[QUOTE=Skip’s Rider;8184163]
This is my exact experience with a CO rep. I would never have bought the helmet she fitted for me because it felt too tight initially. However, after wearing it around the store for 10 minutes, I was convinced. It was the most comfortable and best fitting helmet I’d ever owned.[/QUOTE]
Same here. When I got it I was worried because it was SO tight. I thought I’d have to send it back, but I sucked it up for a week or so and it was fine.
[QUOTE=SnicklefritzG;8183832]
Interesting about your experience with CO. I’ve bought CO because that’s what seems to fit my head the best, irrespective of price.
Did you find that the foam compressed to a lesser extent with other brands?[/QUOTE]
My first CO was a Whittaker and I got it because is was extremely light in weight (carbon fibre) as well as comfortable. I walked around the store in it to make sure it wasn’t going to give me a headache as I’ve had that problem before. But I replaced it after three years because the foam padding just kept compressing and the helmet was eventually way too loose. The next one was a Wellington and the same thing happened. They were both the best fit for my head at the time (as recommended by my tack shop) but the foam just compresses too much and they become too loose.
Current helmet is a GPA (unavailable at my local tack shop previously) and it does fit the shape of my head better (rather round) and the foam padding is definitely much firmer than that in the CO’s. It has not really compressed at all in the two years I’ve had it. The other deciding factor was ventilation and the GPA is much better than the CO Ayr8 I tried at the time - and I did try a size smaller in the Ayr8. It would have been snug but perfectly wearable but I decided on the GPA because of the past problems with the CO’s. (The GPA I bought is the “New Extreme” model - it looks like the old skunk stripe ones except the stripe is the same mesh as the Speed Air. I tried the Speed Air as well but the New Extreme fit better as the crown is a little deeper.)
[QUOTE=BeeHoney;8177056]
People with regular hair don’t understand what it means to have thick hair. There is no way I could grow my hair halfway down my back and get it up in a helmet–any helmet and any size–without completely compromising fit and safety. I’m guessing you are in the same boat. I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I’ve been there. [/QUOTE]
I have very thick hair and have had it VERY long at times. At the moment I don’t like it very long as hair that long kind of grosses me out. Not sure what changed. 
I do currently get it thinned (because I’d like to be able to put it in a ponytail or some such and without thinning I can’t find bands that will go around it more than once.
I can fit it in helmets and they fit within the same standards used to determine if a helmet fits any other person.
this rider has long hair and doesn’t wear it up. It’s actually in a braid down the inside back of her coat. I was worried that it would show, but you wouldn’t know it was there if you didn’t know her.
The good news is that 1) riding/showing is way more fun than having great hair, 2) you can lop your tresses off and donate to Locks of Love and feel great about that, and 3) shorter hair is more in fashion now anyway. 
I don’t recommend Locks of Love if you are going to donate. Do some googling. Their practices are questionable at best. I donated to them twice and regret it.
[QUOTE=SnicklefritzG;8176776]
On a related note, I have a perfectly good CO helmet that fit ok when I bought it but now it is loose. I don’t know whether it is beacuse the foam in the rim has compressed somewhat or if it’s because I have changed my hairstyle.
Anyway, if a helmet is slightly loose is there anything I can do about it, or do I basically have to junk it?[/QUOTE]
I have had 3 COs in the past several years do this, and someone (I believe it was actually one of the people at the CO booth at Rolex) suggested that I get the door sealer stuff (http://www.lowes.com/pd_66679-81-02295___?productId=1096047&pl=1&Ntt=foam+seal) and add a strip under the liner (I’ve had the helmet 2.5 years, so not time to replace it yet!) and it worked perfectly. (also want to add that it was fitted by one of their reps, so it was super snug when I bought it).
Samshield comes in three shell sizes and you can buy padding in different sizes. A lot of people have turned to that – or they have two helmets…one for hair up, one for hair down. Probably not something you want to do but I showed against a girl in the ponies who loved her super long hair and shaved the underside of it lol…
I have very long, thick hair and found that the onek helmet in a long oval fits very nicely. Bonus is you can buy different inserts to use if you sometimes wear your hair down.
I do use a very low pony and make sure the bump from where I twist the hair is just outside the helmet rim. The rest sort of splays along my head. Yea hair nets. French braids also work.
With a previous helmet, I had to to one or two side braids and then run them along the back of my head at just the right angle. Creative hairstyling. 
On topic… we just had a girl come in this morning asking us to help her with her very long hair and helmet because she was told it didn’t fit. We tried multiple styles and her CO was just not safe even when the hair was up. She was going to need to cut a good 4-6" off because wearing her hair down wasn’t an option (and the helmet would then be too big on her anyway.
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