the air flow through my helmet, it’s so cool!! The way the lining is velcro’ed in is very clever and you can hardly tell that it’s velcro’ed, I love that I’ll be able to pull it out and launder it when it starts to get stinky

My ONLY complaint is the chin strap…it’s made of a shiny leather or leather-like material and it sticks to my chin a little when I sweat. But after a couple minutes I completely forget about it, so it’s not a big deal. I was just so used to the GR8 helmet’s suede chin strap that never did that, so it may just take a little getting used to for me. But it’s SO worth it for all the other things I mentioned!

[TheJenners]

Good to know, because I’m a super sweater (clothes, head, etc, at least I don’t stink!) and my GR8 is always soaked after even a 30 min ride in 65 degree weather. I wear tanks instead of tees because I don’t like pitting out my shirts :dead:.

But just a tip… I put about 50/50 alcohol and water in a spray bottle that had previously held a frebreze type product, and spray my helmet with that. Kills the bad smell asap and keeps it clean. The CO brand cleaner didn’t do diddly.

[YellowPonyEventer]

[QUOTE=TheJenners;8703887]
Good to know, because I’m a super sweater (clothes, head, etc, at least I don’t stink!) and my GR8 is always soaked after even a 30 min ride in 65 degree weather. I wear tanks instead of tees because I don’t like pitting out my shirts :dead:.

But just a tip… I put about 50/50 alcohol and water in a spray bottle that had previously held a frebreze type product, and spray my helmet with that. Kills the bad smell asap and keeps it clean. The CO brand cleaner didn’t do diddly.[/QUOTE]

Same here! Plus living in FL where the “feels like” in the summer is routinely over 100 degrees, I sweat like crazy! :lol: And yah, the CO deodorizer and cleaner don’t even TOUCH the sweat smell! And I’ve tried every other spray and cleaner under the sun including soaking the darn thing in listerine! None of it worked…I bought a Fresh Helmet sack from SmartPak this time around so that hopefully it’ll be a while before I have to remove this helmet’s lining and machine wash it…but really glad I have that option now!