Charles Owen SP8

[batman_the_horse]

Has anyone tried the new Charles Owen SP8? It looks like thy AYR8, but with a larger visor. It seems to be the CO take on the First Lady. I really like GPA’s First Lady, but I have a Charles Owen Head.

Has anyone seen it in person or tried it on?

Living in Florida this seems like the perfect helmet for me. I might even be able to get rid of my equivisor. That darn thing always flies off at the most inopportune moment.

https://www.smartpakequine.com/charles-owen-sp8-helmet-10637p

[IPEsq]

I have it, and it doesn’t fit my head as well as the GR8. The visor shape causes some discomfort at my temples for long wear. But I love the visor for the crazy Denver area sun and the bit of ventilation and do tend to wear it as my regular schooling helmet. It is not nearly as ventilated as the First Lady, though. It’s also not a bad helmet to be wearing when it starts raining–the visor is good for that too!

[akhunterrider]

I had this helmet and loved the larger visor, but hated the fit of the helmet. It didn’t fit like the AYR8 I had previously. After several months, I couldn’t wear it for more than an hour without it being incredibly painful. Once I fell off in it (Thank you, clumsiness), I got another AYR8. All that said, the first lady looks stupid on me, the AYR8 looks much better.

[akhunterrider]

Two pictures of me in this helmet can be found at the bottom of this thread:

http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-402519.html

[batman_the_horse]

akhunterrider - Your images don’t work!

I hate to hear that it doesn’t fit the same as the GR8 and AYR8. Smartpak does have a great return policy though…

[akhunterrider]

Let me see if I can dig them up on my photobucket, otherwise if you search SP8 helmet on google, my pictures are the first and third pictures shown in the images.

[fourfAlter]

I bought the SP8, one size smaller than my last GR8 as I’d chopped off a LOT of hair.

SP8 was still too snug, especially at the temples, so I returned it to Smartpak. Unfortunately, it is not made above a 7 1/4, and I really needed a 7 3/8 I went with the First Lady instead and LOVE it.

[batman_the_horse]

fourfAlter - Do you normally fit in CO helmets?

Honestly, the first lady is more than I would like to spend, and I have a more ovally shaped head. I just really like the bigger visor.

Also, I have a little pin head. I wear a 6 5/8.

[IPEsq]

I agree that the SP8 fits smaller than the other CO helmets in that the padding doesn’t loosen up after a few wears the same as the GR8 and similar, although I don’t think I could have quite gone up a size. The biggest issue is the pressure at the temples. It only gets really bad when I’m in need of a haircut. It wasn’t bad enough for me to return it, though I did expect it to loosen up more than it did. But when it’s time to retire the helmet, I’ll probably look for something different.